Precision Weather Warnings

Putting the National Weather Services improvements in warning

specificity to work

•WeatherCall•WeatherCall Mobile•WeatherCall Enterprise

.

Educating the Public About

Storm-Based Warnings:

Lessons Learned From 2008 and 2009

How can we improve the system to work for Flash Flood Warnings?

Who we are.

• Meteorologists

• Emergency Managers

• Telecommunications Experts

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.

• 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.

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.

+Storm-based Warnings

Robust Emergency Phone Notification

=

WeatherCall

- Providence

Plano

- Chicago

St Louis

- Dallas

Redundant WeatherCall System Locations

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CSC mailreader

NOAA webreader

Web ApplicationFor User Portal

Alert Map ProcessingTo locate Users

Alert Job Processing

Dialer Management

Dialer Cluster

Database: User Records, Station Record, Weather Alerts

Primary Application Server

Current WeatherCall System Overview

CSC mailreader

NOAA webreader

Web ApplicationFor User Portal

Alert Map ProcessingTo locate Users

Alert Job Processing

Dialer Management

Database: User Records, Station Record, Weather Alerts

Duplicate Application Server

VOIP LD

Network

VOIP LD

Network

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.

Types of Warnings We Deliver

• Short-fused polygonal convective warnings which can kill you.

• TORNADO• SEVERE THUNDERSTORM• FLASH FLOOD

Community Notification Portal for Tropical Storm Areas

•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.

Original Program: WeatherCall@Home:

pol y gon: [pol-ee-gon]⋅ ⋅

–noun

a figure, esp. a closed plane figure, having three or more, usually straight, sides.

One of our EARLY lessons learned:

What’s WeatherCall’s definition of “polygon”?

It’s a word you never, EVER use when talking with the general public.

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.

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

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.

WeatherCall Mobile (Web-based)WeatherCall Mobile GPS

WeatherCall Mobile Lightning

New Mobile products WILL deliver flash flood warning phone call notifications.

• 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.

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.

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 720-289-1956bobg@weathercall.net 515-422-0456

www.weathercall.netwww.weathercall.net/mobilewww.lightningcall.net