Improving Media Support at the National Hurricane Center During Landfalling Tropical Cyclone

When a tropical cyclone could become a threat to populated areas, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) is responsible for communicating the potential impacts of the storm. This becomes a challenging task when many TV stations request media interviews during an event. At the NHC, the Hurricane Pool Coverage Agreement is intended to facilitate the dissemination of important information from the NHC to residents in areas threatened by hurricane hazards. By having this organized approach, the pool increases the efficiency of media-allocated resources and allows NHC staff to perform their necessary duties while fulfilling the broadcast media demand during a tropical cyclone event. Established decades ago, this agreement gives an opportunity for broadcast media to connect with NHC and distribute information following a pool rotation for those that are part of the agreement. In this session, we will discuss how the media pool works at the NHC and how the rotation is established.

With the increased use of social media to receive information, we will also discuss NHC’s expanded use of live stream capabilities via Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and Twitter during the 2022 hurricane season. The use of these new platforms has given NHC a direct method to reach more people within the community and to keep people informed during a hurricane event.