OK-FIRST - Oklahoma Climatological Survey

OK-FIRST: A Meteorological
Information System for Public Safety
Dale A. Morris, Kenneth C. Crawford, Kevin A. Kloesel, and J. Michael Wolfinbarger
Oklahoma Climatological Survey, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
ABSTRACT
The Oklahoma Climatological Survey has supported local public safety agencies (fire departments, law enforcement agencies, and emergency management) through its OK-FIRST program since 1996. OK-FIRST provides real-time
use of weather data to help public safety agencies fulfill their respective operational missions. Users are taught how to
interpret and apply weather data in their operations. The OK-FIRST system has been applied during a wide variety of
weather events, including severe weather, floods, wildfires, and hazardous materials incidents.
1. Introduction
As the twentieth century ended, considerable attention had been focused on reducing the losses from
natural disasters. To enhance disaster awareness, the
United Nations declared the 1990s to be the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (National Research Council 1991). Mitigation efforts,
such as Project Impact operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have illustrated the importance of involving stakeholders in public safety
from federal agencies through the local community
level. Access to quality information and adequate
training for local officials are required for disaster
mitigation programs to be successful. These resources
also address the other emergency management functions of preparedness, response, and recovery (National Research Council 1991, 1999).
Although the general weather information needs of
emergency managers and other public safety decision
makers are well known, only limited progress has been
achieved to provide specific, tailored, and real-time
weather information to these users. Several panels
(e.g., U.S. Weather Bureau 1964; National Research
Corresponding author address: Dale A. Morris, 100 E. Boyd,
Suite 1210, Norman, OK 73019.
E-mail: [email protected]
In final form 20 April 2001.
©2001 American Meteorological Society
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Council 1980) concluded that the “link between meteorological service and the users of weather information was markedly deficient.” Many examples have
pointed to communication failures between the meteorological community and local decision makers that
dealt with weather hazards like floods [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 1977,
1991], tornadoes (NOAA 1994, 1997), and severe heat
(Changnon et al. 1996). In most cases, the National
Weather Service (NWS) produced excellent forecasts;
yet, local decision makers either did not receive or did
not act upon the NWS information. In other cases, the
NWS could not make timely warning decisions because they did not receive critical information from
local communities. In short, adequate data communication and dissemination systems designed for local
officials—and that are affordable—have not been
available. Therefore, decisions affecting the safety and
protection of citizens have been made without the benefit of critical and local information.
Based upon our perception of a near-complete lack
of real-time weather information available to local
public safety agencies, the Oklahoma Climatological
Survey (OCS) began an initiative in 1996 known as
OK-FIRST. Demonstration funding was provided by
a telecommunications grant from the U.S. Department
of Commerce. The goal of OK-FIRST was to develop
a transportable, agency-driven information and support system to help public safety agencies to harness
the information age.
1911
The lack of weather information at the community
level results from near-zero budgetary support for rural emergency management agencies (most have only
one funded or part-funded position and cannot afford
commercially available data feeds); an inadequate information infrastructure (modern personal computers
and access to the Internet); and local officials who
often have very limited knowledge of the available
weather information and even less experience in using modern information. Thus, the OK-FIRST program was conceived to include critical elements to
address these three deficiencies. First, OK-FIRST
would provide access to localized, real-time weather
information that consisted of data from the Oklahoma
Mesonet (Brock et al. 1995), from regional Weather
Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) units
through a unique Next Generation Weather Radar
(NEXRAD) Information Dissemination Service
(NIDS; Baer 1991) data-sharing arrangement, and
from the NWS and other agencies. This access was
designed for fire, law enforcement, and emergency
management officials. Additional elements included
instruction on the interpretation and use of the available data and follow-up support on a continual basis.
As a result of OK-FIRST, Oklahoma’s public
safety personnel have reshaped their work routines
when dealing with weather-impacted situations.
Rather than simply reacting to weather situations, local officials are proactive and predeploy resources.
Local communities have benefited, as OK-FIRST participants have become local focal points for weather
information in a wide variety of situations. The emergency manager for the city of Moore, Oklahoma,
stated, “the ultimate benefactor of [our response to a
recent weather event] was, of course, our citizens and
those traveling through, as we had only a very small
amount of vehicle accidents during the entire event.”
Another participant used information from OK-FIRST
that “was critical to provide documentation of the current drought. A state [emergency] declaration for
Latimer County resulted.” Senior citizens have benefited
because caregivers are informed about dangerous heat
and wind chill indices. OK-FIRST information also
has been applied forensically. In one case, data from
OK-FIRST disproved a murder suspect’s alibi, resulting in an arrest and confession.
This manuscript documents the components of the
OK-FIRST program, provides an assessment from an
independent evaluation, and notes improvements
made by rural communities in how they responded to
weather-impacted situations. Section 2 details the early
1912
history of OK-FIRST. Section 3 documents the data
dissemination system of OK-FIRST, including its
Web-based decision-support system. Section 4 highlights the user-support components of OK-FIRST by
focusing on the instructional workshops. In section 5,
the reader will find details from an independent evaluation of OK-FIRST and about the impact OK-FIRST
has had in local communities across Oklahoma. The
importance of OK-FIRST to the citizens of Oklahoma
is summarized in section 6.
2. History
The availability of real-time weather hazard information historically has been nonexistent to public
safety officials, especially those outside of major metropolitan areas. However, the Oklahoma Mesonet (Brock
et al. 1995), developed as a multipurpose, mesoscale,
observing network, addressed this deficiency by providing real-time data to a host of users across Oklahoma.
Potential user groups targeted from the Mesonet’s inception included agricultural interests, K–12 education, the meteorological community, and public safety.
As the Mesonet was implemented, OCS initiated an
outreach program for math and science teachers in
1992 known as EARTHSTORM (McPherson and
Crawford 1996). This K–12 project initially provided
computers and Mesonet data to 50 teachers across
Oklahoma using a dial-up bulletin board system and
custom software. Completion of a 4-week educational
institute was required so that teachers would develop
the necessary computer skills and knowledge of how
to use Mesonet data in the classroom.
As the WSR-88D network became operational in
the 1990s, the NWS implemented the NIDS concept
using four private vendors. As a result of market forces
and costs incurred by the NIDS vendors, many local
public safety agencies were unable to purchase WSR88D data due to budgetary constraints. Even so, local
emergency managers often assumed the role of stormspotter coordinator [see the description of the integrated warning system for severe weather provided by
Doswell et al. (1999)], and became frustrated knowing that safe and efficient spotter coordination could
be facilitated through access to real-time weather radar data, if they could only afford it. Thus, radar data
had to be the cornerstone of a weather information
system for public safety agencies in Oklahoma.
Because of the previous success in rural data dissemination using the Mesonet and EARTHSTORM, opVol. 82, No. 9, September 2001
portunities surfaced for OCS to redistribute NIDS data
from 15 radars around Oklahoma at reduced subscription rates (Crawford et al. 1999). With a capability to
provide radar data, Mesonet data, and additional products from the NWS and other agencies, OK-FIRST
was built upon the foundation of experience gained
from the Mesonet and EARTHSTORM.
3. Data dissemination
OK-FIRST disseminates weather data to users via
a comprehensive Web site. This site was designed and
developed based upon information needs expressed by
local officials in Oklahoma and from results of a national survey of emergency managers by NOAA’s
Forecast Systems Laboratory (e.g., Kelsch 1996).
These findings indicated that an information system
for emergency managers should include radar data,
NWS watches and warnings, other observations such
as satellite data, local observations of rainfall, winds,
and other surface parameters. Because NWS watches
and warnings have been widely available to public
safety users via a variety of sources, OK-FIRST directed most of its resources into the delivery of radar
data and Mesonet data.
a. Data sharing strategy
OK-FIRST required an infrastructure to efficiently
deliver real-time weather information to a host of rural users across Oklahoma. The strategy to share
Mesonet and NIDS data was to deliver “raw,” or unprocessed, data files via the Web so each user could
display the data using custom software and popular
Web browsers (Netscape Communicator or Internet
Explorer). These browser “plug-ins” (Wolfinbarger
et al. 1998a,b) reduced server overhead because the
weather data files did not have to be preconverted to a
displayable format (e.g., GIF images) at a central facility before distribution.
Several benefits accrued from this strategy. First, the
central server could process requests from many more
users at once. This strategy is very important when one
considers that, during a typical day with precipitation,
∼90 000 distinct radar products are received at OCS
from the 15 radars around Oklahoma. While the volume of Mesonet data products remains small, Mesonet
data are provided in a multitude of display formats.
Providing complete control of the graphical display on
the end-user machine allows the data-dissemination
system to be more scalable (i.e., more combinations
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
of Mesonet data displays are possible and additional
WSR-88D radars or products can be distributed
through the server without substantially increasing the
processing requirements at the central site). In addition,
software residing on the user’s computer permits a high
level of interactivity with the data (e.g., animation,
querying of data values, zooming, and scrolling) and
maintains intuitive data access via the Web. Moreover,
the plug-in software and accompanying Web site software gives each user the flexibility to have a customized set of display preferences for geographic overlays,
default radars, and Mesonet parameters.
b. Incorporation of user feedback
One objective of OK-FIRST was to create an
“agency-driven” information system. In other words,
the system was to be initially designed and subsequently refined based upon continual input from users to ensure that OK-FIRST would be functional to
meet their needs. This goal was achieved through the
frequent incorporation of user feedback into subsequent software releases and accompanying Web pages.
For example, the first release of the plug-in software
simply displayed (Fig. 1a) the NIDS product known
as composite reflectivity [CREF; see Klazura and Imy
(1993) for details]. A separate text file of the storm attributes was also available (Fig. 1b), although these attributes are embedded within the CREF product. Thus,
users manually had to match a given storm attribute
with its reflectivity signature to determine if the storm
attribute information applied to the user’s location. In
other words, the manual process of matching storm V8
in Fig. 1b with its location east of the radar site in
Fig. 1a was difficult for some users. Thus, several users inquired if an easier method could be developed
to use the storm table. A later build of the plug-in software integrated the display of the storm attributes with
the CREF radar image via a “hot” cursor-tracking feature. A graphical overlay of the attributes provided detailed information as the cursor was moved over a
specific storm centroid (Figs. 1c,d).
Numerous other improvements have been made.
These include better rendering of the image data and
geographic overlays. The software also was extended
to produce time series graphs of Mesonet data on-thefly, cursor-tracking, interactive legends, and easier
methods to format and present Mesonet data.
c. OK-FIRST Web site content
As the plug-in display software evolved, so did the
Web pages that supported the plug-ins and other data
1913
sources. The OK-FIRST Web site (Fig. 2) organized
data into four categories. First, the NIDS content area
provided intuitive access to the entire collection of
NIDS products from the 15 WSR-88D units around
Oklahoma. This unique approach is a major benefit to
OK-FIRST: namely, that analysis and use of radar data
occurs using a network approach. For example, a public safety official whose area of responsibility is located midway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa,
Oklahoma, can view their area using two or more radar units (e.g., Fig. 3). The advantage is twofold. The
public safety official can corroborate image information between multiple radars, and the user can mitigate those rare but real-life situations when a given
WSR-88D unit might require maintenance at the most
inopportune moment. For example, during the tornado
outbreak of 3 May 1999, the WSR-88D unit near the
Tulsa area required maintenance. Using OK-FIRST,
users in northeast Oklahoma could monitor their areas using the radar units located in Oklahoma City;
Fort Smith, Arkansas; Springfield, Missouri; and
Wichita, Kansas.
The second content area focuses on data from the
Oklahoma Mesonet, which is presented in the form of
maps and time series graphs. Maps are dynamic station plots, line contour plots, and/or color-filled contour plots of measured or calculated parameters (e.g.,
temperature, humidity, wind chill index, rainfall, or
winds). These maps are important for users to discern
significant weather patterns for the development of
severe weather or to alert firefighters to impending
wind shifts. Time series graphs present daily summaries of Mesonet data for given locations. This type of
information has been used in forensic investigations
(i.e., airplane crashes and homicides). Other static plots
of Mesonet data, like long-term rainfall accumulations
and daily temperature extremes, are also available.
FIG. 1. Evolution of plug-in software capabilities (displays
shown use the composite reflectivity product from the WSR-88D
near Oklahoma City at 2151 LT on 4 Oct 1998; range rings are
30 n mi): (a) display using version 3.0 of plug-in software; (b) corresponding storm attribute table; (c) display using version 6.0 of
software (arrow represents cursor on storm V8, information about
storm V8 appears in legend); (d) storm attributes displayed independently from the radar image plus a 1-h storm projection (circles
represent hail algorithms, squares represent the WSR-88D
mesocyclone detection algorithm, triangles represent tornado detection algorithm).
1914
Vol. 82, No. 9, September 2001
Access to NWS text products and graphical products is achieved through links to various servers
around the United States [including a primary NWS
server in Washington, D.C., the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Oklahoma, and the ArkansasRed Basin River Forecast Center (ABRFC) in Tulsa,
Oklahoma]. These servers provide watches, warnings,
forecasts, and discussions of current and forecast
weather. Among OK-FIRST participants, the Convective Outlook Graphic produced by the SPC is a highdemand product.
A fourth section provides access to “other” data
sources that include derived products from the Oklahoma Mesonet. These value-added Mesonet products
include the Oklahoma Rainfall Update, used during
rainy episodes and for real-time drought monitoring,
and the Oklahoma Fire Danger Model (Carlson and
Engle 1998). This model is based upon the normalized difference vegetation index derived from Advanced Very High Radiation Radiometer satellite data,
land use information, and Mesonet weather conditions.
Updated many times per day, this model provides detailed maps of overall fire danger, fire intensity, rate
of fire spread, and the Keetch–Byram Drought Index
(KBDI). The other category also links to other useful
weather-related Web sites.
These data sources are also organized according to
six specific weather hazards (Fig. 4). For example, a
section on severe weather includes links to outlooks
from the SPC, while the flooding section includes
outlooks and guidance products from the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC), the ABRFC in
Tulsa, and the Climate Prediction Center. Thus, the
user can easily determine the current weather threat.
A decision-support component of the Web site
blends instructional material (section 4) with several
categories of current data sources. The products on the
decision-support pages are organized by their perceived utility before or during an event (Fig. 5;
Table 1). Products of use during a specific event are
further stratified by specific subthreats (e.g., radar
products for hail detection are base and composite reflectivity and vertically integrated liquid). These products are displayed dynamically based upon the user’s
preferences. Annotated examples of specific signatures
are included to assist with data interpretation of dry
lines, cold fronts, hail cores, tornadoes, floods, high
fire danger (Fig. 6), and other hazards. In other words,
the OK-FIRST site integrates current weather data
with online training materials appropriate for specific
weather hazards.
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
4. Instructional workshops, user
certification, and follow-up support
Before gaining access to the OK-FIRST Web site,
each participant is required to complete a weeklong
workshop. The workshop establishes a baseline of
skills in computer literacy and the application of modern weather data in the decision-making process.
Workshop participants are selected competitively; a
narrative is required about the local community and
the applicant’s reasons to participate. Geographic diversity is also a factor in selecting agencies. A preference is given to rural participants (65% of the
communities represented have populations of less than
10 000 and 49% have fewer than 5000 residents).
The Web site supports the workshops through access to extensive project information and instructional
materials. These materials include reference materials
on basic meteorology and climatology, severe weather,
FIG. 2. Illustration of the “current data” section of the OKFIRST Web site. Content areas are accessed using the four buttons at the top left of the screen (Radar, Mesonet, NWS, and
Other). The display is a plug-in image of vertically integrated liquid from the WSR-88D at Frederick, OK, at 1755 LT on 3 May
1999. In the radar section, users can choose any of the NIDS products (buttons on the lower-right panel under the radar image) from
any of 15 radars (map on the lower-left panel). Bottom panel illustrates how users customize their geographic overlays.
1915
floods, fire weather, and a comprehensive set of data
from 10 case studies.
During the workshops, “hands-on” computer laboratory exercises are integrated with lectures (Fig. 7).
Typically, lectures introduce concepts while laboratory exercises reinforce the lecture material by using
actual radar signatures, for instance. During these exercises, project staff assist participants when they encounter difficulty. Project staff also are available
during the open computer lab during most evenings
of the workshop. This one-on-one instruction with
many of the participants produces additional confidence using the OK-FIRST system. The laboratory
exercises are based upon data from actual weather
events. Four cases deal with severe weather (a classic
tornado outbreak on 26 Apr 1991; a major hail and
flood event in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas, on 5 May
1995; a major hail and wind event in northern Oklahoma on 17 Aug 1994; and a tornado and hail event
on 2 Apr 1994). Additional case studies focus on
floods, on winter weather, on wildfires using the Oklahoma Fire Danger Model, and on a significant
heatburst and wind event (22 May 1996). All laboratory exercises and other instructional materials (including a cross-linked glossary) reside on the Web site
so participants can refresh their memory when they
return to their local jurisdictions.
Throughout OK-FIRST, training workshops beyond the initial institutes were deemed to be essential.
Two-day refresher workshops have been conducted
periodically since the first weeklong workshop. The
refresher courses discussed updates to the software and
the Web sites in addition to providing new materials
on data interpretation. Refresher workshops provided
user feedback, which was incorporated into future software releases, Web page updates, and training regimen. In addition, intensive 2-day workshops for
“assistants,” who work and volunteer in trained OKFIRST agencies, covered basic data interpretations.
Because of the technical nature of the data, the
training, and the frequent updates to the Web site and
associated software, a user certification policy was
developed based upon near-unanimous feedback from
participants. The policy required users to be certified
through completion of the weeklong course, and to
maintain their certification through the refresher workshops. User accounts are terminated if a user does not
participate in a refresher course in an 18-month period.
Since the policy was implemented, 91% of the users
have maintained their certification. Of those who have
FIG. 3. Illustration of the “two-screen mode” available in OK-FIRST, which allows users to display products from any of the content areas. Both images are from 4 Oct 1998: on the left, base reflectivity from Oklahoma City and, on the right, the corresponding
image from Tulsa.
1916
Vol. 82, No. 9, September 2001
left the program, most are due to attrition issues not
related to OK-FIRST (e.g., retirement, job reassignment).
Follow-up support for participants is an important
component of the program. This support includes helping individuals to interpret imagery between workshops,
to ensure that the most recent software updates have been
downloaded and installed, and to solicit user input prior
to the next generation of improvements to the OK-FIRST
system. In addition, user success stories and criticisms
have been collected and data requests have been filled
to assist participants in documenting specific events.
shops. An independent evaluator determined the
effectiveness of the instruction and the impact OKFIRST had on participants’ work habits. The instruction was evaluated through the use of pre- and
post-tests, while focus groups provided anecdotal
documentation of the program’s impact. Anecdotes
(not part of the formal evaluation) also were collected
informally by project staff. The project evaluator
5. Program evaluation and impact
A formal program evaluation was included during
the first three sets of weeklong and refresher work-
FIG. 4. OK-FIRST Web page used during flood threats. Users
can choose from any of the six “threats” by clicking on the dropdown box in the upper right. The product shown is the Day 1
Quantitative Precipitation Forecast from the Hydrometeorological
Prediction Center. The image expands to full screen when clicked.
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
FIG. 5. Example of a decision-support page for use during severe weather. Products are stratified by perceived utility before
and during an event. They appear in a new browser window when
chosen. The products “during an event” are further classified by
a specific “subthreat” (hail, tornadoes, high winds). Interpretation
guides for many products are linked for side-by-side comparison
with the most current edition of the chosen product.
1917
(James et al. 2000) concluded
that “OK-FIRST staff were able
to enhance significantly the
knowledge and skills of the
project participants in a very
short period of time. This is
even more impressive given the
very technical nature of the
material and the fact the participants did not come from technical backgrounds.” The formal
evaluation provided a quantitative analysis of the effectiveness
of the instruction during the
workshops. For example, the
evaluator provided a questionby-question breakdown plus
summarized results by content
area. Evaluation results were released periodically to project
staff so midcourse improvements in instructional strategies
could be made. The evaluator
also collected information from
participants at a refresher workshop that involved all three
classes. This investigated the
support provided to the users by
OK-FIRST staff. The evaluation
determined that 98% of the participants were very satisfied
with the OK-FIRST Web site.
The participants also had overwhelmingly positive responses
about training and support (95%
said that the training had helped
them a great deal and 97% reported that they were very or
somewhat satisfied with ongoing project support).
In addition to the formal
evaluation, project staff also
routinely examine Web site usage statistics. These numbers
consist of the total number of
downloaded data files classified
by radar data and Mesonet data.
Between 1998 and 2000, the annual number of Mesonet files
downloaded by OK-FIRST participants are 62 628, 126 731,
1918
TABLE 1. Products in the OK-FIRST Decision Support System with their corresponding
interpretation guides.
Product
Interpretation guides
Severe weather (before the event)
SPC day 1 and day 2 outlooks
Example
Surface temperature and dewpoint contours
Thunderstorm initiation
Equivalent potential temperature
Thunderstorm initiation and
propagation
Base reflectivity
Dry lines; outflow boundaries;
intersections of boundaries
Surface temperature contours
Cold front
Surface dewpoint contours
Cold front; dry line
Severe weather (hail)
Base reflectivity
Hail cores
Composite reflectivity
Hail algorithm
Vertically integrated liquid (VIL)
Oklahoma VIL/hail climatology
Severe weather (tornadoes)
Base reflectivity
Hook echoes; v-notch; bounded weak
echo region
Composite reflectivity
Mesocyclone algorithm; tornado
detection algorithm
Base velocity
Mesocyclones
Storm-relative velocity
Rotation couplets
Severe weather (winds)
Base reflectivity
Bow echo
Fire weather (before the event)
Oklahoma Fire Danger Model
Burning index; spread component;
KBDI example
Fire weather (during the event)
Mesonet 2-m and 10-m winds
Wind shift example
Base reflectivity
Thin lines
Mesonet stability (1.5- vs 9-m temperature)
Stability example
Vol. 82, No. 9, September 2001
function, type of Internet access,
and the weather patterns. For
example, several participants
Product
Interpretation guides
have been able to acquire faster
Internet access over the past
Winter weather (before the event)
several years, allowing them to
access the OK-FIRST Web site
SPC mesoscale discussion
Heavy snow example
more frequently. For this and
other reasons, product usage
Observed thickness and 850-mb
Snow and other winter precipitation
tends to increase from year to
temperature
year. This increase also results
Winter weather (during the event)
from adding participants each
year and to increasing appliBase reflectivity
Snow in clear-air mode;
cation of the weather data to
distinguishing precipitation type
on-the-job challenges by the
Upper-air soundings
Freezing rain example; snow example
participants.
The Web site usage statistics
Regional temperature and wind chill
Wind chill chart
can also be stratified according
to each user to reveal product usFlooding (before the event)
age patterns or an apparent level
HPC quantitative precipitation forecasts
Example
of interest in using OK-FIRST.
For example, all but 24 of the
HPC quantitative precipitation discussion
Contractions used in discussions
registered users had more than
5000 accesses during the year
ABRFC regional quantitative precipitation
Example
2000. Of the users who accessed
forecasts
the site more infrequently, 10
SPC mesoscale discussion
Example for heavy rain
were granted access in December during a weeklong data interABRFC flash flood guidance
Flash flood guidance example
pretation workshop. Most of
the remaining 14 users had not
ABRFC 24-h precipitation total
Example
attended a recent refresher workshop, underscoring the imporFlooding (flash flooding)
tance of continuing education
Base reflectivity
Training echoes
for a support program like OKFIRST.
1-h rainfall accumulation (NIDS)
Flash flood example
Negative criticism of OKFIRST has been very minor.
3-h rainfall accumulation (NIDS)
Example
The most vocal critics have
Storm-total rainfall accumulation (NIDS)
Storm-total precipitation and
been agencies that were denied
flooding; brightband effect
access to the program. Although
these denials resulted from a
Heat and drought
design criterion to enforce geographic diversity and to elimiOklahoma Keetch–Byram Drought Index
KBDI example
nate overcrowded workshops, a
Mesonet temperature and heat index
Heat index chart
few agencies were disturbed
when they were rejected and a
nearby agency was accepted.
and 366 732. Corresponding totals for radar data are Many of the agencies that were originally denied ac936 448, 1 404 988, and 1 959 144. Some care must cess were subsequently approved to participate in later
be taken when interpreting these figures, because workshops as the geographic diversity requirement
many factors influence them, including participant job was slightly relaxed.
TABLE 1. Continued.
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
1919
a. Overall impact
The overall attitude and response by the program
participants can be summarized by the following:
•
•
•
•
•
“I’m proactive now rather than just reactive.”
“This is the most fantastic tool emergency managers have ever had.”
“Each community can have access to data specifically aimed at their community or region. This allows the emergency manager to check his own
specific area while the NWS and TV stations are
concentrating their coverage on other areas of the
state.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without it. I’d probably
resign. It’s that important.” (H. Gunter, The Daily
Oklahoman, 11 May 1999).
“I can look at OK-FIRST and figure out where I
need to send spotters rather than just scattering
them out across the county and hoping that they
are in the right places.”
“The number of times storm spotters are activated
has been drastically reduced, and when they are activated, it is for a shorter duration. Also, fewer spotters are needed.”
Comments collected after specific events highlight
specific actions that informed personnel could make.
“One spotter was assigned to a location west of
Moore. As the storms moved in, our spotter coordinator decided—due to her OK-FIRST display—
to move the spotter a couple of miles south. It was
this spotter who gave us first knowledge of the
Specific benefits with respect to type of weather
large wall cloud that eventually spawned the torevent include the following.
nado that destroyed/severely damaged a dozen
homes and apartment buildings. The spotter’s
b. Severe weather
call—along with a warning from NWS Norman—
User comments about the use of OK-FIRST durcaused us to activate our warning system, and we
ing severe weather highlighted more efficient use of
provided our residents about 10 minutes of warnresources:
ing. There were NO injuries or fatalities from the
storm. The spotter later told
us (numerous times) that had
the EOC not moved him, he
would not have been in the
proper location to see the
wall cloud! This scenario is
EXACTLY what OK-FIRST
was designed to do! It
certainly worked here!!!”
(G. Kitch, following a tornado in Moore on 4 Oct
1998).
• “Following the devastating
storms in Oklahoma City,
Moore, and Del City, numerous Logan County police
and fire crews were eager to
go there to assist. Only by
real-time OK-FIRST data
were we able to persuade department chiefs that our own
threat was not over; that
crews and equipment should
be retained in our area until
several additional supercells
capable of producing tornaFIG. 6. Example of a data interpretation guide for the Keetch–Byram Drought Index, one
of a series of images produced by the Oklahoma Fire Danger Model.
does passed. Thus, emer•
1920
•
Vol. 82, No. 9, September 2001
•
gency response was still strong in Logan County
when we were struck about 90 minutes later. When
police and rescue crews arrived at the first Logan
County damage site near the city of Crescent, one
of the first tasks was to open the highway sufficiently to get an ambulance through from Crescent
to the hospital in Guthrie. All efforts were to get
that ambulance moving with a critically injured
tornado victim. About the time they succeeded, a
second tornado approached in the dark. The ambulance and the tornado moved on intersecting
paths. Emergency management, aware of both
events, was able to stop the ambulance until the
tornado had passed just in front of it. The town of
Mulhall, devastated by the initial tornado after it
passed Crescent, was warned primarily by two law
enforcement units sounding their vehicle sirens in
the town. The units had been dispatched there by
the Sheriff’s office based upon OK-FIRST data.
Both units continued warning residents until they
were each hit by debris: one by power lines down
across his car, the second by a large tree on top of
his unit. Both officers were uninjured—and so
were all but one Mulhall town resident!” (J. Lewis,
following the 3–4 May 1999 tornado outbreak).
“I promise you we’d have had deaths in Lincoln
County without it. I firmly believe that” (B. Springfield, following the 3–4 May 1999 tornado outbreak). Lincoln County residents were informed by
frequent updates broadcast via scanner. As result,
these rural citizens took shelter. Mr. Springfield
also consulted with other local officials to evacuate the Tanger Outlet Mall, which was later destroyed. No physical human casualties resulted,
although the town of Stroud lost its three major
employers and over half of its tax base in a matter
of minutes.
•
Mesonet data, I initially detected a wind shift ahead
of an advancing cold front. NIDS data from the
Oklahoma City radar, in clear-air mode, [also]
clearly showed the wind shift line. I then projected
a precise arrival time in coordination with the NWS
forecaster in Norman, and passed the information
to the Incident Commander (IC), giving him 45
minutes lead-time. With the advance warning, the
IC refueled, rewatered, and repositioned brush
pumpers near structures at the southeast edge of the
fire. When the sudden wind shift occurred, equipment was in position to protect two rural houses
and several outbuildings. Had the wind shift occurred without warning, the response time to the
new head of the fire would have been 5–10 minutes after the IC recognized the wind shift. The exposures on the southeast flank would certainly have
been seriously threatened” (J. Lewis, following a
wildfire event in Dec 1997).
“Our fire dispatchers use the KBDI to page multiple rural fire departments when the values get too
high. This way, we can direct more efforts in getting the fires knocked down when they are still
relatively small, instead of having them get out of
control” (H. Trottier, following a major statewide
fire emergency during Sep 2000).
d. Flooding
• “I used the OK-FIRST system (NIDS and Mesonet)
to estimate that 6½ inches of rain fell in southern
Pittsburg County. I was able to use that information to call the county commissioners and warn
them that a particular bridge might wash away two
hours before the bridge was destroyed. The people
here in McAlester and Pittsburg County are really
sold on the system” (B. Young, Oct. 1997, only
days after returning from a weeklong workshop).
Several other rural emergency managers prevented
even greater tragedies from occurring on 3 May by
directing crews from their areas around intervening
tornadic supercells as they responded to needs in the
Oklahoma City area.
c. Fire weather
OK-FIRST participants have alerted firemen to approaching wind shifts. Participants at fire departments
have their adjusted staffing and operational procedures.
•
“I used OK-FIRST to forecast a significant wind
shift during a large grass fire. From Oklahoma
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
FIG. 7. Workshop of 19 emergency managers during Aug 1999.
K. Kloesel is shown delivering a live weather briefing where participants are asked to follow using their computers.
1921
•
•
“We had an ambulance that needed to transport an
individual to a different hospital during a flood. I
was able to tell them the latest information about
where roads were covered and where they could get
through.”
“On Christmas Day the river was within 6 inches
of flood stage. Instead of having to run down to the
river every couple of hours or pulling people away
from their families, I was able to use OK-FIRST
and see that the crest had already passed and it was
going back down.”
e. Other situations
OK-FIRST has been used during outdoor athletic
events, concerts, parades, and festivals to protect the
public and provide guidance to event organizers. Local
users have disseminated heat index and wind chill
values to the elderly and to outside workers. Forensic
use includes the investigation following homicides,
arsons, and aircraft accidents. Other communities have
used OK-FIRST for more efficient scheduling of public works projects and directing evacuations during
hazardous-materials incidents:
•
•
•
“We had a chlorine gas leak at the water treatment
plant. We used current data to assist responding
agencies and for evacuation of residents of the
area.”
“This winter we had a storm moving in. We were
able to watch it over the course of a few hours and
could tell that the snow wasn’t going to hit us. The
city could send the snow crews home and saved a
lot of overtime pay.”
“I’ve used it on several occasions to assist county
commissioners on their road work.”
6. Summary
OK-FIRST has convincingly demonstrated that
local public safety officials, when properly trained and
provided with accurate and real-time weather information, can make decisions beneficial to the protection
of life and property and to save precious resources. In
addition, OK-FIRST has made the transition from a
demonstration project to an annually state-funded program. To date, over 140 public safety officials have
been trained. Workshops continue to be conducted as
participants are recruited from communities not currently served. The workshops also help to continue
local involvement following the attrition of partici1922
pants. Through the process of developing and sustaining the program, OK-FIRST staff have gained considerable experience and knowledge regarding the
requirements for decision-support systems that benefit public safety and in the training methods that are
most effective for nonmeteorologists. As access to
federal radar data becomes less restrictive, the experience gained in Oklahoma should benefit other private
and public sector groups who desire to build similar
systems. Some interest has been expressed by a few
neighboring states in building programs like OKFIRST, although none have formally begun the process. While the legislative mandate of OCS limits its
direct involvement in building systems like OK-FIRST
outside the borders of Oklahoma, the intellectual property created by OCS is available via licensing and consulting arrangements. However, OCS has also been
involved in replicating OK-FIRST to solve problems
of other user groups (e.g., rural electric cooperatives).
Acknowledgments. OK-FIRST began using a grant from the
U.S. Department of Commerce and its Telecommunications and
Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (now known as
Telecommunications Opportunities Program) of the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration. The National Weather Service provided additional funding to help test
the decision-support system. Annual support is provided by the
Oklahoma legislature through the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. Additional lesiglative support was achieved through
the efforts of Oklahoma State Senator Cal Hobson. Unisys
Weather Information Services provided the opportunity to redistribute NIDS data for reduced subscription fees. Assistance in
the training workshops has been provided by staff from the NWS
Forecast Offices in Norman and Tulsa, the ABRFC and the
WSR-88D Operational Support Facility. In addition, the success
of the program is largely due to the efforts of the participants
themselves.
Numerous other individuals contributed to the success OKFIRST. The following present and former OCS staff provided assistance in a variety of ways: Andrea Melvin, Andrew Reader,
Christopher Duvall, Renee McPherson, Mark Shafer, Howard
Johnson, Tim Hughes, Derek Arndt, Justin Greenfield, Amy
Cameron, Cerry Leffler, Mike Wolfinbarger, Brad Stanley, Robb
Young, Stdrovia Blackburn, Jared Bostic, Jessica Thomale,
Sridhar Kulasekharan, Billy McPherson, the Mesonet field technicians and student operations staff. The evaluation was conducted
by Tom James and Paula Long from the Institute for Public Affairs at the University of Oklahoma. The support of Oklahoma
Governor Frank Keating is also acknowledged.
References
Baer, V. E., 1991: The transition from the present radar dissemination system to the NEXRAD Information Dissemination
Service (NIDS). Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 72, 29–33.
Vol. 82, No. 9, September 2001
Brock, F. V., K. C. Crawford, R. L. Elliott, G. W. Cuperus, S. J.
Stadler, H. L. Johnson, and M. D. Eilts, 1995: The Oklahoma
Mesonet: A technical overview. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol.,
12, 5–19.
Carlson, J. D., and D. M. Engle, 1998: Recent developments in
the Oklahoma Fire Danger Model, a mesoscale fire danger
rating system for Oklahoma. Preprints, Second Symp. on Fire
and Forest Meteorology, Phoenix, AZ, Amer. Meteor. Soc.,
42–47.
Changnon, S. A., K. E. Kunkel, and B. C. Reinke, 1996: Impacts
and responses to the 1995 heat wave: A call to action. Bull.
Amer. Meteor. Soc., 77, 1497–1506.
Crawford, K. C., D. A. Morris, and D. E. Lewis, 1999: OK-FIRST:
A NIDS success story. Preprints, 15th Int. Conf. on Interactive Information and Processing Systems for Meteorology,
Ogeanography, and Hydrology, Dallas, TX, Amer. Meteor.
Soc., 44–47.
Doswell, C. A., III, A. R. Moller, and H. E. Brooks, 1999: Storm
spotting and public awareness since the first tornado forecasts
of 1948. Wea. Forecasting, 14, 544–557.
James, T. E., P. O. Long, and M. A. Shafer, 2000: An independent evaluation of the OK-FIRST decision support system.
Preprints, Second Symp. on Environmental Applications, Long
Beach, CA, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 40–47.
Kelsch, M., 1996: Severe weather information for emergency
management decision making. Preprints, 18th Conf. on Severe
Local Storms, San Francisco, CA, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 597–
601.
Klazura, G. E., and D. A. Imy, 1993: A description of the initial
set of analysis products available from the NEXRAD WSR88D system. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 74, 1293–1311.
McPherson, R. A., and K. C. Crawford, 1996: The EARTHSTORM
Project: Encouraging the use of real-time data from the Oklahoma Mesonet in K–12 classrooms. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc.,
77, 749–761.
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, 1977:
Johnstown Pennsylvania flash flood of July 19–20, 1977.
Natural Diaster Survey Rep. 77-1, 60 pp.
——, 1991: Shadyside, Ohio, flash floods, June 14, 1990. Natural Disaster Survey Report, 127 pp. [NTIS PB91-204966INZ].
——, 1994: Southeastern United States Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of March 27, 1994. Natural Disaster Survey Report, 75
pp. [Available from the National Weather Service, 1325 East–
West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3283.]
——, 1997: The central Texas tornadoes of May 27, 1997. Service
Assessment, 99 pp. [Available from the National Weather Service, 1325 East–West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3283.]
National Research Council, 1980: Technological and Scientific
Opportunities for Improved Weather and Hydrological Services in the Coming Decade. National Academy Press, 87 pp.
——, 1991: A Safer Future: Reducing the Impacts of Natural Disasters. National Academy Press, 76 pp.
——, 1999: Reducing Disaster Losses through Better Information. National Academy Press, 72 pp.
U.S. Weather Bureau, 1964: The national research effort on improved weather description and prediction for social and economic purposes. Prepared for the Federal Council for Science
and Technology, Interdepartmental Committee on Atmospheric Sciences, 84 pp.
Wolfinbarger, J. M., R. A. Young, and T. B. Stanley, 1998a: Interactive software for viewing NEXRAD level 3 data on the
World Wide Web. Preprints, 14th Int. Conf. on Interactive Information and Processing Systems for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology, Phoenix, AZ, Amer. Meteor. Soc.,
208–212.
——, ——, and ——, 1998b: Delivering real-time interactive data
from the Oklahoma Mesonet via the World Wide Web. Preprints, 14th Int. Conf. on Interactive Information and Processing Systems for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology,
Phoenix, AZ, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 213–217.
1923