# Presentation: 253716

## Slide 1

## Challenges in Urban Meteorology: A Forum for Users and ProvidersRegional Ecosystem Approaches to Urban Environmental Hazard Management 

**September 21, 2004**
**LeRoy Spayd**
**Chief, Meteorological Services Division**
**Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services**
**NOAA’s National Weather Service**

## Slide 3

## Communicating Environmental Services

**NOAA NWS Overview**
**Teamwork**
**NWS Products and Service**
**Accurate Communication**

## NWS Mission

**Provide climate, water, weather forecasts and warnings to protect life and property and enhance the economy.**** **
**Data and products are used by other government agencies, the private sector, the public, and the global community.**

## NOAA Vision

***NOAA Vision***

**To move NOAA into the 21st Century scientifically and operationally, in the same interrelated manner as the environment that we observe and forecast, while recognizing the ****link between our global economy and our ****planet’s ecology.**

## Teamwork

**Partnerships are critical to ensure ****the right message is sent and received!**

## Slide 8

## Teamwork

*** ******751 Communities***
*** ******47 States***

**Notes:**
StormReady

StormReady is a voluntary program that began in 1999 in Tulsa, OK as a way to recognize Emergency Managers that were pro-active in preparing their communities for the threat of severe weather

Designed to arm communities with the communication and safety skills required to save lives and property
StormReady helps:                                                     

Improve timeliness and effectiveness of weather warnings for the public

Provide detailed and concise recommendations to assist EMs establish or improve hazardous weather operations plans

Ensures NOAA Weather Radios are placed on public buildings

Help EMs justify costs and purchases related to supporting their hazardous weather operations

Reward local hazardous weather mitigation programs that have achieved a desired performance level

## StormReady Success Story Van Wert, Ohio F4 Tornado - 11/10/02

**Notes:**
Van Wert Ohio Success Story
The Van Wert, Ohio story illustrates the successful implementation of the integrated warning system.
Van Wert also illustrates the importance of establishing close working relationship between NWS offices and EM partners, which are created via the StormReady program.
Van Wert County Ohio was recognized as StormReady in January 2002.  On Veterans Day that same year a F4 tornado struck the city of Van Wert.
Forecast and Detection - The Northern Indiana NWS Office detected a tornado on their Doppler Radar and issued a Tornado Warning for Van Wert County.
Warning - The Van Wert County EOC received the warning via NOAA Weather Radio
Dissemination - The County Emergency Manager activated the cities siren warning system. In addition to a siren warning system, the Van Wert Cinema was equipped with a local warning alert public address system tied directly into the Van Wert County Emergency Operations Center.  The County EM broadcast the Tornado Warning live on this system.
Response - The Van Wert Cinema manager moved more than 50 adults and children out the theater into a safe area in the hallway and restrooms.  This safe area was designated the previous January, when Van Wert was applying for StormReady recognition.  
Minutes later a tornado tore off the building's roof and tossed cars into the screen and front seats where kids and parents were watching "The Santa Clause 2.“

GIVE CREDIT TO DENNIS MILETI!!

## TeamworkNational Research Council’s Report

**Today’s partnerships are sound and functioning well**
**Recommendations include:**
***Congressional Mandate – ******protect life and property***
***Public/Private Partnership Process***
***Data and Products in standardized format***
***New/Discontinue Products***
***Communicate Uncertainty****** ***

## Seamless Suite of Products

***Seamless Suite of Products***

***Minutes***

***Hours***

***Days***

***6 – 10 Days***

***8 – 14 Days***

***Months***

***Seasons***

***Years***

***Forecast ***
***Uncertainty***

**Protection of**
**Life & Property**

**Hydropower**

**Recreation**

**Ecosystem**

**State/Local**
**Planning**

**Environment**

**Flood Mitigation**
**& Navigation**

**Agriculture**

**Reservoir**
**Control**

**Health**

**Space****Operations**

**Transportation**

**Fire Weather**

**Energy**

**Outlooks**
**Guidance**
**Threats ****Assessments**
**Forecasts**
**Watches**
**Warnings & Alert ****Coordination**

**Forecast Lead Time**

## Seamless Suite of Products

**National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD)**

**Gridded Forecast Database**

- TODAY...RAIN LIKELY. SNOW LIKELY ABOVE 2500 FEET. SNOW ACCUMULATION BY LATE AFTERNOON 1 TO 2 INCHES ABOVE 2500 FEET. COLDER WITH HIGHS 35 TO 40. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHWESTEARLY THIS AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 70%.

## Accurate Communication

**Need accurate, timely, easily communicated, ****and understandable products!**

## New Products 

***The average person only sees the tip of the iceberg***

_**National Centers for Environmental Prediction**_
- Model Simulations
- Climate & Seasonal Outlooks Aviation & Marine Forecasts
- Storm & Tornado Prediction Hurricane Tracks

_**Private Weather Companies**_

_**122 Weather Forecast Offices Issue Local Forecasts & Warnings**_

_**Observations**_
- Radar Network,  Satellites,  Weather Balloons,  Ground-level observations at airports,  Aircraft,  Lightning Network,  Data Buoys,  Stream Gauge Network,  11,000 Volunteer daily-data collectors,  Thousands of Volunteer storm spotters

**Internet**

**Radio**

**TV**

_**River Forecasts**_
- Hydropower,  Flood warnings
- Irrigation,  River Navigation

**NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE**

## Communicating Threats Severe Weather

**Polygon ****Eliminates**
**False Alarm Area **

**Notes:**
Currently county warnings:
-  Purple is county
-  Goal – improved response through more precise warnings

Some of the benefits are: 

 Gives better quality warnings by showing specifically where the threat are is 

 Shows warning areas graphically 

 Reduces risk area of the warning to the public 

 Enables a wider distribution of warnings using cell phones, PDAs, etc. 

 Allows the NWS to refine warnings to true threat area 

 Keeps the NWS in technological step with private sector 

## Slide 17

## Communicating Threats Hurricanes

## Slide 19

## Communicating Threats Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service

**Notes:**
We think that this is great--- is it?

What would person in green area do versus someone in yellow area?

## Communicating Threats Urban Flooding - Gaston

***August 30, 2004***

## Communicating ThreatsIndices

***Communicating Threats******Indices***

**Today**
***Wind Chill Index***
***Heat Health Index***
**Tomorrow**
***Tornado F-scale Revision***
***Winter Storm Index?***

## Awareness Campaigns

**Awareness Campaigns**

## Summary

**Partnerships are critical ****to ensure the right message ****is sent and received!**
**Users need accurate, timely, ****easily communicated, and understandable information!**

- www.weather.gov

**Notes:**
We understand that yes, science will improve forecast accuracies, but without attacking the issues, socioeconomic improvements will be limited.