Incorporating Societal Vulnerability to Better Identify Significant Heat Impacts Across the Cheyenne, Wyoming County Warning Area

Recent extreme heat events across the country prompted the Cheyenne Weather Forecast Office, to reevaluate current heat criteria thresholds. As the National Weather Service continues to incorporate socioeconomic change into the formula for hazard decision making, new tools relating to heat risk have become available. Cheyenne has taken a multifaceted approach to heat risk evaluation by including both societal changes and climatological temperature data to identify new heat risk zones across our county warning area. Together, these new heat risk zones and climatological/societal nudgers will be used in tandem to assist with testing Heat Advisory issuances in the summer of 2023. After evaluating this test period and gathering feedback from external partners, NWS CYS meteorologists will plan a permanent decision flow chart to support more appropriate/frequent use of the Heat Advisory product in coming years.