Information Overload! How To Get and Stay Informed During Severe Wx Season

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Howard Jordan
5 years ago
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1 Information Overload! How To Get and Stay Informed During Severe Wx Season

2 About Brandon Grew up in Macomb, IL Grew interested in spotting/ham radio Volunteer Fire Fighter/First Responder Moved to Oklahoma to attend OU in 2010 Worked McDonough County 911 during summer break Graduated in 2014 w/ B.S. in Meteorology from Oklahoma University Founded HazWX.com then sold to Accuweather.

3 About Chris Grew up in Velma, Oklahoma. Fascinated with storms, weather, and all of that from the very beginning. Graduated from OU in 2010 with a degree in broadcasting. Founded Tornado Titans in 2009.

4 Where We re Going Pre Event Know what to look at. Know how to spot a bad forecast vs. a good one. How to disseminate that info to those who follow you/those you protect. During the Event Sources of Info. What s trustworthy, what isn t? After the Event Disaster response how to manage communications.

6 Creating Forecasts vs. Interpreting Them You go to work to do your job NWS goes to work to do theirs. The NWS does a fantastic job at creating actionable, layman s forecasts. NWS constantly improving as public outreach within NWS grows. Don t go outside your realm and try to create your own forecasts.

7 A good forecast vs. a bad one. How congruent is the forecast with the median? 2015: Had a post go viral on social media freaking out masses about violent tornadoes in central Oklahoma on a day severe weather wasn't anticipated forecasts like these usually aren't valid and rarely end up accurate. Put it to the test: Are they the only one saying it? Is it very specific more than a couple of days out? If so probably not a good forecast.

8 What Does the NWS Produce That Will Help Me? Hazardous Weather Outlook. Includes threat types and timing, areas of concern, likelihood for spotter activation, comes through LEADS each AM. Area Forecast Discussion (Advanced!). Details advanced forecast thinking. May detail technical terms of forecast. Both short and long term. Not really intended for public use/interpretation but CAN be a good tool.

9 HWO vs. AFD

10 SPC Outlooks Issued up to 8 days out Highlight potential for Hail/Wind/Tornadoes Highlights potential for significant events Hail 2+, Winds 75mph+, Sig. Tornadoes Issued 5x a day, on day of event

11 Broadcast Media Provides timely (and oftentimes breaking to the minute) weather info. Their job is to create forecasts which are easily understood and are intended to be seen by hundreds of thousands. A good idea to watch a station throughout an event.

12 Before the Event There are literally thousands of sources of information for weather these days. The key is filtering your information so you only get information from reliable sources. Most severe weather events are well anticipated beforehand. No excuse for we had no warning most times. Your job: Find the best sources of information. Don t forget this: Respected people in respected positions get paid attention to. You are a media outlet whether you like it or not on social media.

13 A media outlet?! Your job will likely require you to broadcast to your team and (hopefully) be using social media and other forms of communication to get the word out to your local area. You will disseminate information internally: First responders, spotters, etc. You ll disseminate publicly: Spreading GOOD info is critical and helpful. Posting graphics from NWS or broadcast media only helps get the word out.

14 Don t be this guy People sometimes freak out about severe weather. You need to be useful in whatever info you disseminate before an event, don t overwhelm people with info though. Get to the point. Best practices: Never go outside of the language you are hearing and seeing to describe a threat.

15 What is a Good WX Source? Timely updates that accurately describe conditions (or as best as possible). From a reputable source. Is this coming from a 12 year old in their parents basement or a degreed meteorologist? Don t obsess over specifics days in advance Weather is hard.

16 The Best Severe Wx Sources National Weather Service Your local office is an invaluable source of info, use it! Both a heads up and an imminent warning source. Storm Prediction Center: MDs, Watches, Outlooks. Heads up something is coming Broadcast media: Can be best real-time minute by minute source. Most are reputable, pick a good one.

17 Don t Overwhelm Yourself Don t pack your information stream with too many sources. A good rule of thumb is to have your local NWS office, the SPC, and a broadcast media channel or two. Other sources can be good supplements people But vet those sources accordingly! Use Twitter, Facebook, and have web sites bookmarked!

18 During the Event Things can get chaotic. *Deep Breaths* Staying informed means staying 'hooked into weather sources. Twitter, Radar Apps, Broadcast Media are best real-time sources. Avoid Facebook: Algorithm makes real-time info digestion difficult.

19 App Suggestion: RadarScope Free! Pro subscription offered ($10/yr) High resolution radar Velocity, cc, other products GPS position Drawing tools Sharing Warnings Lightning

20 Other Things To Think About If you are mobile, are you being useful as a spotter? EMs: Who is taking reports? How are you relaying info to the NWS? NWS Chat is a critical tool. Helps you stay informed and to report important info. Social Media valuable if used correctly.

21 911 Tips Include weather threats in shift briefings and shift change notes Knowing the threats for the day can help filter out questionable information If straight line winds are the main threats, then reports of tornadoes can raise flags If small hail is a threat, baseball size hail can raise flags Be careful trying to dissect this information yourself, but combine with the source (public vs trained spotter), can help filter reports Prepare for high call volume People will call if they lose power or cable or if their outhouse blows away If there is a tornado, or area of damage, especially near city, will get multiple repeat calls Fireworks Vs Shots fired = Scary looking cloud vs Tornado

22 911 Tips (ctd) Be prepared to set call and agency response priority Gas leaks Lines down Severe bodily harm Fatalities Flooding Water Rescues Calls from national media Shift supervisors may approve additional officers 911 supervisors can bring in additional telecommunicators

23 You as a WX Source (Scary But True) During an event, timely but accurate updates are important if you are broadcasting on social media. Again accuracy is important. Have to filter what spotters are seeing and be accurate with a report publicly. News rooms oftentimes want double confirmation of sources. You should act similarly with untrusted sources. Use visuals to illustrate threats also RTs and Shares are your friends for quick info dissemination.

24 Filtering Out Information Twitter Lists There is no greater way to ensure you have a timely and accurate view of an event from social sources than to take your favorite sources and put them in chronological order.

26 Tweetdeck Desktop app for viewing Twitter streams. Allows you to view multiple lists across from each other in chronological order. Create lists then add them as columns.

27 My War Room

28 After the Event Post-storm events are chaotic by their very nature. Know what scene you are approaching. The basics: Watch out for downed lines Watch out for sharp objects, nails, etc Listen for cries for help Prepare for what you may see Bodies Severe injuries Don t lose situational awareness Watch out for. Knife wielding people??

29 Gathering Info After the Event People not in their right minds, may say or do things contrary to what a rational person might normally do. Houses leveled may actually mean some shingles removed people are on edge and saying some crazy things after a weather disaster. Phone networks may be down, information in disaster areas may be quite limited for awhile. Best sources post event: Police, Fire, Scanner traffic, broadcast media.

30 Disseminating Info After the Event Be accurate! Above all things this is most important. You may become a news source, so be careful what you say and how you say it. DON T add to confusion, its already rampant. If you don t belong in the aftermath (aka you have no training to handle injured people in a disaster situation) its probably time to leave.

31 The Big Takeaways Whatever you do, don t be a source of confusion. Filtering information in places like Twitter will help you stay focused on reliable and accurate sources of weather info. As a media outlet on social media, treat any messages you disseminate with similar care.

Charles Kuster Leadville, CO. Personal Overview

Charles Kuster Leadville, CO. Personal Overview Charles Kuster Leadville, CO Personal Overview Personal Overview Charles Kuster Leadville, CO OU to study meteorology Charles Kuster Leadville, CO Personal Overview OU to study meteorology Graduated in