Na onal Weather Service Decision Support Services
Na onal Weather Service Des Moines, Iowa Na onal Weather Service
"The Na onal Weather Service (NWS) provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas, for the protec on of life and property…" Na onal Weather Service Structure
La Crosse Sioux Falls
Des Moines
Omaha Quad Ci es Disasters Affect Iowa Severe Weather Reports 1980-2006 Data Source: www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/online/rda/DMX.html
Blue dots = damaging wind Blue Dots = Wind gusts of 75 mph or stronger Green dots = large hail Green dots = Hail of 2" diameter or larger Red dots/lines = tornadoes Red dots/lines = Tornadoes F2 or stronger Disasters Affect Iowa Presidential Declarations, 1964-2011
Total Number of Declara ons % Due to Flooding (Par ally or Totally)
Data Source: h p://gis.fema.gov/DataFeeds.html NWS Decision Support Services (DSS) Overview NWS provides specific/tailored support to Emergency Managers (EMs)/Core Partners within the scope of our Mission
• NWS DSS Goals • Communica on is key! • Use concise, non-technical terms • Use the decision maker's preferred method • Understand a customer's specific needs • Know role in Incident Command System • NWS Staff has had some NIMS Training • Understand the incident's "big picture" NWS Des Moines DSS Overview
• State Level DSS • Staff the State Emergency Opera ons Center (SEOC) • 10 Full Ac va ons since 1993 • Latest: May 2013 flooding • Provide Virtual Support from the WFO for Virtual SEOC Ac va ons • State Agency Briefings • Statewide Webinars NWS Des Moines DSS Overview
• County and Local DSS • NWS Products and Services • Webinars • Web Briefings • Virtual & On-Site Support • Special Events and Post-Event • e.g., Damage Surveys, Parkersburg Incident Met., etc. • Training • Series of monthly EM/responder webinars • Dispatcher and Spo er Training • EM DSS Workshop • Outreach – County Visit Program • 1:1 training on all NWS Services for EMs and Media (Visits every 2-3 yrs) Rou ne Products Available at www.weather.gov/dmx
• 7-day Forecast • Text • Graphical • Forecast Discussion • Hourly Weather Graph • Observa ons • Hourly – Automated • 6-Hourly/24-Hourly – Manual • Daily/Monthly Climate Reports • Temperature • Winds/Gusts • Precipita on (Snow/Rain Amounts) Hydro Products Available at www.weather.gov/dmx
• River Forecasts • Text • Graphical • Long-Range Flood Risk • Weekly/3 month outlook Outlook Products Available at www.weather.gov/dmx
• Weather Story • Daily at 6am • Highlights the most significant weather story in the next few days
• Hazardous Weather Outlook • Daily at 5am • Two Periods • Today/Tonight • Days 2 through 7 • Highlights any hazardous weather expected in the next 7 days • Watch, Warning, Advisory • Thunderstorms Webinars and Web Briefings NWS Des Moines • Webinars (EM/State Partners) • Hours to days ahead of expected significant hazardous weather • Severe Weather or Winter Weather • Flash Flooding or Major River Flooding • Coordinated with the State Duty Officer • No fica on – State Duty Officer Email • Followed up with a web briefing • Web briefings possible without a webinar • Available on our web page • Accessible by EVERYONE NWS Winter Weather Services Timeline • Products for each Phase • Outlook (Be Aware) • 2-7 Days • Hazardous Weather Outlook • Watch (Could Occur) • Days to Hours • Winter Storm Watch • Ice Storm Watch • Blizzard Watch • Wind Chill Watch • Warning (Will Occur/Is Occurring) • Hours to Minutes • Winter Storm Warning • Ice Storm Warning • Blizzard Warning • Wind Chill Warning NWS Severe Weather/Flash Flood Services Timeline • Products for each Phase • Outlook (Be Aware) • Hazardous Weather Outlook Watch • Storm Predic on Center Hours to Minutes Convec ve Outlooks • Watch (Could Occur) • Severe Thunderstorm Watch Warning • Tornado Watch Minutes • Flash Flood Watch • Warning (Is Occurring) Outlook • Severe Thunderstorm Days to Hours Warning • Tornado Warning • Flash Flood Warning Storm Predic on Center Severe Weather Outlooks • Convec ve Outlooks • Day 1, 2 & 3 Outlooks • Slight • Moderate • High • Day 4-8 Outlook • Enhanced Thunderstorm Outlook • Current day broken into 4-hr me periods • Morning • Late Morning/Early www.spc.noaa.gov A ernoon • Late A ernoon/Early Evening Storm-Based Warnings Threat-Based Polygon Warnings
• Implemented in 2008 • Replaced County-Based Warnings • Severe Thunderstorm, Tornado & Flash Flood Warnings • More specific • Increased clarity • Less area included in a warning • Fewer people warned/False-Alarmed • 61% reduc on – Severe • 80% reduc on – Tornado Impact Based Warnings New in 2013 Tornado Tag in Severe Thunderstorm Warnings A severe thunderstorm has some potential for producing a tornado although forecaster TORNADO…POSSIBLE confidence is not high enough to issue a Tornado Warning Hail/Wind Tags in Severe Thunderstorm Warnings HAIL…2.75IN Max of 2.75" or baseball hail expected WIND…70MPH Max of 70 mph winds expected Tornado Tag (Tornado Warnings) TORNADO...RADAR Evidence on radar and environment is INDICATED supportive, but no confirmation. TORNADO...OBSERVED Tornado is confirmed by spotters, law enforcement, etc. Tornado Damage Threat Tag (Tornado Warnings) No Tag Used most of the me, when tornado damage possible within the warning polygon. Tornado dura on generally expected to be short-lived TORNADO DAMAGE Used rarely, when there is credible evidence THREAT...CONSIDERABLE that a tornado, capable of producing considerable damage, is imminent or ongoing. Tornado duration generally expected to be long-lived TORNADO DAMAGE Use exceedingly rarely, when a severe threat THREAT...CATASTROPHIC to human life and catastrophic damage from a tornado is occurring, and will only be used when reliable sources confirm a violent tornado.. Tornado duration generally expected to be long-lived Tornado/Flash Flood Emergencies
• Tornado Emergency • A destruc ve confirmed tornado which will likely move into a populated area resul ng in serious property damage and a high poten al for loss of life! • Used with the "Catastrophic" Tornado tag. • Flash Flood Emergency • A serious flash flood which will likely cause severe damage and a high poten al for loss of life! Interac ve NWS (iNWS) Alerts inws.wrh.noaa.gov • Free, but account registra on required • Text Message and/or Email alerts • Alerts for a user-defined area • e.g., city, zip code, or custom polygon area • Mul ple loca ons allowed • Specify the types of alerts to receive • Service designed specifically for NWS partners
Severe Thunderstorm Watch from 08/06/2013 6:52 PM CDT to 08/07/2013 12:00 AM CDT for Dallas County. More Informa on. Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) or Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) Warning Type CMAS Message • Joint Effort by the wireless Tsunami Warning Tsunami danger on the coast. Go to high ground or move inland. Check local media. –NWS
industry, FCC and FEMA Tornado Warning Tornado Warning in this area til hh:mm tzT. Take shelter now. Check • Since April 2012 local media. –NWS Extreme Wind Warning Extreme Wind Warning this area til hh:mm tzT ddd. Take shelter. – NWS
• Na onal emergency alert Flash Flood Warning Flash Flood Warning this area til hh:mm tzT ddd. Check local media. – NWS
system Hurricane Warning Hurricane Warning this area til hh:mm tzT ddd. Check local media and authorities. –NWS
• No fee to users Typhoon Warning Typhoon Warning this area til hh:mm tzT ddd. Check local media and authorities. –NWS
• Automa c enrollment Dust Storm Warning Dust Storm Warning this area til hh:mm tzT ddd. Avoid travel. Check local media. –NWS • Concise Text-like Alert Messages • Presiden al Alerts • Imminent Threat Alerts • Extreme and Severe • AMBER Alerts • More info at: www.weather.gov/com/weatherreadyna on/wea.html DSS on the Go More information at: www.weather.gov/images/dmx/DSSResGuide.pdf
• NWS Mobile Website • h p://mobile.weather.gov/ • Third-Party Mobile Apps* • Some free/some not • *NOAA/NWS does not officially endorse these products • Radar • Android – PYKL3 and RadarScope • Apple – RadarScope • Warnings • Android - Pro Weather Alert • Apple - WeatherAlerts, iMap Weather Radio and MyWarn • Lightning – Spark Map on Weatherbug • Current Condi ons and Forecast – Be aware that some apps "interpolate" observa ons • Many available - Forecasts origina ng from various sources • Android/Apple - Weather Channel, Weatherbug, AccuWeather, Weather Underground, etc. Social Media
Facebook Twi er • US Na onal Weather • @NWSdesmoines Service Des Moines Iowa • #nwsdmx • #iawx • #iowaweather
YouTube NWS Des Moines
NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio
• Broadcasts weather informa on 24/7 • SAME TONE Alert Technology • Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) •Weather Watches, Warnings and Advisories • Severe, Winter, Flood and Flash Flood • Non-weather Emergency No ces • Civil Emergency Messages • Amber Alerts, etc. Unscheduled Event Services
• Air Dispersion/Hazardous Material Issues • HYSPLIT – air dispersion model • HYbrid Single-Par cle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory • Output for a single instance or for a period of me • Chemical Releases • Fires • Explosions • Example: Support for the Iowa State Fair • Fire Weather Forecasts • Spot Forecasts for Prescribed Burns and Wildfires • Spot Forecasts also used at mes for hazardous material issues • e.g., downtown DSM warehouse fire Unscheduled Event Services
• Weather & River Forecasts • Fires & Hazmat • Searches • Weather-Sensi ve Opera ons
Des Moines Register
Sioux City Journal
Des Moines Register Post-Event DSS
• Once storm damage has occurred • NWS coordina on with county • Finalize ini al damage es mates • No fy of damage survey ac vi es • Survey all suspected EF2 or stronger tornadoes • Results released to the media and placed on NWS website • Support during clean-up if needed • Majority - Remote DSS • Incident Meteorologist dispatched a er the Parkersburg tornado NWS RSS Feeds (Really Simple Syndication - RSS) • www.nws.noaa.gov/rss • Allows you to easily stay informed • Informa on can be sent to: • Email • Web Browser (Firefox, IE, Chrome, etc) • Cell/Smartphone • Feeds are available for: • Watches, Warnings and Advisories • Filtered by County or State • Severe Weather Outlooks • Hydro Data • Observed River Data – updated when new observa ons are received • River Forecasts – provided whenever a river forecast is issued • Alert Data – received when cri cal stages are observed or forecast • Data and Forecast Points • Automated Airport Observa ons DSS Web Resources National & Local
• Na onal NWS – www.weather.gov
• Local NWS DSS – www.weather.gov/?n=dsscurrent • Enhanced Version: Google Map with overlays • Standard Version (best for slower internet connec ons) • Broken into sub-pages based on topic: • Current Condi ons, Forecast, Severe Weather, Winter Weather, Hydro, Safety, etc.
• Na onal NWS DSS – h p://preview.weather.gov/edd/ • Similar to the local Enhanced Version DSS page DSS Web Resources Hydrology – Including Non-NWS
• Flooding DSS Resources (not all-inclusive) • NWS Advanced Hydrologic Predic on Services (AHPS) - h p://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=dmx • U.S. Water Monitor - h p://watermonitor.gov/ • USGS WaterWatch - h p://waterwatch.usgs.gov/ • USGS WaterAlert - h p://water.usgs.gov/wateralert • USGS WaterNow - h p://water.usgs.gov/waternow/ Live Demonstra ons
• DSS Web Resources • NWS page (Na onal/Local) • NWS DSS pages (Na onal/Local) • Hydrology • AHPS – Flood inunda on mapping • USGS WaterAlert • USGS WaterNow Weather-Ready Na on (WRN) Ambassador
• Who can be a WRN Ambassador? • Any organiza on (govt or non-govt), business, non-profit, or academic ins tu on • What is a WRN Ambassador? • Intended for en es to help to build a na on that is ready, responsive and resilient to the impacts of extreme weather and water events • Key Factors: • Promote Weather-Ready Na on messages and themes (safety and preparedness) • Engage with NWS personnel on poten al collabora on opportuni es • Ex. Host a weather preparedness talk, par cipate in a test tornado drill, etc. • Share success stories of preparedness and resiliency • Serve as an example by educa ng employees on workplace preparedness
Weather-Ready Na on (WRN) www.weather.gov/com/weatherreadyna on/ WRN Ambassador www.weather.gov/com/weatherreadyna on/ambassadors.html#.U1nrpleTJ8E Thank You
For ques ons & addi onal informa on: NWS Des Moines, IA www.weather.gov/desmoines Email: [email protected] OR jeff[email protected] Phone: 515-270-4516