Key Needs from the Social Sciences Identified at Weather Ready Nation Meetings

In December 2011, 175 experts and leaders gathered at the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma to begin a conversation on what it takes for our country to become a “Weather Ready Nation”. Their goal was to "identify, prioritize, and set in motion actions to improve the nation's resiliency against severe weather, especially tornadoes, to protect lives and property." To better clarify physical and social science actions to meet this goal, a second meeting was held in April 2012 in Birmingham, Alabama.

The proceedings from these two meetings are summarized in reports, and from those reports eight major themes emerged. Several specific actions have been identified under each of these themes. Many actions are multi-disciplinary and multi-organizational, and will require participation by the social science community. The actions comprise a resource for understanding the social science needs of the weather enterprise, particularly with respect to warnings for high impact events. The currently identified actions and a status report on those actions will be presented.