DOI: 10.17603/ds2-qm3n-6h83
title: Interviews with broadcast meteorologists and emergency managers
title: in Modernizing the NWS Tropical Cyclone Product Suite by Evaluating NWS Partner Decisions and Information Needs

description: This repository provides the materials used to collect and analyze data from semi-structured interviews with broadcast meteorologists and emergency managers conducted as part of the Minding the Gap project. Interview data are not publicly available due to the small study population. Seventeen interviews were conducted with 20 participants in coastal and inland communities in Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina, in a mix of metropolitan and less-populated areas. Our study plan also included interviews in the New York/New Jersey area, but we were unable to conduct these interviews because the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted data collection. The interviews were designed to investigate NWS partners’ tropical cyclone decision and action timelines, their use of tropical cyclone information during different phases of threats, and gaps in forecast information for decision-making. This foundational knowledge was then used to design surveys relevant to broader samples of broadcast meteorologists and emergency managers in the U.S. 
description: This research project was designed to help the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) identify strategies for improving effective communication of weather forecasts and warnings. This included a more specific emphasis on prioritizing investments to modernize the National Weather Service (NWS) Tropical Cyclone (TC) product suite (i.e., the collection of products, information, and services that NWS provides during TC threats). Complementing recent and ongoing work focused on members of the public, the research focused on two types of key NWS partners: emergency managers and broadcast meteorologists.

To address these objectives, the research team conducted semi-structured interviews with a targeted set of emergency managers and broadcast meteorologists, followed by online surveys with larger samples of both groups. We analyzed the interview and survey data to understand key NWS partners’ decision timelines leading up to and during TC threats, their use of different types of TC forecast and warning information, and the utility of current NWS TC products to support their decisions. We then synthesized findings to identify unmet information needs, areas for improvement, and recommendations for NOAA. The study design and analysis were informed by theory and research on risk communication, forecast and warning systems, human-centered design, evaluation and assessment, and other relevant topics, as described further in the linked documents. 

This data repository includes the broadcast meteorologist and emergency manager interview guides, interview analysis codebook, and survey instruments. These materials can be adapted for use with other weather information user groups and in the context of different hazards and geographic locations. These materials may be of interest to researchers, government employees and officials, policy makers, and others who are interested in understanding decision timelines and employing a user-centered, evaluative approach to capture critical information needs and areas for improvement.