Enhancing Impact Decision Support Services during the Response and Recovery Phases: The Utility of a National Weather Service Geoportal

The advancement of high-resolution spatial geographic data is opening a new array of opportunities following severe weather. Numerous tornadic events and the aftermath demonstrated how important geospatial datasets are to the National Weather Service (NWS) and its core partners. Moderate (15-100 m) to high (< 15 m) spatial resolution multispectral satellite imagery and orthophotos are useful for the granularity provided in refining tornado paths. Principal component analysis techniques can assess damage extent by converting raw images to more interpretable ones, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index refines the damage path by evaluating vegetation health and biomass changes. High-resolution (detailed) vector data models and U.S. Census datasets, in conjunction with, remote sensing raster data can enhance the dissemination of possible tornadic damage to NWS partners post-event. However, the timeliness in receiving high-resolution geospatial data can be upwards of days to several weeks, and is often expensive and difficult to locate and retrieve from external sources.

The availability of a NWS geoportal in Impact Decision Support Services (IDSS) during the response and recovery phases could play an important role in reducing duplication and inconsistencies. The development of a geoportal web application and server, such as OpenLayers and Esri’s open source GeoPortal, could provide the infrastructure and interface to improve functionality, customization, and searchability of geospatial data. A well-designed geoportal would enhance operations and decision making by more rapid discovery and retrieval of high-resolution datasets in IDSS applications and cartographic mapping. Core partners would benefit during the later phases of the disaster management cycle due to the NWS quickly obtaining, creating, and sharing geospatial resources. This presentation will demonstrate how this concept may be applied following a tornadic event in a densely populated area.