When Seconds Count, StormReady Communities Are Prepared
To help Americans guard against the ravages of severe weather, NOAA's National Weather Service has designed StormReady, a program aimed at preparing cities, counties and towns across the nation with the communication and safety tools necessary to save lives and property.
The City of Providence is one of three communities in Rhode Island that is certified StormReady. Providence was recertified in July 2010.
About StormReady
The top goal of StormReady is to prepare communities with an action plan that responds to the threat of all types of severe weather--from tornadoes to tsunamis. A voluntary program created in 1998 by the National Weather Service's Tulsa, OK forecast office, StormReady provides clear-cut advice to city leaders and emergency managers and media that would improve their local hazardous weather operations.
Once a community meets preparedness criteria, outlined by a partnership between the National Weather Service, and state and local emergency managers, it will be pronounced "StormReady." However, before that happens, communities must:
- Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center;
- Have more than one method of receiving severe weather forecasts and warnings and alerting the public;
- Create a system that monitors local weather conditions;
- Promote the significance of public readiness through community seminars;
- Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding exercises.
StormReady Certification Process
An advisory board, comprised of National Weather Service warning coordination meteorologists, and state and local emergency managers, will review applications from municipalities and visit the locations to verify the steps made in the process to become StormReady. After the advisory board approves certification, the community will receive a formal letter, along with StormReady signs that can be displayed along its major roadways. StormReady communities must stay freshly prepared, because the designation is only valid for two years.
Learn more about being StormReady!
For more information about the StormReady program, please visit the StormReady Website.