Every year, NWS Offices around the country recognize a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador of Excellence - an organization who has made significant contributions to building a Weather-Ready Nation and for helping the NWS carry out our mission. This year the NWS Jackson, KY Office would like to recognize the WYMT news team!! Congratulations!!

By serving as change agents and leaders in their communities, Ambassadors of Excellence have:

• Inspired others to take action and become ready, responsive, and resilient
• Created innovative ways to engage their community, their workforce, and/or their social network
• Formed unique collaborations with NOAA and/or other ambassador organizations to achieve goals they alone could not meet
• Embraced building “a Weather-Ready Nation for All” by addressing vulnerable populations’ needs.

So many of our core partners and WRN ambassadors have been, and continue to be, instrumental in the rescue and recovery efforts from the unprecidented flooding that occurred in July 2022. Many of you even came from other counties and stayed for extended periods to help us out! Our community and NWS Jackson are incredibly indebted to everyone that has served in some capacity. Most of the communication systems in the area went down in the middle of the night due to the rapidly rising waters, and NWS forecasters were relying almost solely on radar estimates to make warning and timing decisions throughout the night.

As the worst of the event started to unfold during the overnight hours from the 27th to 28th, and the first Flash Flood Emergency was issued (Catastrophic Tag), WYMT-News Meteorologists Brandon Robinson and Cameron Aaron went live on the air, and remained on the air, relaying life-saving information to viewers in the impacted areas well into the next day. Several WYMT-news staff worked tirelessly throughout the event, despite the lack of communications and rising waters in some of their own communities. WYMT-news is located in Perry County, amidst one of the hardest hit areas of eastern KY.

The NWS Jackson, KY Lead Forecaster issuing warnings the night of the 27th/ 28th said, "I turned on the WYMT weather coverage as soon as they went live on the air, and I listened to Brandon and Cameron's coverage all night long as I issued warnings and updates. They did a great job messaging the severity of the flash flood emergencies I was issuing - noting how rare and dangerous/serious the situation was. We also had an open line of communication via NWS Chat, and Cameron and Brandon were able to quickly relay information directly to the public as I sent it. I was very thankful for all the amazing work they did throughout the overnight, helping to get the word out to everyone as we sent out warnings."

Just as quickly as the flash flooding occurred, the rivers also started to rise, compounding the devastation to our communities. Historic levels were reached on portions of the Kentucky River. Over the following days all of the WYMT-News team did an amazing job keeping the region informed on critical weather and river information, in addition to the resulting impacts, and ways for those affected to receive help/aid. Their coverage also helped to paint a picture of the scope of the devastation, and aided the NWS in putting together storm reports for the event.

There is no doubt that numerous lives were saved during the flooding because of the information shared by the WYMT-news team throughout the night and into the next day. The NWS is thankful for their partnership and for their dedication to the areas they serve. We are also extremely gracious for all of our amazing Emergency Management and organizational partnerships that jumped into action as soon as the floods hit, and continue to provide critical support to our communities as we begin the long road to recovery. Our amazing partners and those we serve are truly what makes #eastkystrong!

For more information about the 2022 Ambassadors of Excellence, please visit this page: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/922c5c861b8c46178ae5de16c505746d