News-Press NOW joins NOAA's 'Weather Ready Nation'
The Weather Ready Nation Ambassador program is designed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to strengthen partnerships with external organizations toward building community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather, climate, and water events.
Johnathan Kurtz, the warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS in Kansas City, explains that this program helps bridge the communication gap between broadcast meteorologist, the National Weather Service and vulnerable populations in our community.
Over the last few years, News-Press NOW has stayed committed to keeping Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas Weather Ready through weekly Weather Wise segments, annual Severe Weather Preparedness Week specials as well as community outreach aimed at severe weather and safety education through local programs like Safety Town and Safety Acres.
We also use the value of our daily forecasts in tracking threats for severe or impactful weather across Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas.
Through this program, News-Press NOW aims to help make the community ready, responsive and resilient to extreme events.
We also aim to inform and empower communities, businesses and people to be better informed and make life-saving decisions that may also prevent or limit devastating economic losses.
To learn more about the Weather Ready Nation program, go to www.weather.gov/wrn/.
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