Identifying Key Characteristics of Severe Weather Communication Strategies for Optimal Emergency Managers' and Broadcast Meteorologists' Decision Making

The 2016 Prototype Probabilistic Hazard Information’s Hazardous Weather Testbed experiment included as a major objective the rapid development and testing of a FACETs-like enhanced communication stream throughout severe weather events. Two key decision making groups, broadcast meteorologists and emergency managers, were brought in to conduct table top exercises during case and live weather events during each of three experiment weeks. The communication messages tested were derived from the NWS Hazard Simplification project and the 2015 Prototype PHI project with emergency managers. The primary goal is to identify the key characteristics of tested prototypes that assist emergency managers and broadcast meteorologists to make decisions, and at what key times, relative to the severe weather event occurring. Preliminary results will be presented.