Applications of IDSS event statistics in Central Region (67)

Lewis Kanofsky, WFO St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Andy Foster, WFO Springfield

Brian Barjenbruch, WFO Omaha

 

Abstract:

For the last few years, the National Weather Service's (NWS) Central Region (CR) has been using a standardized suite of tools to provide impact-based decision support services (IDSS) to emergency managers and other public safety officials. This suite of tools includes a dedicated Google Calendar at each Weather Forecast Office (WFO), a standardized method for adding events to the calendars via a Google Form, and a separate process which allows calendar events to be downloaded and then displayed in the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) where radar and satellite imagery can be overlaid on the IDSS event locations. As part of this process, we can compile statistics to explore the temporal and spatial distributions of scheduled IDSS events for the 38 WFOs in Central Region. These trends can help identify underserved areas to target with additional outreach, understand when additional WFO staffing might be required, and identify events with local importance based on event characteristics. This presentation will explore aggregated statistics from approximately 2 years' worth of IDSS calendar events from 38 WFOs. Interesting results from selected WFOs will also be highlighted.