[EAS] EAS and CMAS

[Robert Bunge - NOAA Federal]

A list of what warnings NWS is sending to FEMA/IPAWS and triggering CMAS/WEA is listed here:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/img/art_imgs/wea_chart.png

Technology issues limit us to generating these messages from the traditional text "rip and read" type messages centrally, so the local forecaster has no way to influence the CMAS text.  The 90 character limit really throttles what we can explain in the message... adding localization has been a challenge that we are only now starting to explore with some of the messages but gets technically complex very fast.  Almost all exploration of adding localization results in the dropping of any mention of media. Additionally, the choice of words used (including the "check media") is a compromise between the character count and other data in the message.   

If you have any suggestions as to alternative wording, please feel free to drop me a message off list at robert.bunge at noaa.gov; no promises, but we are always looking for ideas, as we have been learning as we go.  The learning curve of how the cell industry and technology works has been just as steep. 

Bob Bunge
National Weather Service
Telecommunications Operations Center
Software Branch Chief

On Wed, Jan 2, 2013 at 9:00 PM, Tim Stoffel <Tim at knpb.org> wrote:
>There is a balance here in that if you want all stations to carry
>emergency information, you have to make sure that the
>program-interrupting emergency infoormation is really emergency
>information.

>I remember growing up that if the weather service issued a tornado watch
>or warning in summertime, it was to be taken seriously. No problem with
>stuff that threaten's lives.

>Bot today we have so many warnings and watches that it seems to defeat
>the whole purpose of emergency notification-- 'poisonous bee fart
>warning' ;) If the CMAS system is used for all these spurious warnings,
>broadcasters will soon abandon it-- they do not take kindly to program
>interruptions.

>So one one hand, requiring broadcasters to carru CMAS messages makes
>sense if all you can do is publish a message that says 'check local
>media'. But these alerts should only go out when there is a real,
>imnent, life or property threatening emergency.

>The other way to handle it would be for 1 or more stations in a market
>to be willing to be the 'go-to' station for emergency information. the
>CMAS alert would say 'tune to WXYZ for more information, or even
>(optionally) tune the receiver to WXYZ. Even then, we don't need
>'Pleasant weather alerts' or 'Bee fart warnings'!

>Tim Stoffel

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