1 / 21

Precision Weather Warnings

Educating the Public About Storm-Based Warnings: Lessons Learned From 2008 and 2009. Precision Weather Warnings. WeatherCall WeatherCall Mobile WeatherCall Enterprise. Putting the National Weather Services improvements in warning specificity to work.

marlee
Download Presentation

Precision Weather Warnings

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Educating the Public About Storm-Based Warnings:Lessons Learned From 2008 and 2009 Precision Weather Warnings • WeatherCall • WeatherCall Mobile • WeatherCall Enterprise Putting the National Weather Services improvements in warning specificity to work How can we improve the system to work for Flash Flood Warnings? .

  2. Who we are. • Meteorologists • Emergency Managers • Telecommunications Experts

  3. For decades, a gap in the warning dissemination process has existed, often with very tragic consequences. That gap is the actual delivery of critical, potentially life-saving information into homes and businesses, 24 hours a day.

  4. A well-researched statistic reveals that approx. 89% of the public get their information regarding severe weather warnings by watching local media. • Attempts to convince the public to purchase an all-hazards radio continues to be very challenging regardless of where you live.

  5. Storm-Based Warnings created an opportunity to develop a more accurate, and user friendly convective weather warning delivery method. We’ve “dummied-down” of the final delivery method to something as common and familiar as a phone whether traditional or cellular.

  6. WeatherCall + Storm-based Warnings Robust Emergency Phone Notification =

  7. Redundant WeatherCall System Locations - Providence - Chicago St Louis - Plano - Dallas

  8. Current WeatherCall System Overview Primary Application Server VOIP LD Network Alert Map Processing To locate Users NOAA web reader Web Application For User Portal Alert Job Processing CSC mail reader Dialer Management Database: User Records, Station Record, Weather Alerts Dialer Cluster Database: User Records, Station Record, Weather Alerts Alert Map Processing To locate Users NOAA web reader Web Application For User Portal VOIP LD Network Alert Job Processing CSC mail reader Dialer Management Duplicate Application Server

  9. We built a better mouse trap. Now how does the public find out about it? Partner with local media and let them educate the public.

  10. Types of Warnings We Deliver • Short-fused polygonal convective warnings which can kill you. • TORNADO • SEVERE THUNDERSTORM • FLASH FLOOD

  11. Community Notification Portal for Tropical Storm Areas

  12. Original Program: WeatherCall@Home: • In 2 1/2 years, WeatherCall’s increased from 2 small TV markets to 71 markets hosting the service. • Personal subscriber base has grown to approximately 200,000 + and increases daily thanks to the local hosting TV stations. • Email and SMS text delivery of the warning is also part of the service. • Over 5 million warning calls have been made. • 2009 – over 10,000 TORNADO WARNING calls were made between midnight and 6am.

  13. One of our EARLY lessons learned: pol⋅y⋅gon: [pol-ee-gon] –noun a figure, esp. a closed plane figure, having three or more, usually straight, sides.

  14. What’s WeatherCall’sdefinition of “polygon”? It’s a word you never, EVER use when talking with the general public.

  15. Another early lesson learned: • Originally started out making phone calls for all three convective warning types. • By the beginning of June, 2008 a decision was made to deliver FLASH FLOOD warnings ONLY via email and/or SMS text • WHY? Users were ROBUSTLY complaining about getting too many phone calls, especially during nighttime hours.

  16. Issues regarding FLASH FLOOD polygon warnings • They are almost always considerably larger than tornado or severe thunderstorm polygon warnings: TOR SVR FF • Nashville 957 1,065 2,302 • Denver 1,103 1,567 2,186

  17. Subscribers have no understanding of their flash flood vulnerabilities • Because flash flood warnings do not reflect any terrain influences, they are created to reflect precipitation coverage, NOT the impact of that heavy rainfall on the ground. • Users were unknowingly selecting the flash flood notification, even though their physical address might be on a mountaintop. • They would be called unnecessarily when they were not in danger, due to lack of knowledge of their flash vulnerabilities.

  18. WeatherCall Mobile (Web-based)WeatherCall MobileGPSWeatherCall Mobile Lightning New Mobile products WILL deliver flash flood warning phone call notifications.

  19. The very nature of the product implies the user has the opportunity to “travel” with the device. • If a user doesn’t know their home’s flash flood vulnerability, the chances of them knowing a temporary location’s risk is even less.

  20. We seek input from industry professionals on improving how flash flood warning delivery can be improved. • Use our client communications to try and better educate users. • Cross-reference addresses to FEMA flood potential tables. • Someday, have terrain and elevation incorporated in warning creation.

  21. www.weathercall.net www.weathercall.net/mobile www.lightningcall.net Conference participants are free to register for a complimentary trial of either WeatherCall@Home, WeatherCall both. Use the special coupon code: NFWtrial valerie@weathercall.net 720-289-1956 bobg@weathercall.net 515-422-0456

More Related