A Societal Impacts Focus within the National Weather Association

To be certain, "societal impacts" is a term being volleyed about the weather enterprise with increasing frequency over the past couple of years, and with good reason. Be it the 57 lives lost during the Super Tuesday tornado outbreak of 2008, the Southeast United States floods of this past September, the impacts on the aviation industry associated with the Mount Redoubt volcanic eruptions in 2009 and the ongoing Icelandic volcano eruptions, or the winter storms which pummeled the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and New England regions this past winter, the impacts of natural, weather-related hazards on society are in need of assessment.

Above said, many ask "What is the definition of societal impacts?" In simplest terms, one can define societal impact as a significant effect on our world. For natural hazards, assessing societal impacts would include the quantification of damage amounts in dollars, structures destroyed, and/or people killed or injured. Going beyond these traditional measures, societal impact-related information could also encompass (1) what information people had about a weather situation and how they interpreted that information, (2) how people perceived the situation, and (3) what decisions they made to protect themselves and their property. A proper assessment of this type of data and information will certainly require the integration of social science knowledge and research. This integration, as part of an in-depth look at social sciences, will be discussed in a future article.

A second question that often arises is "Why is an understanding of societal impacts within the weather enterprise so important?" With respect to community leaders, if we in the weather enterprise are to provide more detailed decision support services, we must have a thorough understanding of what impacts their operations, so that we can tailor our messages to meet their needs. Effective message delivery to the public is even more challenging given our diverse country. Research within the weather enterprise has illustrated the complexities of how the public receives and responds to weather information. The entire weather community must better understand the myriad ways in which people gather and interpret warning information, perceive it, and ultimately make their decisions. This integrated approach will foster enhanced products and services and more effective communication. Again, the integration of social science knowledge and research will be necessary.

To effectively address these challenges, we have to take a holistic approach. Such an effort must encompass public and private-sector providers of weather information, academia, emergency response and safety officials, and the public whose lives depend on receiving and understanding the information and taking protective action. To assist in this effort, the NWA has chartered the Committee on Societal Impacts of Weather and Climate. The Committee's mission is to (1) advise and serve the NWA in matters related to societal impacts of weather and climate, (2) raise awareness, encourage, and support efforts within the NWA relating to societal impacts of weather and climate, (3) support the application of social science principles into operational meteorology and decision support for hazardous weather and high impact events, as well as day-to-day forecasting and operations, and (4) develop and strengthen relationships between social scientists, operational meteorologists, and decision makers, particularly those responsible for public safety. Please visit the Committee Web page at http://www.nwas.org/committees/societalimpacts to learn more about the efforts of the Committee, to view a listing of its members, and to access an exhaustive list of societal impacts resources, including a link to join the Societal Impacts Program Discussion Board.

As we strive to better understand how our weather, water, and climate forecasts impact the lives of the people we serve, and the many people who work to protect those same people from weather-related hazards, our 2010 National Weather Association Annual Meeting's theme directly addresses this expanding need: Fire and Ice; Science and Society. In the past year, many of us dealt with these critical issues first-hand as we experienced some of the worst winter, severe weather, and flood events in many years. Trying to convey the seriousness of these events in a measured and informative manner, while trying to motivate the public and key decision makers to take appropriate action, became just as important as the weather and water forecasts themselves. Both the NWA Local Program Committee in Tucson, AZ, and the Societal Impacts of Weather and Climate Committee, encourage you to bring forward your research, stories, and experiences in the abstracts you submit for this year's annual meeting. See more on the Annual Meeting at http://www.nwas.org/meetings/nwa2010/.

Kevin Barjenbruch, Chair, Committee on Societal Impacts of Weather and Climate
Erik Pytlak, Chair, 2010 Annual Meeting Program Committee