Enhancing Weather Communication for Emergency Management: The New York State Weather Risk Communication Center

The New York State Weather Risk Communication Center’s (SWRCC) mission is to take forecasts produced by state and federal meteorologists and translate them into a more digestible and actionable format for emergency managers. This includes leveraging written, visual, and verbal communication methods to enhance the clarity, impact, and depth of weather forecasts. By condensing information from multiple sources to a single, comprehensive briefing, the SWRCC allows emergency managers to make informed decisions that will protect New York State communities.

Every morning, seven days a week, the SWRCC sends out a daily weather briefing via email. These briefings compile ongoing and forecast weather hazards for New York State into an interactive PDF. This PDF includes a seven-day forecast, current and forecast river gauge levels, National Weather Service (NWS) watches, warnings, advisories and statements, a three-day space weather forecast, air quality forecasts, and a forecast from the National Hurricane Center when relevant. By consolidating this information into one briefing, the SWRCC simplifies emergency managers workflow, allowing them to quickly digest pertinent information to make well informed decisions.

Meteorologists at the SWRCC are not reinventing the wheel when it comes to forecasting for New York State. The forecasts produced by the NWS are the foundation for the SWRCC’s briefings. New York State is served by five different NWS offices, each of which bring unique sets of forecasting expertise to the table. From lake effect snow to hurricanes, New York state sees a wider variety of NWS Warnings than any other state. The SWRCC ensures that this wealth of information is presented in a clear and coherent manner, enabling emergency managers to act effectively.

This presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of the SWRCC’s daily operations, highlighting the extensive collaboration between the center and the NWS. The SWRCC’s role in briefing New York State emergency managers during and after high-impact weather events, such as severe thunderstorms and lake effect snowstorms will be discussed.