When Thunder Roars…but You Can't Hear it: New National Lightning Safety Campaign for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Imagine a loud clap of thunder followed by the wail of the outdoor warning sirens and the NOAA weather radio alerting you to a tornado warning. Now imagine you are one of the 35 million Americans with some degree of hearing loss, who can’t hear any of these audible alerts and are unaware of the present danger, let alone what actions to take. These are situations that community members face whenever dangerous weather occurs, due to very few alerting means, slogans, and outreach endeavors targeting this demographic. In June 2016, NOAA and the National Weather Service (NWS) launched a new lightning safety campaign developed with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) community.  The launch included the release of a slogan (“See a Flash, Dash Inside”), logo and public service announcement. These materials were designed to supplement, rather than replace the traditional slogan, “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors.”  

National safety campaigns like, “See a Flash, Dash Inside,” are possible only through contributions from the national D/HH community and partners.  Over the past four years, the NWS Deaf and Hard of Hearing Outreach Team has spread D/HH outreach beyond the local level. Together the team has worked with the D/HH community on a wider range of weather safety projects, promoted this unique outreach to the meteorology community, and increased awareness for the public as a whole.  This presentation will provide an overview of the new lightning safety outreach materials for the D/HH from its start at the regional scale to the launch of the national campaign, and highlight where future efforts can help this underserved community become more Weather Ready.