John E. Jones, Jr. was appointed Deputy Assistant Administrator for Weather Services and Deputy Director of the National Weather Service August 16, 1998.

In 1978, Jones became a journeyman forecaster at the NWS Pittsburgh, Pa., Forecast Office. From 1980 to 1985, Jones was the lead forecaster. In July of 1985, Jones came to Washington, D.C. to work in the Central Flow Weather Service Unit of the Federal Aviation Administration. He provided meteorological advice to personnel who managed air traffic across the country.

In 1987, Jones became the regional aviation meteorologist for the NWS Eastern Region, where he managed the aviation weather service, station visits and evaluation programs. For a year and a half in that role, Jones performed the duties of both the chief and deputy chief of the Meteorological Services Division, while those positions were vacant.

In 1990, Jones began a five-year stint as deputy meteorologist-in-charge at the NWS Forecast Office in Philadelphia, which later moved to Mt. Holly, N.J. In addition to supervising the forecast staff, Jones. main responsibility was providing forecast services for eastern Pennsylvania, most of New Jersey, Delaware and sections of eastern Maryland.

In September 1995, Jones became deputy director of the NWS Eastern Region Headquarters in Bohemia, N.Y. For more than two years, he helped to oversee operations at 22 forecast offices, four Center Weather Service Units and three River Forecast Centers in 16 states from Maine to South Carolina.

Jones holds a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from St. Augustine.s College in Raleigh, N.C. He was selected for a NWS program that later became known as the Graduate Scientist Program. As a participant, he studied meteorology at Pennsylvania State University. In 1974, he became a meteorological intern in the NWS Raleigh, N.C. Forecast Office. During his tenure there, Jones took graduate meteorology courses at the University of Wisconsin.

Jones was a recipient of the Unusually Outstanding Performance Award in 1989 and completed the NOAA Senior Executive service Candidate Development Program in 1995.