The NWS Hazard Simplification Project: An Update on the Effort to Improve NWS Hazard Messaging

To support its vision of building a Weather-Ready Nation, NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) has initiated a Hazards Simplification (“Haz Simp”) project to explore options for simplifying its weather and water hazards messaging. As part of the project methodology, and in collaboration with social and behavioral scientists, NWS is assessing the strengths and weaknesses of its current Warning, Watch, and Advisory (WWA) system and is exploring ways in which to improve it.

A fundamental strategy of the project is to engage with the entire user community, including broadcasters, emergency managers, members of the America's Weather and Climate industry and researchers. Along these lines, this presentation will provide a review of Haz Simp project activities to date, as well as an updated strategy for accomplishing WWA system improvements that could include short-term "WWA Repair", while still considering larger-scale changes. Opportunities for continued user engagement will also be discussed. The NWS Haz Simp project directly aligns with the NOAA/NWS Weather-Ready Nation initiative and NOAA's project entitled “Facilitating a Continuum of Environmental Threats” (FACETS).