NOAA Weather Radio
Outreach and Education
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StormReady
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Homeland Security Tie in Helps Promotes Weather Radio
By Ted Buehner, WCM, WFO Seattle, WA
Ted.Buehner@noaa.gov
Washington state's Weather Radio Awareness Month, in partnership with Washington State Emergency Management, aims to make weather radios as common as smoke detectors in homes, businesses, schools, etc. The campaign slogan was "Weather Radio is your personal homeland security warning system." The campaign had a number of activities including:
- Governor's proclamation
- Ten NWR manufacturers and vendors offering comsumer incentives via the campaign web site articles in web sites and newsletters such as:
- Washington Association of Broadcasters newsletter
- American Red Cross chapter web sites
- City of Redmond's (home of Microsoft) Community Magazine
- Guest editorials in daily and weekly newspapers
- Media interviews and radio talk shows
- Public Service Announcements sent to broadcasters
- Booth at the Sept 18 DeafNation 2004
- Conducting EAS Required Monthly Test (RMT) throughout the state
- Tsunami Warning Communications Test
 NWS offices serving Washington state in Seattle, Spokane, Portland and Pendleton, Oregon also posted the state emergency management campaign host web site on their NWS web sites and aired a campaign announcement on their NWR stations.
In addition, Washington State Emergency Management provided campaign materials to schools, media and the emergency management community throughout the state.
To view the campaign web site, go to http://emd.wa.gov and click on Preparedness on the right side of the front page. You'll find the NOAA Weather Radio link there.
Photo caption: WFO Seattle WCM Ted Buehner is interviewed during KXRO Radio's "The Morning Show" talk show on Sept 20th.
StormReady Advisory Board Meeting Approves "Supporter" Category
By Steve Kuhl, National WCM Program Manager, Washington, D.C.
Stephan.Kuhl@noaa.gov
In August, the NWS National StormReady Advisory Board held its 4th annual meeting at Western Region Headquarters in Salt Lake City, UT. The Board discusses key program issues, ways to improve program policies, and reviews program accomplishments.
This year the Board discussed ways to increase program visibility and better serve our emergency management partners. The Board will be forming several teams to develop new StormReady/TsunamiReady marketing tools including some new additions to our National StormReady Web site.
 The Board also approved an October 1 implementation date for the new StormReady "Supporter" Recognition Program. Businesses, schools, and other non-governmental entities often establish severe weather safety plans and actively take part and promote severe weather safety awareness activities, but do not have the resources necessary to fulfill the eligibility requirements for StormReady/TsunamiReady status. With the new StormReady "Supporter" program, an entity that promotes the principles and guidelines of the Storm/TsunamiReady program, but does not meet the full eligibility requirements for StormReady
recognition may be eligible to become a StormReady “Supporter."
The National StormReady Advisory Board includes: National WCM Program Manager Steve Kuhl; National WCM Program Specialist Donna Franklin; Regional WCMs Joel Cline, Pacific Region; Aimee Devaris, Alaska Region; Jeff Lorens, Western Region; Walt Zaleski, Southern Region; Jim Keeney, Central Region; Rick Watling, Eastern Region; International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) representative Bob Goldhammer; and National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) representative Dave Liebersbach.
Emergency Managers interested in the Storm/TsunamiReady Program should contact their local NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologists for details. Contact information can be found by clicking on "Local Contacts" on the NWS StormReady Web site at: http://www.stormready.noaa.gov
Photo: NWS Director General Johnson (left) presents Dave Liebersbach, NEMA President, with a Certificate of Appreciation for his contributions to the StormReady and TsunamiReady Program.
Broken Arrow Exercise in Montana
By Rick Dittmann, WCM, NWS Great Falls, MT
Rick.Dittmann@noaa.gov
“Exercise...Exercise...this is just an exercise...” At 10:44 am MDT, Monday, September 13 th, The Great Falls, Montana Weather Forecast Office received a message from the Cascade County Sheriff’s dispatch center confirming a radiological release east of Great Falls. This message was the culmination of over one year’s worth of planning with scores of local, state and federal organizations.
The exercise, named Diligent Warrior ’04, involved a mock traffic accident along a busy state highway just outside Great Falls. In the scenario, the accident damages a nuclear asset leading to a concern of radiological release. Sheriff’s dispatch requests an EAS activation through WFO Great Falls informing local residents of the accident, the threat and what actions to take.
WFO Great Falls utilized the “in-house practice” mode of the Watch, Warning and Advisory (WWA) software to generate a test Civil Emergency Message (CEM). The in-house practice mode of WWA enables forecasters to test EAS features without sending an actual product out “to the world.” Instead, a work file is harmlessly created which can be called up, printed out and critiqued. A copy of the test CEM message generated for Diligent Warrior ’04 is shown below.
MTC013-131745-
TEST...BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED...TEST
TEST...CIVIL EMERGENCY MESSAGE...TEST
CASCADE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1051 AM MDT MON SEP 13 2004
...TEST CIVIL EMERGENCY MESSAGE IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON MDT THIS AFTERNOON...
TEST...THE FOLLOWING TEST MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF CASCADE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
TEST TEST TEST...THIS IS ONLY A TEST.
$$
Governor Spotlights Hazard Preparedness Importance
By Jim Kramper, WCM, St. Louis, MO
James.Kramper@noaa.gov
Springfield, MO, WCM Steve Runnels and I took part in ceremonies held at the Missouri State Capitol on September 9 in support of National Preparedness Month. The event was sponsored by the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, the
Missouri Department of Homeland Security, and the Citizen Corps Council of Missouri. Missouri Governor Bob Holden was the keynote speaker
and spoke about the importance of the public/private partnerships needed to make the state secure. The event was held outside on the Capitol
grounds and featured displays and demonstrations by various public and volunteer groups.
The Missouri Baptists Response Team provided everyone in
attendance with a free lunch to demonstrate their ability to feed a large group people at a disaster scene. Other agencies and
displays on hand included the FEMA tornado safe room, the Red Cross, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Response Team, the Community
Emergency Response Team of the Columbia Fire Department, the Salvation Army, the Cole County WMD Team, and the Missouri Department of Health and
Senior Services Mobile Response Team. Steve and I staffed a booth highlighting StormReady and NOAA Weather Radio.
Legislature Gives NOAA Weather Radio Grant
Dave Nicosia, WCM, WFO Binghamton
David.Nicosia@noaa.gov
Environmental Emergency Services, Inc. (EES) of Chemung and Steuben Counties, NY, is working hard to insure that all-hazard warnings are disseminated widely throughout their two county area. EES recently received a New York State Legislative Grant to purchase NOAA Weather Radios (NWRs), awarded by New York State Senator John Randy Kuhl. The grant provides funds to purchase of NWRs for at-risk locations, such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools, daycare facilities, group homes and senior centers. It is estimated that the grant will provide funding to purchase several hundred NWRs. This grant is a follow-up to a local partnership with WFO Binghamton enabling the installation of two new NWR transmitters in Steuben County.
Emergency Manager Finds NDFD Enhances School Safety
Dave Nicosia, WCM, WFO Binghamton
David.Nicosia@noaa.gov
Mike Sprague, Director of the Steuben County Office of Emergency Services, is using NDFD from the WFO Binghamton Website to provide detailed weather information to an important customer in his county: school administrators.
From NDFD, Mike has a customized Website providing hourly forecast information of heat index, wind chill, temperature, wind, thunderstorms, snow, ice and other hazards. These forecasts are specific to each school district in Steuben County, NY, using WFO Binghamton’s grid-point based forecasts. These hazards are important for school administrators who make decisions regarding safety. This is just one of several examples of how the grid-point based forecasts are benefiting customers and partners who need enhanced forecast information. Steuben County ’s School Weather page.
WFO Fairbanks Sponsors Nationwide Kids Radio Day
By John Dragomir, WCM, NWS Fairbanks, AK
John.Dragomir@noaa.gov
Senior Forecaster Tim Shy operated WFO Fairbanks amateur radio station KL7FWX from Alaska during the national Kid's Day event on Saturday, June
19. Tim contacted 14 stations in 8 states, all operated by kids ranging in age from 5 to 13.
The event showcases amateur radio to youngsters and encourages them to get on the air and enjoy a quick sample of the hobby.
Tim explained the role of weather spotters and amateur radio and how amateur radio helps Weather Service forecasters track severe weather. Many youngsters from the lower 48 had questions about Alaska and were surprised to learn that the state's weather can be quite warm in the summer.
A 9-year old girl in Georgia provided the highlight of the day. She was delighted and astonished to discover that the weather in Fairbanks and Atlanta were exactly the same during the conversation: 85 degrees and mostly sunny.
Each kid-operated station contacted was mailed a souvenir KL7FWX QSL card as a momento of the day. The kids could also download a certificate of taking part from the event web site. Kid's Day was sponsored by the national ham radio organization American Radio Relay League, and an affiliated amateur radio club in Oregon.
Minnesota Twin Torii Hunter Recognized for Lightning Safety Role
By Todd Heitkamp, WCM, NWS Sioux Falls, SD
Todd.Heitkamp@noaa.gov
 During pre-game ceremonies at a Minnesota Twins baseball game on July 11, I presented an NWS award to this year's Lightning Safety Awareness sports celebrity, Twins player Torii Hunter. Safety efforts have special meaning to Hunter, who had a close call with lightning when he was younger. The award was signed by Brig. Gen. D.L. Johnson, USAF (Ret.), NWS Director, who also is a Twins fan.
Torii mentioned how much he appreciated our line of work and how difficult it must be to forecast the weather. He compared it to trying to hit a 95-mile-per-hour fastball.
During the presentation, the public address announcer read a script which mentioned the partnership between the NWS and the Minnesota Twins, lightning safety, and the NWS's gratitude to Hunter and the Twins in helping with this safety effort.
As part of this special day, the first 4,000 kids through the gates received a Torii Hunter Lightning Safety Poster. Heitkamp said Hunter also took time to sign the posters for kids before the game.
Before the ceremony Heitkamp also presented an NWS award to the Twins Front Office for their work on the poster. The Twins Community Relations Office helped Heitkamp get Hunter to participate in Lightning Awareness Week. The Twins have also invited Heitkamp to come back for the September 5th game with the Kansas City Royals to throw out the first pitch.
One Key to the Future of the NWS
By John Paul Martin, WCM, NWS Bismarck, ND
John.Paul.Martin@noaa.gov
This past June, I had the pleasure to promote NWS and educate children about weather and safety by teaching the Storm Chasers and Severe Weather Camp at Bismarck State College. This is the 4th year that I have taught the week long camp that meets for a total of 20 hours. The class has been full each year as 20 students, ages 9 to 13, show their intrigue with weather.
Each year the kids learn about general weather, forecasting, severe storms and safety. Recently I have added more props like a hand held anemometer, sling psychrometer and radiosonde. This year we took a stab at learning a few Doppler RADAR principles and made a cloud in a bottle. A tour of the NWS office in Bismarck brings varied topics together in a hands-on way while a visit with a local TV meteorologist highlights the week.
 Over my 14 year NWS career, I have noticed a positive trend, increased knowledge of children with respect to how to protect themselves from hazardous weather. Children are learning correct safety rules at a younger age. We have noticed more children attending SKYWARN sessions and an increased interest by youngsters in HAM radio. Based on my experience I would say that the average 10 year old child today has a better understanding of weather safety than the average 40 or 50 year old. It is important for these children to educate their parents and grandparents about weather safety.
In recent years field offices have been queried as to what the NWS can do to keep it vibrant and viable. Outside of our warning responsibility and the NDFD it is my view that outreach is one key. The NWS needs to keep in the forefront of education, promoting hazardous weather safety at every opportunity. Others will not conduct weather classes, SKYWARN, and safety sessions in a room at the local fire station or courthouse like the NWS does. It is an important part of our future and will be one of the keys.
Photo: WCM John Paul Martin watches as Annie, a student in his Storm Chasers and Severe Weather Camp, tries to reach severe thunderstorm wind criteria with a hand held anemometer.
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