Weather-Ready Nation Christopher Strager U.S. National Weather Service June 10-14, 2013 www.noaa.gov/wrn U.S. National Weather Service VISION National Weather Service MISSION.
Download ReportTranscript Weather-Ready Nation Christopher Strager U.S. National Weather Service June 10-14, 2013 www.noaa.gov/wrn U.S. National Weather Service VISION National Weather Service MISSION.
Weather-Ready Nation Christopher Strager U.S. National Weather Service June 10-14, 2013 www.noaa.gov/wrn U.S. National Weather Service VISION National Weather Service MISSION 2 NWS Operations Community Based Services National Weather Service 3 U.S. Disaster-related Authorities Robert T Stafford Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (1988) constitutes the statutory authority for most federal disaster response activities. 2011 Presidential Policy Directive 8: National Preparedness is aimed at strengthening the security and resilience of the U.S. through preparation against security attacks of all kinds. National Disaster Recovery Framework enables effective recovery support to states, tribes, territorial, and local jurisdictions. Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 builds upon the Stafford Act and provides the legal basis for state, local, and tribal governments to undertake a riskbased strategies for mitigating disaster impacts. The U.S. National Science and Technology Council’s interagency Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction (SDR) serves as the national platform for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. National Weather Service 4 U.S. Disaster-related Approach NOAA and the National Weather Service work with other Federal Agencies in an “All Hands on Deck” approach to disaster response and resilience o Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency o Department of Interior/U.S. Geological Survey o Department of Agriculture/U.S. Forestry Service o U.S. Army Corp of Engineers o Department of State/United States Agency for International Development---international collaboration programs National Weather Service 5 “Average” Year and Trends in the U.S. 650 Deaths $15B in Losses 26,000 Severe Thunderstorms 6 Atlantic Hurricanes 1,300 Tornadoes 5,000 Floods Regardless of the cause, the trend shows an increasing number of extreme weather events at increasing cost to the nation. National Weather Service 6 Climate Extremes on the Rise CEI Component (type of extreme) U.S. Climate Extremes Index (CEI), 1910 - 2012 Max. Temperature (“afternoon highs”) Min. Temperature (“overnight lows”) Palmer Drought Severity Index 1-Day Precipitation Days with/without Precipitation Landfalling Tropical Cyclones National Weather Service 7 In the past few years… Scope of Disasters Reflects Our Societal Vulnerability National Weather Service 8 “Superstorm” Sandy National Weather Service 9 “Superstorm” Sandy Social and Economic Impacts • 72 US deaths, plus 75 outside the US • 17 US states affected; damage between $50-65 Billion • 8.5 million without power at the height of the storm • Over 18,000 commercial airline flights canceled • Evacuations from Maryland to Massachusetts (400 miles of coastline) • West Virginia paralyzed under 3 feet of snow LaGuardia airport – Courtesy of Jet Blue National Weather Service 10 What will 2013 be known for… It is time to reverse this trend downward National Weather Service 11 What is at Risk? What Can We Do? Life and Property Aviation Maritime Space Operations Forests Emergency Management Commerce Ports Energy Hydropower Reservoir Control Infrastructure Construction Agriculture Recreation Ecosystems Health Environment National Weather Service 12 Weather-Ready Nation Decreasing Vulnerability by Increasing Resilience Becoming a WeatherReady Nation is about building community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather. NOAA is developing new decision support services, improving technology to track and forecast storms, and expanding its dissemination efforts to achieve farreaching national preparedness for weather events. National Weather Service 13 Weather-Ready Nation NWS Changes New and rapidly evolving needs from society call for the National Weather Service to shift from the way we forecast and warn today to an impact-based decision support services approach. This new focus has four elements: Better understanding of societal impacts Making our information more relevant to decision makers Participating directly in decision making for those decisions fundamental to the role of government, especially the protection of life and property Counting on market forces to provide diverse decision-support services across the entire economy National Weather Service 14 How Do We Get to the Future? Build a Roadmap to a WeatherReady Nation Society is Prepared for and Responds to Weather-Dependent Events National Weather Service 15 Building a Weather-Ready Nation Emphasis on Decision Support Services Provide superior decision support and foundational information services NWS will use our unique, local relationships with Core Partners to help them to better prepare our communities for extraordinary events Invest in Science and Technology Use state-of-the-art technology and cutting-edge science to provide the best service possible Empower our workforce Workforce is trained and equipped to meet America’s evolving needs Emergency Response Specialists (ERS) are accessible on-site and through remote technologies National Weather Service 16 Building a Weather-Ready Nation Warnings and Forecasts From the Sun to the Sea Delivering life-saving weather forecasts and warnings Improved Hurricane forecasts Impact-based tornado warnings National Weather Service 17 Building a Weather-Ready Nation Warnings and Forecasts From the Sun to the Sea 2011 Japan Tsunami: California Impacts Winter Storm Forecasts -Lead time of 2-3 days Wildfire Support On-site Meteorologists Drought and flood forecasting National Weather Service Improved space weather forecasting 18 Building a Weather-Ready Nation Innovative Science and Technology Solutions Model Ensembles Tsunami Detection Phased Array Radar Next-Generation Polar Satellites National Weather Service 19 Building a Weather-Ready Nation Social Media Facebook Twitter Youtube National Weather Service 20 Building a Weather-Ready Nation We need your help NWS will continue to improve the science and the technical capabilities. We need your help in transforming society to become ready, responsive and resilient to increasing extreme weather threats. A Weather-Ready Nation requires our entire society to improve the way it incorporates weather information into decision making. ▪ SOCIETAL RESPONSE EQUAL TO RISK ▪ National Weather Service 21 Building a Weather-Ready Nation It’s All About Partnerships Government Emergency Management National Weather Service Academia Private Sector Broadcast Media Social Science 22 Building a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassadors Resilience as high priority Preparedness Responsiveness Mitigation Innovative partnerships Reinvigorate existing relationships Create new relationships Expand beyond Weather Enterprise Consistent messaging More effective communication with public Rising above the “noise” of daily life National Weather Service 23 Weather-Ready Nation Initiative Doesn’t Stop at Border…International Engagement Same challenges exist in other countries Global vulnerability increasing Quantifying societal relevance Communicating the science We can learn from one another Open dialogue Sharing best practices Strength in numbers National Weather Service 24 Questions and Discussion [email protected] www.weather.gov www.noaa.gov/wrn National Weather Service 25