[EAS] NWS Impact Based Warnings

[Adrienne Abbott Gutierrez]

Tim wrote: How do we make sure that really necessary weather alerts do not
come across as 'wolf alerts'? We, too get these clusters of severe
thunderstorm warnings here in western Nevada. Now, if such an alert could be
targeted to just people in the affected region, I bet the alerts would be
far more effective. Instead, we get days here where we will get eight severe
thunderstorm warnings. (I am recording each and every alert we get, BTW.)
Someone watching/listening to our air will see/hear all these alerts, and in
many cases start to ignore them after the first couple. Eventually, one will
come along that does really affect his area, but by then the TV is off due
to annoyance. Another aspect of this is, consider a viewer at home might get
an EAS alert on their radio/TV, their NWS receiver will alarm, their
cellphone will ring! and the electronic billboard visible out the window
will flash a weather warning. How much is too much? In a tornado warning,
this might be appropriate. But for a blizzard warning, these might be issued
several days in advance. The evening news might be good enough for that, and
indeed we find that there were relatively few EAS alerts issued during Sandy
due to the fact the media had been saturated with news about Sandy for the
past several days.

Tim--
You really hit the nail on the head here...Yes, most of the people who
stayed in their homes during Sandy in spite of the warnings knew there was a
storm coming, but they just didn't think the warnings about storm surge,
high water, damaging winds, possible power outages and utility failures were
going to affect them. It's not just politics, it's human nature to be in
denial that you and your home could be in danger. We still haven't found the
right combination of technology and language to convey timely and accurate
warning information that will move people who are in denial to action.
Getting the same information from radio, television and their cell phones as
well as their Facebook pages may help convince these people to Do Something.

Adrienne