1
Impact Based Decision Support from a State Liaison Office
Perspective
Brian Montgomery & Ian Lee NWS Albany
WFO BGM Sub-Regional Workshop 2015
2
Objectives
Decision Support Services (DSS) as a state liaison officeLocal training initiatives Examples of state liaison activities Benefits of DSS
3
Transparent Communications
Decision Support Services (DSS)
4
Telephone
Social Media
OEM/EOC
NWSChat
DSS Communication Channels
BUF
BGM
BTV
OKX
ALY
5
NWS Albany DSS Training PlanIncident Command courses (ICS)
Intro to ICSICS for Single Resource and Initial Action IncidentsNIMS: an IntroductionNational Response Framework: an Introduction
New York State Emergency Operations Courses*EOC CourseDisaster-LAN for EOC Personnel
NOAA/NWS CoursesDispersion BasicsHYSPLIT Applications for Emergency Decision SupportBasic Briefing Training for Incident SupportCrisis Communication Module 1&2Media Training
Hurricane SupportHURREVAC SoftwareThin-Client
6
• For major events (partial or full activations)• Usually embedded in the Planning Section*
NYSOEM On Site Support
ICS 700
7
State Liaison DSS Briefings…
Created for a large range of users (e.g. utilities, DOH, DOT, police, Red Cross, Military)
Typically, heads of gov’t (e.g. Governor’s office) also present
Keep briefings brief – focus on the highlightsUsually provided during shift change or for significant weather changes (ex. track of a hurricane changes)
STAY ON MESSAGEIncorporate thinking from surrounding NWS offices (consolidate the message)*
8
What Should The Briefing Contain?Start with an OverviewFocus on the “3 W’s” of impacts
What are the impactsWhen will the impacts occurWhere will the impacts occur
Always important to incorporate confidence as wellUse probabilistic guidance when available!
Use regional-based graphicsGIS allows for greater customization and appealing graphicsEnhanced Digital Display (EDD)
9
Briefing Examples
10
Hurricane Sandy
11
More Recent DSS Activations
Prospect St. in Herkimer, NY, on June 28, 2013
Blizzard Warnings for Long IslandWinter Storm Warnings for Upstate NYJanuary 2014
Other deployments: November 2014 Buffalo Lake Effect Snow
and Flooding January 2015 Northeast Blizzard
12
State Liaison DSS Benefits
Consolidated and coordinated message allows for 1 forecast voiceOn-site deployments to state EOC allow for person to person interactions with various state agenciesPersonally interact with agency representatives and share information to other NWS officesCo-learning opportunities with state representatives through Statewide Learning Management System (SLMS)
13
Summary
DSS critical to fulfilling the WRN initiativeCommunication Transparency Co-learning Incident Command CoursesBuilding Core Partnerships
From the Governor's Office during Hurricane Sandy:“Brian, thank you for taking a complex science and breaking it down to simplistic standards”