Event Summary
Organization: National Center for Atmospheric Research
Session Lead
- Julie Demuth
Speakers
- Daniel Nietfield, National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Prediction Center, NWS Omaha
- Kelly Mahoney, NOAA Earth System Research Lab and CU Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences (CIRES)
- Russ Schumacher, Colorado State University
Description
Hazardous weather poses risks to people, our environment, and our way of life. Science and technology have tremendously improved our observation, understanding, and prediction of the atmosphere. At the same time, we have an unprecedented ability to notify people of weather threats—sometimes days in advance—with rich, extensive information provided via a dizzying array of sources and channels. But are we reducing risk? What do and don’t we really understand about weather, the risks it poses, and how people perceive and respond to them? What are our capabilities and limitations on this front, now and in the near future? How should we focus our efforts to provide more effective weather risk information to enhance the resilience of Boulder and beyond? This session will include discussion of these topics from the perspective of practitioners who assess and communicate weather risk information to the public, government, and other users, and from researchers who study the weather and weather risk communication.
Presentations
A 50% Chance of an Effective Forecast: Risk Communication – Julie Demuth
Understanding and Predicting Extreme Precipitation – Russ Schumacher
Coupled Hydrometeorological Modeling: Weather and Climate Flood Risk Applications – Kelly Mahoney
Putting it into Practice: Boots on the Ground – Daniel Nietfield