Testbeds are unique collaborative spaces that allow researchers and forecasters to work together to improve weather prediction systems. They accomplish this by working alongside each other to integrate new observing systems into models, test and streamline data assimilation methods, test weather model improvements, and strategize new developments. The Weather Program Office funds research projects and…
To advance NOAA’s social science data needs, WPO’s Social Science Program partnered with the National Hazard Center—with support from the National Science Foundation, and in collaboration with the National Weather Service and National Severe Storms Laboratory— to develop the Weather Ready Quick Response Research Initiative to support social science event-based data collection and publication. This…
This project examined how end -users, such as forecasters, emergency managers, and the American public interpret and comprehend probabilistic tropical cyclone information. Using a concept known as numeracy, or one’s ability to use and understand numerical information, this study, in combination with past research, suggests that probability information helps people make decisions in the face…
The Social Science Program at the Weather Program Office (WPO) is increasing the accessibility of social science research within NOAA—both for operational meteorologists and research scientists by launching an internal Google site.
This project explored how various publics consume and process changing tropical cyclone information and forecasts over time. Most research to date has focused on obtaining social science data from people 2–4 weeks after a tropical cyclone has impacted an area. This study is unique and novel in that it created a social science methodology similar…
A day before Hurricane Laura made landfall, the National Hurricane Center issued a warning of “unsurvivable storm surge” in parts of Texas and Louisiana. It’s a phrase that quickly captured widespread attention. Many journalists, including at Wired, NPR, BBC, Mother Jones, Vox, and here at Popular Science, ran headlines amplifying this message. Senator Bernie Sanders repeated this language in a tweet. The National Hurricane…
On Wednesday, January 9, 2019, Dr. Gina Eosco, a risk communication expert with Cherokee Nation Strategic Programs supporting NOAA’s Office of Weather & Air Quality (OWAQ), received The Award for Early-Career Professional Achievement for outstanding leadership at the American Meteorological Society (AMS) awards banquet in Phoenix.
Report on Integrating Social and Behavioral Sciences within the Weather Enterprise Hot off the press! The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released their study titled, “Integrating Social and Behavioral Sciences within the Weather Enterprise.” The Office of Weather and Air Quality funded the study with additional support from the National Weather Service and…
In an effort to minimize the loss of life in future events, a new partnership between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) aims to provide the necessary tools to ensure people respond appropriately to dangerous weather systems. A key part of this work involves understanding how people behave when hazards approach, so emergency services can improve the content and distribution of storm warnings and other communications.
Bringing together the study of meteorology and human behavior We sat down recently with Kim Klockow, Ph.D., visiting scientist at NOAA Research’s Office of Weather and Air Quality, to learn about her work bringing together the study of meteorology and human behavior to help the public better use weather information to save lives and property.…