1. WAS*IS Government/Private Sector Weather Partnership Project Melissa Tuttle Carr Manager, Weather Information Distribution The Weather Channel Kevin Barjenbruch Warning Coordination Meteorologist National Weather Service, Salt Lake City National Weather Service Partners Meeting AMS Annual Meeting January 18, 2007

2. Today’s Presentation I.Introduction II.About WAS*IS / Project Initiation III.Key Project Messages IV.Actions/Progress V.The Future VI. Wrap-Up

3. II. About WAS*IS / Project Initiation WAS*IS Weather and Society – Integrated Studies Concepts and Knowledge: Communication, forecasting, risk assessment, GIS tools, qualitative research, decision support systems, economics, vulnerability, verification… and more! Partnerships: Building a passionate and dedicated community of people for lifelong collaboration and support

4. II. About WAS*IS / Project Initiation Three WAS*IS workshops Original: Nov. 2005 / Mar. 2006, Boulder Norman, OK: April 2006 Summer: July 2006, Boulder Upcoming WAS*IS workshops Australia: January 2007 Boulder: Summer 2007 Applications now being accepted for Summer 2007! http://www.sip.ucar.edu/wasis/index.jsp Over 85 participants… and growing!

5. II. About WAS*IS / Project Initiation WAS*IS lives on after the workshops! Participants continue their WAS*IS work and learning via numerous projects initiated during the workshops A few of the many projects: Societal resilience to weather hazards Social verification of warnings …and this partnership project

6. II. About WAS*IS / Project Initiation Project Leads Melissa Tuttle Carr The Weather Channel Kevin Barjenbruch NWS, Salt Lake City Project Team Tanja Fransen, Brent MacAloney, Ernie Ostuno, Mike Stavish, Greg Stumpf, Britt Westergard, Ray Wolf And consultation from: Amanda Graning, Pamela Szatanek, Neil Stuart …plus, input and ideas from many others!

7. III. Key Project Messages Improved communication and collaboration between the government and private sectors will be of benefit to the entire weather enterprise and to the public. Examples include: Enhancing communication between sectors Cross-sector collaborative efforts Strategic planning of the weather enterprise

8. III. Key Project Messages A synergistic approach within the weather enterprise will lead to improved products and services and increased visibility. Specifically, this project focuses on: Advocating full engagement of private sector prior to and during product development Launch of storm-based warnings and functional CAP/XML feeds for NWS bulletins

9. III. Key Project Messages The public will benefit by receiving better and more understandable weather information.

10. Project has been presented numerous times: 9/26/06:NWS Western Region Headquarters 11/3/06:NWS National Headquarters 11/15/06:The Weather Channel – brief introduction 12/5/06:Storm-Based Warnings Workshop at Texas A&M 1/17/07:AMS Intelligent Transportation Systems/Surface Transportation Committee Meeting In total, approximately 115 people in attendance from the government and private sectors, academia, and other groups IV. Actions/Progress

11. Progress is being made New, productive partnerships are being formed between private sector and the NWS via face-to-face meetings initiated by project work Working with Ron Gird, NWS Outreach Program Manager, on NWS Partners Meeting format enhancements IV. Actions/Progress First change is in effect as of today, with the inclusion of the private sector on the agenda for this meeting

12. Progress is being made Working with Ken Graham, NWS Service Evolution Director IV. Actions/Progress Partnership Project ideas, Ken’s role with the NWS, and opportunities for collaboration Starting talks about dynamic ideas for strengthening the weather enterprise

13. Progress is being made Increased attention to importance of effective CAP/XML feeds for NWS bulletins, including: -Discussion at the NDFD Technical Workshop (11/2006) -Strong cross-sector support at the Storm-Based Warnings Workshop (12/2006) -Ongoing work with Bob Bunge, NWS Internet Dissemination Officer on potential CAP feed improvements IV. Actions/Progress

14. Progress is being made John Ferree, Severe Storm Service Leader: Storm-Based Warnings and Next Generation Warning Tool Implementation Pam Heinselman and Daphne LaDue: Public/Private Sector Partnership Distance Learning module, based on a program lead by John Toohey-Morales and Ed Johnson (http://www.ncim.org/pppcourse2006/) NWS Team: Partners Registration Site 2007 Central Region Headquarters: Presentation/meetings IV. Actions/Progress

15. This project continues to grow! We now have a much larger, exciting initiative, with momentum and numerous people ready to get involved, effecting real change throughout the weather enterprise V. The Project’s Future

16. Challenges to address… Time and resource constraints V. The Project’s Future Effective communication with a busy project group spread across the country Ways to integrate all of the additional people who are eager to join the project

17. Some ideas for 2007 and beyond… Continue to spread the partnership message; make contact with others who are interested in this initiative ‘Advisory board’ concept to communicate with and gather ideas from others outside the project group Interface between Ken Graham (NWS Office of Service Evolution) and presentation attendees from both sectors V. The Project’s Future

18. VI. Wrap-Up Melissa Tuttle Carr mtuttle@weather.com Kevin Barjenbruch kevin.barjenbruch@noaa.gov Thank You!