Weather Ready Nation adds Ambassador Number 1000 #AltusOK #WRN

Our newest Ambassador, The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), helped us reach the 1000th NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador.

The freezing temperatures that have blanketed most of the country last week and the historical lake-effect snowfall totals highlighted the importance of building a Weather-Ready Nation, one that is prepared for extreme weather, water and climate events.  WRN Ambassadors are a vital part of the national effort to ensure that all of us are ready for every kind of weather.

I also wanted to share with you some Ambassador success stories - and plans for the future:

• After becoming a WRN Ambassador, Midland Radio Corporation gave each employee an ER300 emergency crank weather alert radio and highlighted the importance of preparedness at a company-wide meeting.
• Bossier Parish Central Library now serves as a hub for people to come and be trained and educated on severe weather, severe weather preparedness, and severe weather safety.
• The National Environmental Education Foundation recently created a Winter Weather and Energy Public Service Announcement that was shown before Green Bay Packers games.
• NWS Weather Forecast Offices have created web pages to celebrate the accomplishments of their Ambassadors, such as in Tampa and San Francisco.
• NOAA is developing a National Seasonal Safety Campaign. In a couple of weeks, I will send an email with outreach materials on winter safety that I hope you will use in your outreach efforts. I invite you to be a part of this campaign and help build a nation that’s winter-ready.
• Raytheon Professional Services has committed resources to develop weather-ready training modules targeting elementary students, high school students, and adults. These training modules will teach people to become weather-ready and have the potential to reach millions across the country.

Looking ahead to 2015, we’re going to raise the bar in several new areas, including youth education, outreach to vulnerable populations, and getting businesses large and small involved in Weather-Ready Nation. Your support of these new activities will be essential for their success.

While the weather rarely cooperates as we head into the holidays, we have many reasons to be thankful. I want to personally extend my thanks to your organization for becoming a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador and contributing in ways you best can. Your dedication and support is essential to building a Weather-Ready Nation.

Thanks to the @OKMesonet for your #AltusOK December figures

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Periods of Record Temps #1903-2010 Precip #1903-2012 Snow #1903-2012 # - large gaps in record	1 T Avgs: 60/33 Sig Prcp Freq: 8% Extremes: High T 81 (1950) Low T 7 (2006) Precip 0.98 (1933) Snow 2.5 (2006)	2 T Avgs: 60/32 Sig Prcp Freq: 6% Extremes: High T 83 (1995) Low T 8* (1985) Precip 2.33 (1913) Snow trace (1919)	3 T Avgs: 59/33 Sig Prcp Freq: 11% Extremes: High T 80 (1995) Low T 17 (1967) Precip 0.65 (1993)	4 T Avgs: 59/32 Sig Prcp Freq: 11% Extremes: High T 88 (1954) Low T 18 (2009) Precip 1.47 (1947)	5 T Avgs: 59/33 Sig Prcp Freq: 13% Extremes: High T 84 (1956) Low T 18* (1950) Precip 0.81 (1935) Snow trace* (1950)	6 T Avgs: 56/32 Sig Prcp Freq: 7% Extremes: High T 80 (1939) Low T 6 (1950) Precip 1.82 (1926) Snow 1.6 (1942)
7 T Avgs: 57/30 Sig Prcp Freq: 6% Extremes: High T 83 (1966) Low T 8 (1950) Precip 0.51 (1942) Snow 7.5 (1942)	8 T Avgs: 54/30 Sig Prcp Freq: 6% Extremes: High T 77 (1970) Low T 2 (2005) Precip 1.65 (1980) Snow trace* (1921)	9 T Avgs: 54/29 Sig Prcp Freq: 8% Extremes: High T 75* (1957) Low T 4 (2005) Precip 1.42 (1999) Snow 2.0 (1932)	10 T Avgs: 54/30 Sig Prcp Freq: 9% Extremes: High T 83 (1939) Low T 7 (1919) Precip 1.07 (1999) Snow trace (1997)	11 T Avgs: 54/29 Sig Prcp Freq: 9% Extremes: High T 81 (1939) Low T 8 (1917) Precip 0.95 (1960) Snow 0.5 (1972)	12 T Avgs: 54/29 Sig Prcp Freq: 11% Extremes: High T 79 (1921) Low T 5 (1989) Precip 0.96 (2007) Snow 0.5 (1972)	13 T Avgs: 52/29 Sig Prcp Freq: 8% Extremes: High T 84 (1921) Low T 6 (1917) Precip 0.53 (2000) Snow 2.0 (1985)
14 T Avgs: 53/28 Sig Prcp Freq: 5% Extremes: High T 79 (1921) Low T 8* (1914) Precip 0.70 (1992)	15 T Avgs: 52/27 Sig Prcp Freq: 10% Extremes: High T 79 (1977) Low T 8 (1987) Precip 0.99 (1984) Snow 5.0 (1932)	16 T Avgs: 54/28 Sig Prcp Freq: 9% Extremes: High T 78 (2006) Low T 8 (1987) Precip 1.54 (1931) Snow trace* (1965)	17 T Avgs: 53/27 Sig Prcp Freq: 6% Extremes: High T 77 (1939) Low T 0 (1932) Precip 0.80 (1959) Snow 2.5 (1924)	18 T Avgs: 52/28 Sig Prcp Freq: 5% Extremes: High T 76 (1977) Low T 8* (1964) Precip 0.70 (1995) Snow 1.0 (1924)	19 T Avgs: 54/28 Sig Prcp Freq: 8% Extremes: High T 76 (1978) Low T 0 (1924) Precip 1.41 (1918) Snow 0.5 (1995)	20 T Avgs: 52/28 Sig Prcp Freq: 8% Extremes: High T 77 (2004) Low T 6 (1983) Precip 1.59 (2006) Snow trace* (1951)
21 T Avgs: 52/27 Sig Prcp Freq: 8% Extremes: High T 78 (1981) Low T 5 (1983) Precip 1.24 (1997) Snow 1.0 (1916)	22 T Avgs: 53/27 Sig Prcp Freq: 9% Extremes: High T 74* (1982) Low T 0* (1983) Precip 1.20 (2002) Snow 3.0 (1913)	23 T Avgs: 52/27 Sig Prcp Freq: 7% Extremes: High T 76 (1964) Low T -10 (1989) Precip 2.79 (1932) Snow 10.5 (1918)	24 T Avgs: 51/26 Sig Prcp Freq: 7% Extremes: High T 88 (1955) Low T 4 (1983) Precip 1.29 (1965) Snow 2.5 (2009)	25 T Avgs: 51/26 Sig Prcp Freq: 6% Extremes: High T 75 (1950) Low T 5 (1983) Precip 0.85 (2009) Snow 5.0 (1939)	26 T Avgs: 52/27 Sig Prcp Freq: 4% Extremes: High T 77 (2005) Low T 7 (1914) Precip 1.75 (1987) Snow 1.3 (2000)	27 T Avgs: 51/27 Sig Prcp Freq: 7% Extremes: High T 78 (1923) Low T 7 (1924) Precip 1.18 (1927) Snow 1.3 (2000)
28 T Avgs: 52/27 Sig Prcp Freq: 6% Extremes: High T 80 (1923) Low T -1 (1924) Precip 0.34 (1943) Snow 2.0 (1944)	29 T Avgs: 53/27 Sig Prcp Freq: 6% Extremes: High T 80* (1923) Low T 1 (1983) Precip 0.64 (1979) Snow 3.5 (1954)	30 T Avgs: 53/28 Sig Prcp Freq: 2% Extremes: High T 82 (1921) Low T 8 (1990) Precip 0.64 (2006) Snow 2.0 (2009)	31 T Avgs: 52/28 Sig Prcp Freq: 9% Extremes: High T 81 (1951) Low T 6 (1968) Precip 1.78 (1984) Snow 1.5 (1918)	Key * - Record since tied Highlight = Dec record All Temps in deg F All Precip in inches Sig Prcp Freq = Pct of days with >= 0.1" precip	Dec. Averages High Temp 55 F Low Temp 29 F Avg Temp 42 F Precip 1.18" Snow 1.0"

The Neighbor Effect #AltusOK #OKready

With the frequency and severity of natural disasters on the rise, so has the importance of our understanding of community resilience in disaster recovery increased. A sense of community positively shaped disaster recovery for residents of 12 neighborhoods hit by Hurricane Sandy.  A new study conducted by the Associated Press-National Opinion Research Center for Public Affairs Research shows these 12 communities report high levels of recovery two years after the disaster due, in part, to neighbors helping neighbors.

If a disaster hits your community, your most immediate source of aid will be each other. Let America’s PrepareAthon! assist by providing the tools you’ll need to prepare for various disasters including winter storms and wildfires. Visit www.ready.gov/prepare for valuable information to help you take action and practice the necessary steps to protect your family, community, and organizations today!

Thanks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for this report.

The Mobile Way to Go #AltusOK

In this day and age, technology is rapidly changing and improving. Every day we are finding new ways to communicate and improve communication response times – especially during a disaster. The most incredible part is that everything we need fits right in our hand. 

You may be one of the many people across the country who rely more on a mobile phone than a traditional house-hold land-line; therefore, in emergency situations, it is vital to understand how your mobile or smartphone can get you critical information instantly. The following are ways to receive emergency information on your mobile or smartphone:

• The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) is the nation’s alert and warning system that saves time when time matters most. Check to see if your city participates in IPAWS.
• Use social media outlets like Twitter for your emergency alert needs! @Citizen_Corps and @PrepareAthon provide valuable disaster preparedness information on a daily basis!
• A number of mobile apps are available for getting prepared for, and keeping track of, emergency events; these apps include the FEMA appand host of apps by the American Red Cross.

One way to reduce the effects of disasters in your community is to invest in enhancing resilience through mobile technology. Using the above resources, we can start preparing for disasters and learn how to manage and mitigate emergency situations now, so that we don't wonder what to do later! For more information regarding mobile alerts and text messaging visit http://www.ready.gov/get-tech-ready.

Please don't forget the local alerting process, @AltusReady on Twitter, and the City Facebook page.

Fall Back and Do This… #AltusOK #OKready

It’s that time of year again! As we prepare our clocks to “fall back” for the end of Daylight Saving Time on November 2, use this opportunity to also prepare your home for fire emergencies by changing the batteries in your smoke alarm. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, most alarms need a new battery at least once a year. In addition, if your smoke alarm is more than 10 years old, replace it with a new alarm and a new battery.

And with colder temperatures on the way, you may want to review heating safety techniques with your family and create a fire escape plan. Heating equipment is a leading cause of home fire deaths. Some simple steps can prevent most heating-related fires from happening. These steps include:

• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, such as a furnace, fireplace, or portable heater;
• Turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed; and
• Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected yearly by a qualified professional.

Making a fire escape plan and practicing a fire escape drill are important elements of home fire safety. Start planning today! This toolkit from the National Fire Protection Agency has everything you need to get started.

Thanks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for this suggestion.