Improving Spanish-Language Weather Hazard Communication through Media Partnerships in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas

The Rio Grande Valley of Texas is home to a unique, largely homogeneous population of Hispanics with family roots on both sides of the Rio Grande. The Texas population of more than 1.3 million includes nearly 90 percent of Hispanic origin, and 81 percent who speak some level of Spanish at home (U.S. Census, 2015). A similar sized population lives on the Mexican side of the river. The National Weather Service Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley has been providing bi-lingual information to the community since its inception in 1922.

In recent years, partnerships with local broadcast, print, web, and social media have grown and improved dramatically, particularly with Spanish language information. The ability to build relationships and provide more information than ever before is critical to building a Weather-Ready Rio Grande Valley, one of the more vulnerable metropolitan regions in the United States based on the number of residents who live in poverty.

This presentation will detail efforts made by NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley and media partners to improve the communication of hazardous weather to residents and visitors who are most comfortable reading, speaking, and hearing information in Spanish. Examples include a multi-year partnership with Entravision of the Rio Grande Valley to distribute hundreds of thousands of Texas Hurricane Guides, a monthly radio call-in broadcast on a network that covers both the Rio Grande Valley and most of eastern Mexico, annual media partners hurricane meetings where information is presented in English and Spanish, a partnership with the highest rated English-language television station to maintain the Spanish Language Severe Weather Early Weather Warning Notification System, and shared Spanish-language hazardous weather communications through social media.

A brief review of a spring 2016 Integrated Weather Team meeting among the NWS, Spanish language broadcast media, local religious leaders, and Emergency Management will also be discussed.