DOI: 10.7910/dvn/h7n7g4
title: Winter Storm Severity for Alaska

description: This data includes focus group scenarios and questions, survey instruments, and focus group transcripts and survey data related to the “Winter Storm Severity Index for Alaska” Project. This project was funded by a $146,911 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (NA21OAR4590183) to advance social science research work around the WSSI. The grant supported a three-year (08-01-2021 to 07-31-2024) mixed-methods social science research study. Working with National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC), University of Colorado Boulder Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and NWS Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) as testing site partners, the research team used situation-based virtual focus groups and surveys to elicit feedback from users, including WFO partners and professionals (emergency managers, transportation depts., utilities, aviation, and others), about WSSI, how it would be used in decision-making and how its presentation could be improved to be more useful. The goal of this project was to expand the operational WSSI (only for the contiguous United States) into the Alaska Region as a user-informed and tested product that will meet the unique climate considerations of the various regions in the state. The objectives are to: 
● Ensure the product components align with the needs of Alaska Region stakeholders, including additional non-meteorological factors
● Ensure that the product’s definitions of and categorization of impacts align with stakeholder expectations surrounding these severity levels (extreme, major, moderate, minor, limited and none) by testing and calibrating the severity levels, including the extreme level, within the WSSI
● Provide recommendations that can be easily operationalized to address needs of professional stakeholder groups 
● Develop lessons learned from adapting a national product to region-specific needs for other NWS products 

Methods included virtual focus groups in six diverse regions of Alaska, pre and post focus group session surveys, a third round of testing via an online survey to all previous participants, and inclusion in the Weather Prediction Center’s Arctic Testbed in November 2023. Two-hour focus groups were held with professional stakeholders in six areas: Juneau, Fairbanks, Anchorage, North Slope, Bristol Bay/Southwest, West Coast. During each focus group session, participants completed a pre-session survey about winter storm experience, challenges, and demographic information. Then participants were led through a winter storm scenario via a presentation showcasing forecast information and products commonly used within the local WFO – i.e., as part of briefing packages or weekly partner emails – along with a mocked-up version of a WSSI Alaska product, to test the current format and delivery. The facilitator asked questions about the types of decisions the users make and how the users have or might engage with WSSI in their decision-making processes. Following the focus group discussion, participants completed a post-session survey asking for detailed feedback on the design of the products, as well as the ways they would share the information provided in the WSSI. Specific questions included “what is the biggest barrier you face in responding to and/or preparing for winter storm events?” and “what else would be important for us to know about how you gather information about winter weather risks and your intended actions?”. The research team, including Rachel Hogan Carr, Dr. Kathryn Semmens, Keri Maxfield (all of Nurture Nature Center) and Dr. Burrell Montz (emeritus from East Carolina University), have compiled and shared recommendations to NOAA/WPC about the best ways to use and improve upon these products to communicate winter storm impact. 

The data provided here include the scenarios with questions embedded in the notes for each slide, the pre and post session survey questions (pre-session surveys were the same for all locations but post-session surveys varied due to the use of different scenarios/products), survey responses and focus group transcripts. 

Principal Investigator (Lead PI): Dr. Dana Tobin, Research Scientist, University of Colorado Boulder (CIRES),Co-Principal Investigator: Rachel Hogan Carr, Executive Director, Nurture Nature Center
CIRES Award Number: NA21OAR4590188
NNC Award Number: NA21OAR4590183