2014 Rio Grande Valley National Weather Service Hurricane Partners Workshops Bring Record Crowds to Learn the Latest Information to Keep People Safe

A combined crowd of more than 130 core partners of the National Weather Service Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley Office spent parts of two days learning about the latest in tropical cyclone information, provided by staff of NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley, a guest presenter from the University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA), and a special keynote speaker, Dr. Steve Lyons, Meteorologist–in–Charge of the NWS San Angelo, Texas, office and former National Hurricane Center Specialist and Weather Channel Hurricane Expert. The agenda, including links to each presentation (PDF), is available here. The goal of each workshop was to continue to build trusted relationships between the NWS and all core partner groups in order for the entire community to speak with one voice should a tropical cyclone threaten the RGV in 2014.

May 28th: Emergency Management Core Partners
On Wednesday, May 28th, more than 100 partners filled up the Knapp Medical Conference Center in Weslaco to listen and learn about hurricane information from NWS and beyond. A light breakfast featuring snacks, fruit, coffee, and juice was followed by the first session, which concentrated on the technical side of hurricanes, beginning with a review of the 2013 Atlantic Season that "Failed to Launch", and a discussion of the 2014 Atlantic and Pacific seasonal forecast and what they might mean (or not mean) for the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), each by Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) Barry Goldsmith. The session concluded with a review of National Hurricane Center and Weather Forecast Office hurricane products and services by Tropical Program Leader Justin Gibbs, which included a focus on the new, experimental Spanish Language Hurricane Local Statement and eventual impact graphic component.

After a short break, the focus shifted to the social side of hurricanes. Dr. William Donner of UTPA gave an overview of the new Disaster Studies Program, with a focus on research aimed at personal decision making prior to Hurricane Katrina and others, and how such decisions might apply to highly vulnerable populations that are often among the poorest in the Rio Grande Valley. Science and Operations Officer Doug Butts described the increasing use of social media to reach more people directly than ever before, and highlighted the strong need for partners to join NWSChat with a short video user guide. WCM Goldsmith reprised a brief review of "More to the Story than the Category" as a lead–in for Keynote Speaker Dr. Steve Lyons, who completed the day’s activities with two presentations: The first on a new way of communicating hurricane impacts beyond the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Lyons’ method, "The Five Toes of a Hurricane Footprint", considers wind, rainfall flooding, seawater rise, waves, and tornadoes as individual toes, with the size of the toe dependent on the unique’personality’ of each cyclone. As lunch (sandwiches and chips) was served, Dr. Lyons concluded with a discussion on how to reduce impacts from each of the five toes by strengthening and protecting buildings and other infrastructure, and considering not building in areas prone to rainfall flooding, sea water rise, or waves.

Core partner representation spanned the range of nearly all Emergency Support Functions (ESF’s). A sampling of the governmental agencies in attendance included the following:

May 29th: Media Core Partners
A smaller but enthusiastic crowd of RGV media representatives, from television, radio, print, and web, gathered at KRGV Channel 5 News Studios in Weslaco to listen and learn about NWS hurricane information, and hopefully leave with a better understanding of the move toward impact–based services that will help the general population understand each threat and impact in order to be confident in decisions to prepare and protect life and property, whether they speak English or Spanish. The sessions, which were scheduled from late morning through mid afternoon to reach both the morning and evening broadcast community, were nearly identical to those at the Emergency Management Core Partners Workshop on the 28th. The key exception was a very well–received talk by Spanish Language Outreach Coordinator Maria Torres, who focused on the new NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley Spanish Language experimental products and the coming launch of the NOAA Weather Radio Spanish language transmitters, aimed at covering nearly all communities where English is spoken poorly or not at all. This session was the highlight for most of the broadcasters, who applauded NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley’s effort to serve critical hurricane threat and impact information "En Español" directly, without the need for a third party translator.

The following media entities were in attendance:

Thank Yous and Kudos
The smashing success of the Partners Hurricane Workshops, which have grown from a half filled room of barely a dozen representatives in 2009 to the scores of diverse partners we saw in 2014, was a true team effort! NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley could not have put on such a winning show without the following logistical partners: