The U.S. Department of Commerce & the National Weather Service recognize the University of Nevada, Reno, Fire Science Academy with StormReady designation

The U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Weather Service (NWS) have designated the University of Nevada, Reno Fire Science Academy (FSA) as a StormReady Supporter, recognizing the Academy’s commitment to preparing communities with action plans that respond to the threats of severe weather.

Created in 1998 by the National Weather Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), StormReady helps communities take a proactive approach to weather response and provides city leaders and emergency managers with clear-cut principles and guidelines on how to improve their local hazardous weather operations.

The FSA becomes one of 53 schools, businesses and other nongovernmental agencies in 14 states to have earned the Supporter certification as part of NWS’s program. More than 680 counties and 560 communities in the U.S. have been designated as official StormReady sites.   

“According to the NWS, nearly 90 percent of all federally declared disasters are weather related,” said Denise Baclawski, executive director of the Fire Science Academy in Carlin, Nev. “The Academy is honored to be designated by such an important program, whose action plans for hazardous weather response have saved countless lives throughout the country.”

StormReady Supporter designees are local entities that promote the NWS program principles in their safety and awareness plans and have received endorsements from their local emergency management agencies. Final approval for Supporter designation is made by a StormReady advisory board.

To be certified as StormReady, communities must meet NWS guidelines developed in partnership with federal, state and local emergency management professionals, including establishing a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center; having more than one method of receiving severe weather forecasts and warnings and alerting the public; promoting the significance of public readiness through community seminars; and developing a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding exercises.
            The StormReady program is intended to:

• Improve the timeliness and effectiveness of hazardous weather warnings for the public.
• Provide detailed and clear recommendations which will help  local emergency managers establish and improve effective hazardous weather operations.
• Help local emergency managers justify costs and purchases needed to support 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 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

An advisory board, comprised of the NWS warning coordination meteorologists, and state and local emergency managers, reviews applications from municipalities and visits locations to verify the steps made in the process to become StormReady.