Pima County Office of Emergency Management

Recognized as 2021 Southeast Arizona

Weather Ready Nation Ambassador of Excellence

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) have developed the Weather Ready Nation (WRN) Ambassador Initiative to help improve the nation’s readiness, responsiveness, and overall resilience against extreme weather, water, and climate events. WRN Ambassadors extend across government, non-profits, academia, and private industry; and share the goal of making the nation more ready, responsive, and resilient against extreme environmental hazards. WRN is a strategic outcome where society’s response should be equal to the risk from all extreme weather, water, and climate hazards. Nationwide, there are over 11,000 WRN Ambassadors committed to working with NOAA, the NWS and other Ambassadors to strengthen resilience against extreme weather.

NWS Tucson recognized the Pima County Office of Emergency Management (PCOEM) as the 2021 Ambassador of Excellence in southeast Arizona for their efforts to prepare the public for hazards relating to extreme weather and their continued actions to maintain the county’s status as a StormReady Community. PCOEM highlighted the weather-related dangers present during the monsoon in a number of ways.  They worked with the NWS and the Pima County Board of Supervisors to acquire a Monsoon Safety Awareness Week proclamation, and along with the Sheriff Department, co-hosted a pre-monsoon media briefing with the NWS and other agencies. Additionally, PCOEM prepared the public for the monsoon by actively promoting the My Alerts program, which disseminates emergency messages about weather-related impacts directly from the county to those who are registered. They continued to promote this program throughout the monsoon and routinely posted weather safety rules on their social media channels. Finally, PCOEM coordinated with the NWS and numerous other agencies to ensure those potentially impacted by increased flash flooding threats associated with the Bighorn Fire burn area continued to be ready despite a prolonged dry period leading into the 2021 monsoon.

Image to left: Pima County Office of Emergency Management Community Outreach Coordinator Matt McGlone (right) and Southern AZ Red Cross Executive Director Courtney Slanaker accepting the 2021 Monsoon Safety Awareness Week proclamation from the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

PCOEM coordinated COVID-19 Point of Dispensing (POD) operations with the NWS and other agencies to ensure the safety of workers and the public.  They initiated daily calls to make the POD teams aware of upcoming weather hazards. PCOEM also worked with the NWS, the county’s risk management and health departments, and the University of Arizona to conduct a temperature study at POD sites to gain understanding to minimize heat impacts on outdoor PODs in order to optimize the hours and dates of operations.

NWS Tucson has dozens of local Weather Ready Nation Ambassadors across southeast Arizona. The Ambassador initiative recognizes leaders in the community that help build community resilience in the face of extreme weather events – from promoting safety messages in outreach activities, to being a “weather-ready” role model. Any organization can become a Weather Ready Nation Ambassador.  Schools, government agencies, private businesses, civic organizations, homeowner associations and others can apply online at weather.gov/wrn/ambassadors. If you have questions about the WRN Ambassador initiative or the online application, please contact Ken Drozd at kenneth.drozd@noaa.gov.