StormReady Information - Page Contents: 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).
Overview of StormReady Program: "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.
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.
Chairperson Board Members Jeff Last Todd Shea Carol Christenson Todd Krause Diane Kleibor Alan Wohlferd Lois Ristow Janice Brown Nancey Crowley 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: |