Winter weather decision-making: North Carolina school closures, 2010-2011

Abstract

The use of weather forecasts for emergency management decision-making requires that those making decisions have access to information they can understand and can put into operation in a timely manner. This can create a gap between what emergency management decision-makers need and what is available. Using school decision-making under conditions of severe winter weather in North Carolina as a case study, this project traces decision-making processes and use of weather information to identify the nature of these gaps and to test prototypes that might fill those gaps. A mixed methods approach including focus groups, interviews and surveys provided an evaluation of the critical decisions and specific information needs of this group of decision-makers. All these methods collect information from a variety of sources, including on-line forecasts, conversations with other school districts and riding the roads to check conditions. The findings suggest that some of the needed forecast information is available, but is either misinterpreted or school officials were not aware of its existence. Location-specific and time-sensitive information is crucial. By delving into the decision-making processes, including needs and networks, and by developing prototypes to address the needs, the results provide a step in the direction of enhancing the infusion of weather and climate information into severe weather decision processes.