Upshur County Becomes West Virginia's 18th StormReady County

Left to right: Commission President Kristie Tenney, Commissioner Samuel Nolte, DHSEM Director Stephen Wykoff, DHSEM Deputy Director Derek Long, NWS Charleston Meteorologist Tony Edwards, WV EMD Region 4 Liaison Shawn Dunbrack, Commissioner Douglas Bush

Upshur County was designated as the 18th StormReady County in West Virginia at a ceremony during the Upshur County Commission Meeting on Thursday, January 5, 2023.

The StormReady program is designed to help protect citizens from the dangers of all types of severe weather by arming America's communities with the communication and safety skills needed to save lives and property before, during and after a hazardous weather event. Upshur County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Steve Wykoff and Deputy Director Derek Long worked closely with officials from the National Weather Service in Charleston to complete the designation process.

In order to earn the StormReady designation, a county must:

Establish a 24-hour warning point and Emergency Operations Center
Have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and redundant methods of alerting the public
Monitor weather conditions locally
Promote the importance of public readiness by sharing weather preparedness information in the community
Ensure government facilities such as schools are able to receive severe weather alerts
Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.

In addition to the above requirements, Upshur County is working with the National Weather Service and the US Geological Survey on upgrading the Buckhannon River gauge at Buckhannon to a full forecast point. Once this process is complete, river level forecasts will be improved and available at all times instead of just during periods of high flows, as is the current practice. The county also purchased and installed a weather station at the DHSEM/911 Communication Center in Buckhannon. The information this weather station provides will help emergency officials and citizens better monitor local weather conditions.

911 Director Doyle Cutright also worked to set up an automated procedure that shares information obtained by dispatchers about weather related incidents to National Weather Service meteorologists in Charleston. This improves communication between the facilities without tying up dispatchers when they are typically extremely busy during severe weather events.

A SKYWARN Weather Spotter class was also held in the community. Weather spotters are the eyes and ears of the National Weather Service in their community, relaying reports of hazardous weather and learning weather safety tips during the training process.

"I just want to thank the Upshur County Commission for assembling a great team including Directors Wykoff and Cutright, and Deputy Director Long, and giving them the tools they need to complete the StormReady designation process, and in turn helping make the community more prepared for future hazardous weather events," said Tony Edwards, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston.

For more information about StormReady, and other National Weather Service weather safety programs, please visit www.weather.gov/rlx/partnerships.