National Weather Service - New Orleans / Baton Rouge, LA
Get to know us!
Our Mission
National Weather Service (NWS) Mission Statement: Provide weather, water and climate data, forecasts, warnings, and impact-based decision support services for the protection of life and property and enhancement of the national economy.
What We Do
We are one of 122 NWS Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) and serve 22 Louisiana Parishes across southeastern Louisiana and and 8 Mississippi Counties across southern Mississippi.
The NWS New Orleans / Baton Rouge area of responsibility covers a total of 3.1 million people. 2.5 million in LA, 600,000 in MS.
NWS New Orleans/Baton Rouge County/Parish Warning Area
Office History
The New Orleans/Baton Rouge National Weather Service Office has one of the longest histories of any Weather Service Forecast Office in the United States. Office locations have ranged from New Orleans to Slidell over the years with over 150 years of history, and still going.
1871 to 1915
The New Orleans office was established under the auspices of the Army Signal Corps of the United States Army on October 4, 1870 and was initially housed in a building at 281 Carondelet Street in New Orleans. In November of the same year, the office was moved to 222 Custom House Street, now known as Iberville Street. The Office was moved again on November 1, 1871 to the U.S. Custom House at Decatur, Iberville, and Canal Streets. Besides normal forecast operations, the office became home to the Satellite Field Service Station, as well as an Area Aviation Forecast Center.
1915 to 1979
From March 24, 1915 to December 15, 1961, the New Orleans Weather Bureau Office was located in the Post Office Building at 600 Camp Street. After that time, the office was moved to the fourteenth floor of the Federal Building at 701 Loyola Avenue where it remained until April 1979. A hurricane forecasting center also operated here starting in 1935, covering the Gulf of Mexico west of 85°W. The hurricane forecasting responsibility was transferred to the National Hurricane Center in 1966. During this period, the Weather Bureau became the major component of the new Environmental Science Services Administration under the Department of Commerce in 1965, and acquired its current name, the National Weather Service, when it became the major division of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the Department of Commerce in 1970.
1979 to 1994
On April 25, 1979, the office was moved to Slidell to merge with the WSR-57 radar observatory and the Lower Mississippi River Forecast office at 1120 Old Spanish Trail in Slidell, Louisiana. Here' it became known as the New Orleans Area Weather Service Forecast Office.
1994 to Present Day
When the office relocated to its present location on Airport Road in Slidell on February 15, 1994, its name was changed to the New Orleans/Baton Rouge Area National Weather Service Forecast Office. This change incorporated the old Weather Service Office in Baton Rouge which eventually closed during the Modernization and Restructuring process. Additionally, the NEXRAD modernization which took place during this period, replaced the WSR-57 at Old Spanish Trail with the WSR-88D on Airport Road. The office remains collocated with the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center. However, as of early 2024 the KLIX WSR-88D Radar is no longer located with our office, and is now located at Hammond, LA with the ICAO identifier KHDC.
Take a Tour of the Area!
Meet our Management Team!
The management team at NWS New Orleans, LA, embodies positive and supportive leadership, helping to drive the office foreword to meet the mission of the NWS. The management team serves as the backbone of operations, providing steadfast support, strategic direction, and effective leadership to ensure the smooth functioning and success of the office.
NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) Lauren Nash
Note: Currently, the MIC (Meteorologist In Charge) and SOO (Science & Operations Officer) positions are vacant.
Lauren Nash
NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM)
Started at NWS New Orleans: Sep 2020
Previous NWS Offices: WFO New York City (4 1/2 yrs), WFO Huntsville (4 yrs), WFO Tallahassee (2 yrs)
Education: Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Prescott AZ BS in Meteorology, Minors in Airline Operations and Aviation Business and Masters in Public Administration from Park University
Hobbies: Scuba Diving, Hanging with my cats, reading, traveling
Lauren is responsible for making sure what we send out to the world is understood and received by all partners, the public, media and government officials. She also coordinates all outreach from the office, such as STEM events, school visits and other public events. Lauren is passionate about social media and how to best utilize that to get our message across and has been involved with it since it started in the NWS. Lauren also became a meteorologist because she grew up in tornado alley and is always looking for ways to educate the public on how to stay safe during severe weather.
Meet our Program Managers!
Their expertise in their program areas play a pivotal role in advancing our mission and supporting operations.
NWS Information Technology Officer (ITO) Matthew Duplantis
NWS Senior Service Hydrologist (SSH) Julie Lesko
NWS Observing Program Leader (OPL) Shawn O’Neil
Matthew Duplantis
NWS Information Technology Officer (ITO)
Started at NWS New Orleans: Jul 2020
Previous NWS Offices: WFO Jackson (1/2 year), WFO Amarillo - (1/2 year), WFO Lake Charles (5 years), WFO Birmingham (1 year), WFO Shreveport (14 years)
Education: BS in Atmospheric Science - University of Louisiana at Monroe, BS in Mathematics - University of Louisiana at Monroe
Hobbies: Officiating high school football
Matthew is the Information Technology Officer, with a Meteorologist background, which allows him to create, customize, and implement IT solutions for our office so that we meet the expectations of the public we serve. Matthew is actively engaged with NWS Headquarters where he works on several national IT programs and teams to keep our agency on the forefront of innovation.
Julie Lesko
NWS Senior Service Hydrologist (SSH)
Started at NWS New Orleans: Sep 2020
Previous NWS Offices: WFO Little Rock, AR (8 yrs), WFO Brownsville, TX (1 yr), LMRFC (Lower MS River Forecast Center) (3 yrs)
Education: Ohio State University (BS), Florida State University (MS)
Hobbies: Cooking, Taco Tuesday, Axe throwing, Game Nights, Vocal Lessons, Travel, Storm Chasing
Julie is the Senior Service hydrologist and works with all things water that affects our area! This includes flash flooding, river flooding, and storm surge; and a lot of times all 3 at once! Julie is also on teams to help promote mental wellbeing and positive office culture, and also organizes social outings with my coworkers.
Shawn O’Neil
NWS Observing Program Leader (OPL)
Started at NWS New Orleans: Feb 2008
Previous NWS Offices: None
Education: BS in Atmospheric Science -- University of Louisiana at Monroe
Hobbies: Anything to do with sports (coaching, watching, playing), travelling (especially cruises)
Shawn is responsible for all of the observations that come into the office, including surface observations and upper air observations. Shawn leads the COOP (Cooperative Observer Program) which is a volunteer network of over 8,700 sites that record important information such as temperature and precipitation. If you are interested in becoming an observer, reach out to him!
Meet our Lead Forecasters!
Their unwavering leadership, experience and dedication helps to guide our mission forward.
Lead Forecasters Robert Frye Danielle Manning Christopher Bannan Phil Grigsby Tim Erickson
Robert Frye
NWS Lead Forecaster
Started at NWS New Orleans: Jun 2022
Previous NWS Offices: WFO Springfield, MO (3 yrs Intern) WFO Brownsville, TX (2. 1/2 yrs General Forecaster), WFO Miami, FL (2 years Lead Forecaster)
Education: B.S. Meteorology University of South Alabama 2010 M.S. Applied Meteorology Mississippi State University 2014
Hobbies: Traveling the world and learning about new cultures and customs. I also enjoy camping, fishing, and being outdoors enjoying the environment around us all
Robert participates in the severe weather, tropical, and coastal flood teams. Robert is no stranger to the Gulf Coast. After receiving his undergrad at USA in Mobile, he previously worked at the NDBC at Stennis Space Center. After ten years he is more than happy to call the Central Gulf Coast home once again!
Danielle Manning
NWS Lead Forecaster
Started at NWS New Orleans: Oct 2007
Previous NWS Offices: WFO Tallahassee, FL (1 yr), WFO St. Louis (1 yr)
Education: BS in Meteorology Saint Louis University, MS in Meteorology Florida State University
Hobbies: Crafting, hiking, gardening
Danielle serves as the decision support, tropical, and outreach program focal points and is also involved in the social media and coastal flooding programs. She has also completed temporary assignments with both the national and regional tropical programs and the NWS communications office.
Christopher Bannan
NWS Lead Forecaster
Started at NWS New Orleans: Mar 2009
Previous NWS Offices: WFO North Platte, NE (1 yr, 5 months), WFO Jackson, MS (4 yrs, 8 mo)
Education: Northeast Louisiana University (NLU) /University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM)
Hobbies: Raising my 6 kids and playing video games when I have the time
Chris was born in Texas but grew up in LaPlace and Baton Rouge, LA. Chris worked at 3 NWS offices. Started out in North Platte, NE in Feb '03 and on his 1st day saw the coldest temperature he had seen in his entire life (-12). He moved to the Jackson, MS office in the Summer of '04 before coming the Slidell office in March of '09. Chris has been married for 19 years and have 6 kids.
Phil Grigsby
NWS Lead Forecaster
Started at NWS New Orleans: Aug 2004
Previous NWS Offices: WFO Peachtree City, GA
Education: BS in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma (Boomer Sooner!)
Hobbies: Bowling, travel, hiking, enjoying time with friends and family
Phil is the aviation weather and fire weather focal point, and is the office webmaster. He is actively engaged in outreach activities to our aviation and fire weather partners, and participates in other outreach activities including school talks, safety talks, and other activities with the local community. Phil is also involved in the tropical, continuity of operations, outreach, winter, and decision support services program areas.
Meet our General Forecasters!
They play a crucial role in all things ranging from accurate forecasts and warnings to supporting the flow of operations.
General Forecasters Mike Efferson Hannah Lisney Kevin Gilmore Tyler Stanfield Megan Williams Jacob Zeringue David Schlotzhauer Brigette Lim Bob Wagner
Mike Efferson
NWS Forecaster
Started at NWS New Orleans: Oct 2008
Previous NWS Offices: WFO Midland, TX (about 2 yrs)
Education: BS in Atmospheric Science from ULM (University of Louisiana at Monroe), 2 years of undergrad at LSU (Louisiana State University), and 1.5 years of graduate work at TTU (Texas Tech University)
Hobbies: Muscle cars, hunting, fishing, and jogging
Mike is the Storm Data, Student Volunteer and Public Forecast Program focal point leader. He is actively engaged in deployments and outreach.
Hannah Lisney
NWS Forecaster
Started at NWS New Orleans: Jul 2021
Previous NWS Offices: None
Education: B.S in Atmospheric Science with minor in Mathematics from University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Hobbies: Working out, video games, watching sports, board games, and hanging with friends.
Hannah is the Social Media focal point and also takes the lead on a lot of our School-related Outreach. Hannah is actively involved in the Severe Weather, DSS, Tropical, Upper Air, and Outreach program areas.
Kevin Gilmore
NWS Forecaster
Started at NWS New Orleans: Jun 2018
Previous NWS Offices: WFO Great Falls, MT (1 yr)
Education: BS Meteorology - University of South Alabama
Hobbies: Rebuilding cars (93’ Supra in the works), Fishing, Ping Pong, Gardening, Astronomy, Running
Kevin leads the Severe Weather, Radar/Satellite and SKYWARN program areas. He is actively engaged in social media, severe weather event reviews and staff radar training. He also is involved in the Marine, GFE/AWIPS and Webmaster program areas and is working to one day become a Science and Operations Officer (SOO).
Tyler Stanfield
NWS Forecaster
Time at NWS New Orleans: Jun 2022
Previous NWS Offices: Was a pathways for 1 yr at St. Louis, MO
Education: BS in Meteorology, University of Oklahoma. M.S Geography, Virginia Tech
Hobbies: In my free time you’ll find me at the gym, traveling to somewhere new, watching sports or going to a concert
Tyler is the GIS program focal point in charge of a lot of the spatial data and satellite analysis we’ve been doing to support the office recently. Tyler is also active in our social media, Google sites, aviation and tropical programs.
Megan Williams
NWS Forecaster
Started at NWS New Orleans: Jun 2018
Previous NWS Offices: WFO Birmingham, Al as a volunteer
Education: BS in Meteorology, BS in Environmental Geosciences, GIS Certificate, MS in Meteorology
Hobbies: Rock Climbing, Hiking, Travel
Megan is the Marine and Flash Flood program leader. She is also involved in DSS, and student volunteer program areas. She is actively engaged in GIS as well.
Jacob Zeringue
NWS Forecaster
Started at NWS New Orleans: Jun 2022
Previous NWS Offices: None
Education: BS University of Louisiana Monroe
Hobbies: Anything outdoors, playing piano, and playing Xbox
Jacob is actively involved with severe weather research, specifically in terms of hail and QLCS tornadoes. He is also involved in the outreach, social media, storm data, student volunteers, and remote sensing program areas.
David Schlotzhauer
NWS Forecaster
Started at NWS New Orleans: May 2022
Previous NWS Offices: Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center (10 yrs)
Education: University of Missouri-Rolla, BS Life Sciences, University of Missouri-Rolla, BS Geological Engineering, Mississippi State University, MS Geosciences/Applied Meteorology
Hobbies: Cooking; Turning my backyard into a tropical paradise
David is interested in the impacts of weather and supporting our partners and the public in understanding and responding to those impacts, especially through our Impact-based Decision Support Services. David is helping to develop our program in Hazardous Material Incident Response, drawing on past experience as a former HazMat Technician and Industrial Firefighter. David is also involved in the GIS and Coastal Flooding program areas.
