NOAA's National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

Welcome to the National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan Forecast Office StormReady Page.

StormReady Information - Page Contents:
- Designated StormReady Communities (in South Central and Southeast Wisconsin)
- Overview of StormReady Program
- Program Intentions
- Recognition Process
- Local StormReady Manual & Documents (including community certification criteria and application forms)
- Wisconsin StormReady Advisory (WSRA) Board Members
- Wisconsin State StormReady Focal Point
National StormReady Page
StormReady Communities Across The U.S.

Designated StormReady Communities:

Current listing of "StormReady" Communities in the Milwaukee/Sullivan County Warning and Forecast Area (Your Community could be listed here! Contact your local County Emergency Manager Director for further information).

"StormReady" is a new national voluntary program, administered through your local National Weather Service office, that gives communities the skills and education needed to cope with and manage potential weather-related disasters, before and during the event. The program encourages communities to take a new pro-active approach. This nationwide preparedness program uses a grassroots effort to help communities develop plans to improve local hazardous weather operations and public awareness for all types of local severe weather threats. In other words, StormReady is aimed at arming America's communities with the communication and safety skills necessary to save lives and property.

Many laws and regulations have been created to help local emergency managers deal with hazardous material spills, search and rescue operations, medical crises, etc., but there are relatively few uniformly-recognized standards dealing with the specifics of hazardous weather response operations. Recognizing this need, the National Weather Service has designed the StormReady program to help communities or counties implement procedures to reduce the potential for disastrous, weather-related, consequences. By participating in StormReady, local agencies can earn recognition for their jurisdiction by meeting criteria established by the National Weather Service in partnership with federal, state, and local emergency management professionals.

The "StormReady" program does not replace any of the various federally or state-funded harzard mitigation programs, rather, it compliments them. Together, they offer a community the means to anticipate and survive severe weather. The entire community - from the mayor, emergency managers, to business leaders and civic groups - can take the lead on becoming StormReady. The Milwaukee/Sullivan Weather Service Forecast office will work with communities to complete an application and review process.

StormReady is a voluntary program, and is being offered as a means of providing guidance and incentive to officials interested in improving their respective hazardous weather operations. Implied or explicit references to "requirements" are made with regard to the voluntary participants in the StormReady program and should not be construed as being state or federal mandates.

It's paramount for communities to understand the types of weather-related threats in the area, when they are most likely to occur, and prepare in advance for severe weather events. Under the auspices of StormReady, the Milwaukee/Sullivan National Weather Service Office will continue to help the citizens of South-central and Southeast Wisconsin understand the dangers posed by these weather events. Education and communication are a very big part of the StormReady program.

South-central and Southeast Wisconsin have felt the wrath of numerous, violent, severe weather outbreaks: the F5 Oakfield tornado on July 18, 1996, the F5 Barneveld tornado on June 8, 1984, the 100-128 mph May 31, 1998 straight-line thunderstorm windstorm during the pre-dawn hours, the 90-110 mph August 6, 2000, Rock County straight-line thunderstorm windstorm, and major flash floods in Sauk, Green, Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, and Kenosha counties. People were killed in these events, and hundreds were injured. Property damages, collectively, were in the hundreds of millions. The same thing can happen again, even in your community. Will your community be ready for the next severe storm? Will community and emergency response officials, and local residents know that severe storms are imminent? Will your community be "StormReady".

• Provide detailed and clear recommendations by which local emergency managers may establish/improve effective hazardous weather operations.
• Strengthen a community's ability to receive and use severe weather watches and warnings from the National Weather Service.
• Improve the timeliness and effectiveness of hazardous weather warnings for the public.
• Help local emergency managers justify costs and purchases related to supporting their hazardous weather-related program.
• Reward local hazardous-weather mitigation programs that have achieved a desired performance level.
• Provide a means of acquiring additional Community Rating System points assigned by the Insurance Services Organization (ISO).
• Provide an "image incentive" to counties, cities, and towns that can identify themselves being "StormReady"
• Encourage the enhancement of hazardous weather preparedness programs in jurisdictions surrounding "StormReady" Communities and Counties.

An advisory board (Wisconsin StormReady Advisory Board -WSRA), comprised of National Weather Service personnel and state, regional, and county emergency managers, will review applications from all Wisconsin communities and visit the locations to verify the steps made in the process to become StormReady. These communities must stay freshly prepared, because the designation is only valid for two years.

• WSRA Board By-Laws
• Appendix A - Population based criteria
• Appendix B - Application ... You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to download this PDF document
• Appendix C - City/County evaluation form
• Appendix D - Wisconsin County Warning Area map
• StormReady Organization and Operations Manual (National - NWS)

Chairperson
Rusty Kapela
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
NWS Forecast Office - NOAA
N3533 Hardscrabble Rd.
Dousman, WI 53118

Board Members
Kenneth R. Rizzo
Meteorologist-in-Charge
NWS Forecast Office - NOAA
N3533 Hardscrabble Rd.
Dousman, WI 53118

Jeff Last
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
NWS Forecast Office - NOAA
2485 S. Point Road
Green Bay, WI 54313

Todd Shea
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
NWS Forecast Office - NOAA
N2788 County RD FA
La Crosse, WI 54601

Carol Christenson
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
NWS Forecast Office - NOAA
5027 Miller Trunk Highway
Duluth, MN 55811

Todd Krause
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
NWS Forecast Office - NOAA
1733 Lake Drive West
Chanhassen MN 55317-8581

Diane Kleibor
Disaster Program Manager
Wisconsin Emergency Management
2400 Wright Street
PO Box 7865
Madison, WI 53707-7865

Alan Wohlferd
Warning & Communications Program Manager
Disaster Program Manager
Wisconsin Emergency Management
2400 Wright Street
PO Box 7865
Madison, WI 53707-7865

Lois Ristow
WEM Regional Director
West Central Region
5005 Hwy 53 South
Eau Claire, WI 54701

Janice Brown
Clark County Emergency Management Director
Courthouse, Rm 300
517 Court St.
Neillsville, WI 54456

Nancey Crowley
Manitowoc County Emergency Management Director
1025 S. Ninth St.
Manitowoc, WI 54220

Wisconsin State StormReady Focal Point:

The Wisconsin State StormReady Focal Point is the National Weather Service's (NWS) Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) who services the state capitol city of Madison. This WCM works out of the Milwaukee/Sullivan NWS Weather Forecast Office.

Do you have questions about the StormReady program in Wisconsin? Contact the person listed below.

Present Wisconsin State StormReady Focal Point:
Rusty Kapela
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
NWS Forecast Office - NOAA
N3533 Hardscrabble Rd.
Dousman, WI 53118