THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, June 10, 1996                 TAG: 9606100071
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   48 lines

VIRGINIAN SELECTED AS FORECASTER FOR THE OLYMPIC WEATHER TEAM

Bill Sammler has been selected to participate in the Olympics. His event: weather forecasting.

Sammler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's office in Wakefield, will join a 20-member team of forecasters for the summer games in Atlanta.

``I'd like to think it's a vacation, but from a meteorological standpoint, it's going to be a real challenge,'' Sammler said.

Lans Rothfusz, meteorologist in charge of the Olympic Weather Support office in Peachtree City, Ga., said the forecasters will work ``to keep the games weather-safe.''

Said Rothfusz, ``Two million spectators are coming into the Southeast, and they're not used to the weather. We're taking every precaution to ensure their safety from the standpoint of weather.''

Sammler, 36, joined the Weather Service in 1983 and did severe thunderstorm and tornado forecasting for more than 10 years before coming to the Wakefield office as warning coordination meteorologist.

``Bill has a terrific background in what we call `mesoscale meteorology,' which is forecasting the weather on the small scale, such as the thunderstorm scale,'' Rothfusz said.

``He's always been a respected forecaster in the National Weather Service system, so when I saw his name come up on the list, I snatched him up.''

Working 10-hour shifts with four days on and three off, Sammler will forecast the Olympic weather, coordinate other weather work and act as a troubleshooter from June 30 to Aug. 5.

The team will cover Olympic sites from Columbus, Ga., in the southwest to Savannah on the Atlantic Coast and up to the Oconee River in southeastern Tennessee.

Because of the games, the Peachtree City weather center has become ``the most technologically advanced operational forecast office in the world,'' Rothfusz said.

``What we have here is about five to 10 years ahead of the rest of the National Weather Service on virtually all fronts.''

Sammler said the team will have some unusual warning responsibilities. For example, the Weather Service does not issue lightning warnings - but it will for the Olympics.

Also, the team will issue a warning if humidity exceeds 85 percent at the velodrome, a bicycle racing track that has a wooden surface that could be warped by high humidity. The warning would allow crews to cover the track's surface before any damage is done. by CNB