NOAA’S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RECOGNIZES
WESTPORT, CONN., AS STORMREADY

June 6, 2007 — Officials from the NOAA National Weather Service praised Westport, Conn., for completing a set of rigorous warning criteria necessary to earn the distinction of being StormReady®.

“StormReady encourages communities to take a new, proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations and public awareness," said Gary Conte, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office on Long Island, N.Y., which serves southern Connecticut. “StormReady arms communities with improved communication and safety skills needed to save lives and property — before and during the event.”

The nationwide community preparedness program uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle local severe weather and flooding threats. The program is voluntary and provides communities with clear-cut advice from a partnership between local National Weather Service forecast offices and state and local emergency managers. StormReady started in 1999 with seven communities in the Tulsa, Okla., area. There are now more than 1,182 StormReady communities across the country.

At the Westport Town Council meeting today, Conte presented a recognition letter and special StormReady signs to town officials. The StormReady recognition will be in effect for three years during which the town will go through a renewal process.

“I want to commend the entire emergency management team, especially Fire Chief Christopher Ackley and First Selectman Gordon Joseloff for their outstanding perseverance and hard work over the last several years to make the residents of Westport the safest and most prepared for severe weather,” said Michael Wyllie, meteorologist-in-charge at Upton, New York.

Jon Gottfried, deputy fire chief in Westport, Conn., said, “The StormReady program gives the Westport community credit rating points, which could lead to a discount on flood insurance provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Westport residents are now the most prepared for severe weather and will have the added bonus to possibly reduce the cost of our flood insurance.”

“Every year, around 500 Americans lose their lives to severe weather and floods,” said Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, USAF (Ret.), director of the NOAA National Weather Service. “More than 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 2,500 floods and 1,000 tornadoes impact the United States annually, and hurricanes are a threat to the Gulf and East Coasts. Potentially deadly weather can affect every person in the country. That’s why NOAA's National Weather Service developed the StormReady program.”

To be recognized as StormReady, a community must:

• Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center;
• Have more than one way to receive severe weather forecasts and warnings and to alert the public;
• Create a system that monitors local weather conditions;
• Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars;
• Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.

“The United States is the most severe weather prone region of the world. The mission of the National Weather Service is to reduce the loss of life and property from these storms, and StormReady will help us create better prepared communities throughout the country,” Conte added.

“Just like communities, families need to be storm ready by having an action plan for severe weather. Through StormReady, the National Weather Service plans to educate every American about what to do when severe weather strikes because it is ultimately each individual’s responsibility to protect him or herself,” Conte said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

NOTE: StormReady® is a registered trademark of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA’s National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y.

StormReady information

Media Contact:
Marcie Katcher, NOAA National Weather Service Eastern Region, (631) 244-0149