The Emergency "Weather" Manager

Emergency Managers and Meteorology  
As the Midwest was gripped with a significant severe storm situation yesterday, and with more significant severe weather forecast today, the issue of meteorological knowledge and the emergency manager comes to mind. Emergency managers must be a disaster Jack-of-All-Trades which means that they must be adroit at managing all risks and threats their jurisdiction can be confronted with. While many risks may be confronted from time to time, severe and extremes of weather are hazards which emergency managers must deal with on a regular basis. 

Meteorological Education and Training
How does the emergency manager collect, analyze, and understand meteorological information so as to implement an actionable course of action in advance of a severe weather event or during a sudden onset storm? To answer this the emergency manager should have formal training in the meteorological sciences. Training curricula designed to orient emergency managers to the basics of weather science, the nuances and characteristics of severe weather and extremes of weather, and best, proven practices in preparedness in advance of a significant weather event, actionable results-oriented response strategies, and effective and time-based recovery strategies can help emergency managers frame a significant weather program and moreover, have more than a rudimentary understanding of weather events as they are occurring. A number of training courses exist such as the FEMA Independent Study Course IS-271.A: Anticipating Hazardous Weather & Community Risk, 2nd Edition. This is a great start, however I would add to this formal classroom or webinar based training provided jointly by meteorologists who have a healthy understanding of the role, mandates, and stresses of the emergency management community and seasoned weather worn emergency management leaders. The National Weather Service (NWS) Warning Coordination Meteorologists (WCM) would be especially experienced and skilled at providing this training. Over the course of my career I have had the pleasure to work side-by-side with WCM's at five separate NWS forecast offices, each of which were highly skilled in coordinating with the emergency management community in a way that led to actionable approaches to weather events.

Meteorological Intelligence
Allow me to offer a number of approaches for emergency managers to consider in developing an actionable extreme weather program:

• Meteorological Intelligence Cell (MIC): Activated in advance of a significant weather event or immediately during a no-notice extreme weather event, the MIC will serve as technical analysis group which collects, analyzes, synthesizes, and produces user friendly weather and risk products for use by the emergency management community in planning and implementing an extreme weather response. Products developed would include extreme weather briefings and executive summaries, graphical products using GIS technology to predict the behavior of a storm or weather pattern, and then using the data to provide risk layers to develop GIS products which demonstrate population risk, critical infrastructure risk, potential power outages and associated risks such as vulnerable and special needs populations, and the graphical display of asset deployments such as human service/mass care teams, logistics packages, and utility trucks.  

• Staffing the MIC: A number of options exist with regard to staffing an MIC. For one, where funding permits, I am a proponent of emergency management agencies employing a meteorologist to serve as a senior advisor to the emergency management leadership team and to serve as the MIC leader. A strong relationship with the NWS WCM is necessary. The WCM, usually responsible for multiple counties and jurisdictions in a forecast area, can participate in the MIC virtually via webinar, video- or tele-conference. Another option resides in the university system. Teaming with universities with meteorologic and atmospheric science programs can be valuable in having meteorologists who might be researchers or educators, support an MIC as well as meteorologic and atmospheric science interns. I had a wonderful experience at one point with meteorological interns who worked the summer months, the peak of severe weather season. On a daily basis the interns ran a research project on public response to flood warnings, however during times of severe weather they staffed the EOC and provided technical advisement and products to the leadership team. Many agencies that emergency managers work with routinely also have meteorologists on staff. This may be transportation or environmental agencies, and others. These meteorologists should be leveraged and asked to be a part of the MIC on an as needed or rotational basis.

As with any other risk and hazard, emergency managers must make maximum use of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of people within and external to the emergency management organization to ensure that they have the maximum intelligence needed to develop effective course of actions for impending or occurring crises. Add in some formal training and the emergency manager becomes that more powerful as a crisis coordinator and leader.  

I look forward to your input and discussion on this and all blog topics.

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Steven Kuhr
Emergency Management Nexus
Disaster History
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