Social Science and Severe Weather: Evaluating a New Tornado Risk Communication Tool

December 8, 2014

Wisconsin Sea Grant

Wisconsin Sea Grant worked with the National Weather Service to evaluate a new tornado risk communication tool. The tool called impact-based warnings tells the public what impacts to expect during a severe thunderstorm or tornado. For example, instead of describing the size of hail or wind speed, it communicates that trees will fall down, mobile homes will be destroyed, or people will be killed if outside. It takes the guesswork out of the forecast. The tool improves upon past NWS communication by differentiating between severity levels, efficiently communicating the threat, providing the source of weather information, and using simple, concise, and attention-grabbing language.

Images of Sea Grant's work in research, education and extension provided by (from left to right) Wisconsin, Guam and Florida Sea Grant programs. Design by Hallee Meltzer | National Sea Grant Office.

Alabama

Sea Grant takes center stage in Oceanography special issue

NOAA Sea Grant-funded research and work with coastal and Great Lakes communities across the nation are being highlighted in a special issue of “Oceanography,” the official journal of The Oceanography Society.

This special issue, published in April 2024, features 36 articles contributed by Sea Grant authors across 29 programs and the NOAA National Sea Grant Office.

Sea Grant’s impacts ripple across U.S. communities

Sea Grant’s work addresses a range of coastal and marine challenges through four focus areas: healthy coastal ecosystems, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, environmental literacy and

NOAA Sea Grant Develops 5-Year Aquaculture Investment Plan

Year-over-year, Sea Grant is committed to supporting aquaculture development across the nation, as a means of enhancing economic resilience and nutritional security in American communities. Sea Grant recently developed a five-year Aquaculture Investment Plan to guide its efforts in supporting aquaculture research, extension and education.