Enhanced Impact-Based Decision Support Services at WFO
Corpus Christi: Hurricane Harvey and Beyond (65)
Todd Beal, National
Weather Service, Corpus Christi, TX
Thomas Johnstone, National
Weather Service
John Metz, National
Weather Service
Michael Buchanan, National
Weather Service
Penny Zabel, National
Weather Service
Abstract:
On the evening of August 25,
2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall along the Middle Texas Coast. This was the
first major hurricane to strike the region in nearly a half century. The cities
of Rockport and Fulton were the hardest hit areas where wind gusts between 140
and 150 miles per hour occurred. Traditional means of communication began to
fail as the destructive hurricane winds moved onshore. Despite these
challenges, critical, life-saving information was relayed to local emergency
management officials before, during, and after eyewall passage through text
messaging. As a result, emergency officials were able to coordinate multiple
rescues inside Harvey's eye.
In the months following
Hurricane Harvey, it was discovered that many of our core partners preferred
text message notification for weather information. Due to this revelation, NWS
Corpus Christi has evolved its decision support services to include text messaging.
A smartphone now resides in the operations area, and forecasters will engage
core partners via text messaging when necessary. Furthermore, in an effort to
enhance IDSS, NWS Corpus Christi has locally developed a notification system
that can deliver user-defined weather information directly to an emergency
manager's smartphone.
This presentation will
highlight the success stories of Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent shift in
traditional IDSS, including testimonials from local emergency management
officials. In addition, examples of the newly developed notification system
will be presented.