1. E M S A E M S A A Prototype Method for Maintaining Weather-Related Situational Awareness within Emergency Operations Centers Peter F. Blottman, Scott M. Spratt, and David W. Sharp NOAA / National Weather Service Melbourne, FL NWA Conference, 2015 - Oklahoma City, OK

2. What is it? What is it’s purpose? Emergency Management Situational Awareness (for weather) Emergency Management (EM) officials have the responsibility to protect their citizenry during any number of (potential) emergency situations… - many of which are directly weather-related, - and others where weather may influence the necessary response. - A tool which enables WFO MLB to directly interface with situational awareness (SA) posturing within emergency operations centers (EOCs). E M S A

3. Severe storms, tornadoes, floods, winter storms, hurricanes etc. Wildfires and prescribed burns – fire spread, smoke plume evolution Toxic plume releases – accidents, terrorism During (potential) emergencies, EMs have the challenge of staying informed of evolving threats and threat trends, but also keeping their entire staff aware of the changing situation. Dynamic SA displays can efficiently help maintain awareness without detracting from the responsibilities of EOC staff. E M S A Daily activities Emergency activities Exercises EMSA offers a series of graphics for continuous display; the graphics are easily updated by WFOs to enhance weather-related SA monitoring at EOCs.

4. EMSA Display (10/02/15) -Webpage configured with multiple display components -Hurricane Joaquin offshore; beach/coastal hazards for Florida = Example = (Loop)

5. (Single Frame) EMSA Display (04/20/15) -SPC and WFO spotlights threat situation for the area -Slight Risk of severe storms for ECFL; warnings later issued for Seminole

6. = Example = (Single Frame) EMSA Display (04/20/15) -Updated; a few hours later -Severe storm warnings continue

7. WFO interface used to configure EMSA display within EOC - national center graphics - local WFO graphics - observation graphics TCL/TK application with Perl background scripts that assembles a web page with embedded Javascript loop. Impact Weather Update: short-term graphicast or blog image; local WFO EMSA AWIPS/GUI

8. Graphical Hazardous Weather Outlook; significant threats of the day WFO interface used to configure EMSA display within EOC - national center graphics - local WFO graphics - observation graphics TCL/TK application with Perl background scripts that assembles a web page with embedded Javascript loop.

9. EMSA AWIPS/GUI National Center products; WPC, SPC, NHC WFO interface used to configure EMSA display within EOC - national center graphics - local WFO graphics - observation graphics TCL/TK application with Perl background scripts that assembles a web page with embedded Javascript loop.

10. EMSA AWIPS/GUI Observation graphics; radar, satellite, local analysis (ADAS), hydrographs WFO interface used to configure EMSA display within EOC - national center graphics - local WFO graphics - observation graphics TCL/TK application with Perl background scripts that assembles a web page with embedded Javascript loop.

11. EMSA AWIPS/GUI Control the delay between images, Save selections to be built into web page WFO interface used to configure EMSA display within EOC - national center graphics - local WFO graphics - observation graphics TCL/TK application with Perl background scripts that assembles a web page with embedded Javascript loop.

12. EMSA Background Scripts Reformats graphics to focus attention over local area. -Linux Convert utility; crops graphics, re-orients legend location, also optimizes map perspective and sharpness

13. EMSA Background Scripts Reformats graphics to focus attention over local area. -Linux Convert utility; crops graphics, re-orients legend location, also optimizes map perspective and sharpness

14. = EMSA Background Scripts EMSA Background Scripts (continued) Animated GIF for use within graphics loops

15. Code retrieves Watch/Warning/Advisory information from alerts.weather.gov EMSA Background Scripts EMSA Background Scripts (continued)

16. Twitter Feed Raw HTML from Twitter feed: Reformat

17. Feedback from Emergency Management…. “The NWS EMSA prototype is the first thing I check each morning. I like that it gives me a graphical picture of what is happening. As an emergency manager, I find the impact weather update graphic very useful.” - Etta LoPresti, Indian River County EM Coordinator “We keep EMSA up all day, every day on our EOC console. It's a useful tool to quickly assess current and future weather forecasts.” - Kimberly Prosser, Brevard County EM Director

18. EMSA allows WFO forecasters to leverage local expertise regarding weather threats while enabling EM personnel to better maintain corresponding SA within the EOC. Each member of the WFO-EM partnership can better focus on what they do best. Allows the duty forecaster to routinely engage in DSS activities, and raises weather-related SA within the WFO. Updates to EMSA displays are non-intrusive to EOC staff. The GUI is easy to use and contained within the AWIPS 2 environment. Forecasters can apply updates as situations evolve. Versions can be tailored for counties/zones as a group or individually. Information displayed through EMSA is automatically kept current. … ready … responsive … resilient … Summary

19. Information types include: National Center, WFO, and Observational information WWA information; color-coded Social Media; Twitter Parallel display within the WFO gives forecasters a way to ensure that the “weather message” is consistent and clear. Provides additional SA monitoring, as well as an indicator of possible dissemination issues. Summary … ready … responsive … resilient … (continued)

20. Questions? Peter.Blottman@noaa.gov