Grand Teton NNP has become the first park to earn National Weather Service status as ready for severe storms under the StormReady program.
Following completion of the requirements for this emergency preparedness program, the park earned recognition as a StormReady unit. The NWS confirms that Grand Teton is the first national park to gain this key designation.
Nearly 90% of all presidentially-declared disasters are weather-related; these disasters lead to about 500 deaths per year and cost approximately $14 billion in property damage. The NWS designed the StormReady program to help prepare people, government agencies, and community organizations to operate within the communication and safety network needed to save lives and reduce property damage during a severe weather event.
StormReady uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle all types of severe weather. To be StormReady, a community, organization or agency must:
Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center
Have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts
Have more than one way to alert the public to severe weather events
Create a system that monitors local weather conditions
Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars and outreach
Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and conducting emergency exercises
To meet the StormReady emergency management guidelines, Grand Teton was required to demonstrate its capability to provide an essential and response-ready communication network. In addition, several park employees completed training as weather spotters; these employees will provide critical weather observations to field offices for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.
âGrand Teton National Park continually seeks new ways to improve safety for visitors, local residents, and park employees,â said superintendent Mary Gibson Scott. âCompleting the StormReady requirementsâand gaining the knowledge and network necessary to effectively deal with severe weather eventsâis an important step in creating a safer environment for anyone residing in, or recreating throughout the park. We are proud to have earned StormReady status, and we intend to effectively implement the StormReady communication system for the benefit of not only the park, but also our neighbors.â
For more information about the StormReady program, click on the link below and/or contact Chris Jones, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Riverton, Wyoming at 307.857.3898, ext 726.
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