The Role of Weather Information in Disaster Response and Recovery

When terrorism strikes or a major disaster unfolds, local officials have precious minutes to make critical decisions that can save lives and property. These decisions include:

determining which municipalities to evacuate and the order in which to do so
selecting the best approach routes for police and firefighters, and
choosing the type of equipment to dispatch to a disaster site.

Real-time weather information such as wind speed/direction and surface temperatures can help shape all of these key decisions. When local officials know more about the movement of hazards in the air, such as smoke or dangerous chemicals, they can make more informed decisions that can save lives.

Examples of How Weather Information Helped Rescue Efforts

1994 The Terra Chemical Plant explodes near Sioux City, Iowa, prompting the NWS to provide extensive weather support and follow-up broadcasts of weather information to the public. Plume dispersion and plume trajectory data from the NWS helped minimize Interstate 29 closings and massive traffic jams.

1997 A Delta 2 rocket explodes at liftoff from Cape Canaveral and a low-level northerly wind pushes the plume of smoke from the coastal area to the south across Brevard and Indian River counties. NWS radar tracks the plume and issues a Civil Emergency Message over NWS Radio. Today, these alerts can be received via the WeatherBug.

1997 A tanker truck with anhydrous ammonia crashes on State Highway 3 near Durango, Iowa, northwest of Dubuque and the pressurized contents are released. Cool conditions prevent the gas from dissipating, keeping it trapped near ground level. When the ammonia cloud flows down the highway valley, towards Durango, the NWS provides wind direction forecasts and broadcasted alerts. The NWS also provides site-specific forecast information to crash recovery and clean up crews.

2000 A train derails in Scottsbluff, Nebraska spilling dangerous chemicals that threaten the region. NWS provides detailed weather forecast support to officials, including detailed wind forecasts throughout the event.

Weather Information Wherever You Are

The partnership announced today between the National Weather Service and AWS Convergence Technologies will serve to speed the flow of critical, local weather information to emergency managers. Effective immediately the National Weather Service will begin integrating data from AWS' dense WeatherBug network so that it can better respond to homeland security events or disasters. The WeatherBug network has more than 6,000 automated monitoring systems based at schools around the country. The network is particularly dense in and around major metropolitan areas. Click here to see a map of the Homeland Security WeatherBug Network.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has long played a key role in helping federal and local officials respond to major disasters that are not caused by adverse weather conditions. Currently, all 121 National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices provide weather forecasts for civil emergency response. NWS offices have set up pre-arranged agreements to facilitate and speed the process, since minutes and seconds make a difference. This service will now be bolstered with up-to-the-second data from the WeatherBug network.