Despite the high mortality rate from extreme heat and extensive research on its physiological impacts, a notable gap exists in understanding how heat and its associated risks and recommended protective actions are communicated–especially among pregnant people. This research addresses that gap by exploring how English- and Spanish-speaking pregnant people access and use extreme heat information.…

This research study aims to improve National Weather Service (NWS) heat communication. Through a mixed-methods approach, researchers will generate a national baseline assessment of how people access NWS heat information, and determine the extent of the public’s knowledge and understanding of heat risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities.

This research project aims to estimate the socio-economic benefits from augmented aircraft hurricane observations (AO) and advance methodologies for cost-benefit assessments. A statistical analysis linking the occurrence of different AO types to hurricane forecast performance will be evaluated. The information gathered from this research project will be useful for additional forecasting observation systems and new…

National Weather Service (NWS) Meteorologists use data from the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) to create severe weather forecast graphics and information customized to their local area. However, these forecasts often lack the temporal specificity needed by local decision-makers. This research project aims to improve SPC’s new graphical product, called Severe Timing Guidance, using feedback collected…

Brief Vulnerability Overview Tool (BVOT) is crucial for tailored weather messaging and emergency preparedness. It can provide meteorologists and emergency managers consistent spatial-situational awareness of critical social vulnerabilities. This research project involves refining their established methodologies for collecting operationally-actionable vulnerability information. Ultimately, the goal is to train forecasters how to set up BVOTs independently.

Flood inundation maps (FIM) are a common visual way to communicate flood risk, but there is little research on such products. This mixed-methods research project will use focus groups and surveys to explore how FIM products support flooding decision-making among professional users and the general public to improve FIM product delivery and design.

The goal of this project is to document the challenges and nuances that broadcasters who serve Spanish-speaking populations face in generating translated risk information and naming conventions for compound, multi-hazard tropical events. Qualitative findings from broadcast meteorologists will enable NWS partners in Spanish-speaking and bilingual broadcast meteorology markets to better convey multi-hazard risks to Spanish-speaking…

The Southeast US (SEUS) is uniquely impacted by nocturnal tornadoes and flash floods; these events are difficult to forecast and warnings are often under-received due to the timing. This interdisciplinary project assesses spatiotemporal patterns and social/behavioral risk factors for SEUS nocturnal tornadoes and flash floods, especially among socially vulnerable populations. The aim is to improve…

Breakdowns in early weather warning communications can prevent people–especially underrepresented populations such as migrants and refugees–from taking protective action behavior. This mixed-methods project aims to develop a replicable methodology to effectively map and analyze the information ecosystems of underserved populations in the U.S. during extreme weather, with an emphasis on migrant and refugee populations.

This two-year project builds on previous NOAA-funded research to improve the development, testing, and evaluation of different methods that can be used to collect local vulnerability data from forecasters, emergency managers, and other National Weather Service (NWS) core partners. These local data on vulnerable people, places, and things can then be used to populate a…

This two-part, mixed-methods research project seeks to discover how emergency managers’ (EMs) differing individual and job characteristics influence how effectively they use the National Weather Service’s (NWS) forecasts and Impact-Based Decision Support (IDSS). Primary project outputs include identifying particular EM characteristics that should be considered to help construct more effective IDSS, and a method whereby…

This project aims to create a scientifically rigorous and operationally feasible (i.e., could be deployed by National Weather Service Weather Forecast Offices) survey system for collecting data on the publics’ perception and response to four different hazards: tornadoes, severe thunderstorms (i.e., those with winds over 70 miles per hour), flash floods, and winter weather. The…

This research project aims to compare the protective action tendencies of people living in areas of the US that commonly experience severe convective weather to those living in regions less prone to it. By interviewing survivors of tornadoes and high-end thunderstorms across various US regions, the researchers hope to better understand the common and differing…

This project seeks to identify, develop, and test new metrics that will measure the effectiveness of Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS) with National Weather Service (NWS) core partners by creating a yearly survey called the Extreme Weather and Emergency Management Survey (WxEm Survey). The survey will collect data on how emergency managers use NOAA/NWS data,…

Every community of stakeholders has its “go/no go” action thresholds, and identifying these risk thresholds and incorporating them into forecast visualizations is critical for maximizing the utility of probabilistic hazard information (PHI) for Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS). Therefore, this research project aims to survey various National Weather Service (NWS) Western Region core partners and…

This project focuses on the challenges of communicating warnings for compound tornado and flash flooding (TORFF) hazards that occur during landfalling tropical cyclones (LTC), which have been even more complicated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the project aims to understand how weather experts conceptualize, plan for, and communicate TORFFs during LTCs. The project will use…

This interdisciplinary research project aims to support ongoing efforts to measure the operational performance and delivery of Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS) at the National Weather Service (NWS). The project will assess how (1) different NWS personnel (e.g., Meteorologists and Hydrologists in Charge, Warning Coordination Meteorologists, and Service Coordination Hydrologists) define IDSS, (2) IDSS is…

This project features a multi-departmental collaboration with The University of Miami (UM), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), NOAA National Weather Service, and NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. This two-year, mixed-methods, multi-sample project seeks to develop a translatable process for NOAA to harness public feedback, rethink and redesign weather risk graphics for different types…

This project will develop a virtual reality simulation, alongside education and training materials, that will help coastal residents and decision makers make better informed decisions. This simulation will also help these individuals take steps to protect lives and livelihoods in vulnerable coastal communities by heightening risk perceptions and increasing an understanding of the ways in…