Lunch & Learn Series:
Successful Campaigns in Lean Times
…a look at turning the U.S. into a “Weather-Ready Nation”
March 21, 2013
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Weather-Ready Nation
March 21, 2013
Joe Flood
National Weather Service

In 2011 Alone…
Fourteen $1 Billion Disasters
3

2012 Continued the Trend
Eleven $1 Billion Disasters
4 4

“Superstorm” Sandy
5 5

“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 Ocean City, MD to Dartmouth, MA
(400 miles of coastline)
6 LaGuardia airport – Courtesy of Jet Blue 6

In the past few years…
Scope of Disasters Reflects Our Societal Vulnerability
7

A Changing World
Increasing Vulnerability to High-Impact Weather
8
8

Building a Weather-Ready Nation
Becoming a Weather-
Ready Nation (WRN) is
about building
community resilience in
the face of increasing
vulnerability to extreme
weather.
The NWS is leading development of new decision support
services, improving technology to track and forecast
storms, and expanding its dissemination efforts to achieve
far-reaching national preparedness for weather events.
9

What does this mean?
The NWS is leading development of new decision support
services, improving technology to track and forecast
storms, and expanding its dissemination efforts to achieve
far-reaching national preparedness for weather events.
10

Explaining Science
• Use common terms
• Avoid acronyms
• Get out of the organizational bubble
• Relate to real-world situations
• Stress benefits, not features
11

“Decision Support Services”
You’re in charge of the July
4th celebrations on the
National Mall. A line of
thunderstorms is
approaching – do you
evacuate everyone?
Decision Support Services
provides real-time
information from on-site
meteorologists so that you
can evacuate crowds before
the storm.
12

“Improving technology to track and
forecast storms”
Dual-pol radar allows
forecasters to peer into
storms, allowing them to
distinguish between rain and
snow and better identify
tornadoes.
Currently being rolled-out
across the US.
13

“expanded dissemination efforts”
• Wireless Emergency
Alerts – text messages
sent directly to your
cellphone
• What do you need to do?
Nothing – sent
automatically.
• Not 100% available yet on
all phones
14

Features vs Benefits
Features or benefits? Which matters most?
FEATURE: Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are emergency
messages sent by authorized government alerting
authorities through your mobile carrier. Government
partners include local and state public safety agencies,
FEMA… Is this the story you want to tell?
BENEFIT: Get a text alert before a tornado hits your house.
Concentrate on BENEFITS!!
15

Case Study: National Severe Weather
Preparedness Week (NSWPW)
• March 3-9, 2013
• 2nd year
• Partnership with FEMA
• In addition to state
preparedness weeks
16

Main Message
Be a Force of Nature
You are not powerless in the
face of extreme weather. Know
your risk, take action and be an
example during National
Severe Weather Preparedness
Week.
17

Secondary Messages
1.Know Your Risk – learn about weather resources, the
difference between a watch and a warning, etc..
2.Take Action – have an emergency plan, prepare an
emergency kit, know what to do when disaster strikes
3.Be an Example – share your preparedness story through
social media
18

NSWPW Traditional Media
• Joint NOAA/FEMA press release
• Outreach to reporters
• Presidential Message
• Statements from senior leadership
19

NSWPW New Media
• Online toolkit: blog post, talking points, press release,
video
• WRN website updated daily
• A new story every day on NOAA.gov, linking to WRN site
• Social Media Plan: scheduled tweets and Facebook posts
for NOAA, NWS and partners
20

Internal Communications
• Webinar to 122 NWS
Field Offices briefing
them on the week
• Field offices have vibrant
Facebook pages
• Comm tools posted to
intranet
• Staff (and their networks)
are an untapped
resource
21

Partnerships
• NSWPW developed jointly with FEMA
• American Red Cross, AARP and The Weather Channel
also helped promote the week
22

NSWPW Results
• Impacted by sequester (leadership didn’t want to go on
camera) and then Snowquester
• Press coverage in local papers, municipalities, blogs and
on the Hill
• Facebook: 1,003 likes, 313,556 views, 1,895 shares, 66
comments
23

WRN Challenges
• Awareness of Weather-Ready Nation (25%) and Be a
Force of Nature (10%) is low among the public
• 1998-era web tools
• No $$ like most agencies
24

WRN Advantages
• Weather is relevant to everyone – ASI score of 84 for
NWS
• Broad community support – the weather impacts
everyone
• Allies in The Weather Enterprise
25

The Weather Enterprise
It’s about working together
Emergency Private Broadcast Social
Government Academia
Management Sector Media Science
26

Coming Soon
27

Low-Cost Tips
• Rewrite your content focused on benefits
• Communicate internally and give staff tools to get the
message out
• Use social media to get the word out about your
program
• Partner with outside organizations, even if it’s informally,
to publicize your message
28

Summary
• Weather-Ready Nation and Be a Force of Nature are
messages that resonate with the public – when they hear
of them
• Challenge is explaining science in terms that the public
can understand
• We can increase engagement by producing content
focused on benefits
• Challenges are money and technology
• We have allies in The Weather Enterprise
• We’re just getting started
29

Questions and Discussion
Joseph.W.Flood@noaa.gov
NOAA.gov/wrn