The Integrated Warning Team Toolkit: A Modern Solution for Engaging Partners to Deliver Consistent, Actionable Messaging in an Evolving Weather Enterprise

An Integrated Warning Team (IWT) Toolkit is now available on the National Weather Service (NWS) Impact-based Decision Support Services (IDSS) Portal. This IWT Toolkit was created as a resource to serve NWS meteorologists throughout the country that are looking to develop a new IWT, or improve an existing one. Early utilization of the Toolkit has proven to be invaluable in building a successful IWT from the ground up. From the IWT Toolkit, meteorologists can access lessons learned and best practices from others that have already developed IWTs, and review feedback collected via surveys and other research on what works and what doesn’t.

Using this resource, a new local IWT has recently been formed in Southeast Idaho, in support of the Weather Ready Nation initiative. Several goals have been identified for this new IWT, including improving core partner relations, enhancing IDSS delivery methods, and creating tools for use during IDSS deployments. More specifically, our IWT planning scenarios thus far have focused on ensuring message continuity among partners to positively influence human behavior, and closing communication gaps between partners. This presentation will lay out the roadmap to successfully creating a new IWT utilizing the Toolkit, discuss some of its successes and setbacks, and identify new ideas for further improvement to the IWT Toolkit. In addition, we will highlight how the IWT Toolkit has been successfully utilized in the development of our Southeast Idaho IWT, and share examples that other NWS offices either looking to build an IWT, or strengthen an existing one, can learn from.