For more than 60 years, the National Weather Service (NWS) has conducted national service assessments for significant hydrometeorological, oceanographic, or geological events.  Service assessments evaluate NWS performance and ensure the effectiveness of products and services in meeting the mission. The goal of service assessments is to evaluate the performance of the NWS and improve the ability of the NWS to protect life and property by identifying and sharing best practices in operations and procedures, recommending service enhancements, and addressing service deficiencies. Traditionally, this process – which serves as an evaluative mechanism to assess activities before, during, and after events to determine the usefulness of NWS products and services – has been composed of assessment teams that have been predominantly meteorologists. However, given the lack of capacity within NWS to adequately address topics concerning the human dimensions of weather, NWS must reach across other line offices within NOAA and outside of government to gather the appropriate expertise. In lieu of this expertise, NWS staff, most of whom are not trained in the science of collecting social and behavioral data, must devise a plan to collect data from its various partners and stakeholders.  

This panel will discuss the benefits of integrating physical and social science for a multidisciplinary approach, the challenges and needs to implement a more robust inclusive approach (e.g., training, research design), and outcomes for linking the knowledge ascertained from multidisciplinary service assessments to policy and society. Though this panel will focus on NWS service assessments, it also serves as a forum for the broader challenge of integrating social and physical science in order to further understand how the weather community can inform and benefit society. Panelists include the following:

Cindy Woods, NOAA/National Weather Service, Chief, Operations Division

Vankita Brown, NOAA/National Weather Service, Research Social Scientist, Operations Division

Ayeisha Brinson, NOAA/Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Economist, Office of Performance, Risk and Social Science

Chris Ellis, NOAA/National Ocean Service, Social Scientist, Office for Coastal Management

Jeff Gorman, NOAA/National Weather Service, Meteorologist In Charge, Cheyenne Weather Forecast Office

Logan Johnson, NOAA/National Weather Service, Meteorologist In Charge, Seattle Weather Forecast Office

Suzanne Van Cooten, NOAA/National Weather Service, Hydrologist In Charge, Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center

Leticia Williams, Post-Doctoral Fellow, NOAA Center for Atmospheric Science and Meteorology

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