Latest news with #ChrisNoble
NZ Herald
01-07-2025
- Climate
- NZ Herald
Cyclone Gabrielle inquest: MetService concedes red warning could've come sooner
The national weather authority has revealed a rare warning issued only for 'significant impact' events could have been delivered a day earlier as Cyclone Gabrielle struck the country. MetService chief meteorologist Chris Noble gave evidence during the second day of a coronial inquest into the deaths of 18 people during
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Cyclone Gabrielle inquest: Council opposed red weather warning
A red severe weather warning was only issued for Hawke's Bay on the day the cyclone made landfall. Photo: Supplied / Dawson Bliss MetService could have upgraded weather warnings for Hawke's Bay to red the day before Cyclone Gabrielle hit in early 2023 - but faced opposition from the regional council, according to the agency's chief meteorologist. The first phase of the inquest into the deaths of 19 people in the storm and Auckland floods is focusing on the warnings given to the public, and the emergency response. The weather forecaster issued a red severe weather warning for Hawke's Bay on 13 February, the day the cyclone made landfall. Chief meteorologist Chris Noble said MetService wanted to issue the warning the day before but Hawke's Bay Regional Council was opposed, based on confidence in its flood modelling. "One thing we've learned through this event is that red warnings are significant beyond just the flood modelling that might feed into that discussion and ultimately it's MetService's decision whether to go red or not." Noble said MetService's severe weather team had discussed upgrading to a red warning with the council's hydrology team on the morning of Sunday 12 February, ahead of its first issue of warnings about 10am that day. "The hydrologists were opposed to a red warning being issued, citing high confidence in their flood modelling which indicated no major concerns." MetService is tasked with communicating weather forecasts and warnings but does not undertake flood modelling. It upgraded the orange warning for the region from orange to red on Monday 13 February at 3.15pm. "I cannot say exactly what changed other than acknowledging the event was underway so the meteorologist would have been monitoring in real time... but I can't say for certain what led to that change from orange to red." Noble said in hindsight, MetService should have issued the red warning a day earlier, on the morning of 12 February. "It's definitely our preference that everyone agrees that it is a good idea to issue a red warning because of the significant impacts that we do understand it will have within communities," he said. "I would say this is probably touching on one of the biggest learnings for us from these events that ultimately, MetService has that decision to make and should make it if necessary, even if the other party doesn't agree." Matthew Mortimer-Wang, the counsel assisting the coroner, asked if there was enough information to justify a red weather warning. Noble said red warnings did not have a technical threshold of rainfall because they were designed to alert people to weather's extreme impact on their region and were linked to flood assessments. "It places everyone in a difficult position if those models don't adequately capture the intensity of an event at a specific location," he said. Hawke's Bay was one of the cyclone's worst-hit regions but there were no alerts or warnings before the Esk River burst its banks, flooding the entire valley in the early hours of 14 February. There have since been multiple inquiries into the actions of authorities before and during the cyclone. All of the investigations found failures in New Zealand's emergency management system. The various reports made more than 100 recommendations, including the creation of an early warning system for the public. The inquest on Tuesday heard how councils use a range of different information to predict flooding. Counsel assisting the families of the deceased Jane Glover asked why MetService believed the different flood forecasting systems were a "serious vulnerability". Noble said a range of agencies, MetService, NIWA and councils all owned weather stations but there were restrictions on sharing that data with one another. He also said the way in which the 16 regional councils develop forecast and model future flooding varied. "Across the country there's an uneven playing field for how flooding is forecast and modelled, we're aware that councils all have their own processes and that various councils will use different types of rainfall information to inform their flood prediction and their warnings," Noble said. "What we're really calling out there is a better linked up system that's using the same inputs to the warnings with the expertise feeding through to the flood modelling." Noble said that would be "advantageous across all of New Zealand, independent of the size of the council or their ability to pay for additional information". At the time of the cyclone, he said Hawke's Bay Regional Council used one single model from MetService for its flood modelling, while in other parts of the country NIWA assisted other councils with their flood predictions using a model different to that of MetService's. "It's just an example of how things are done differently in different regions and I think it would be a stronger system if the playing field was levelled and we all had a well integrated system using the same information right from the rainfall to the warnings to the flooding prediction itself." NIWA manager for climate, atmosphere and hazards Nava Fedaeff started to give evidence late Tuesday afternoon, about the data the institute provides about the weather and potential flooding. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research is a Crown Research Institute that as of this month, has merged with GNS Science to become Earth Sciences New Zealand. The inquest continues on Wednesday and hearings are set down for about six weeks, split between Auckland and Hastings. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
30-06-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
MetService quizzed on agency's weather warnings during coronial inquest
An example of MetService weather warnings and watches that were in place on 26 and 27 June. Photo: MetService The chief meteorologist for MetService has been quizzed on the agency's colour-coded weather warnings during a coronial inquest into the deaths of 18 people during Cyclone Gabrielle and the preceding Auckland floods. The inquest , which began Monday, is split into two phases. The first will focus on Auckland and the second on Hastings. MetService chief meteorologist Chris Noble was first to give evidence, questioned by the agency's lawyer Nicola Cuervo on the process used to issue a weather warning. He explained that thunderstorm notifications came in three stages: outlooks, watches and warnings. "Outlooks are designed to give a heads-up that severe or impactful weather is coming at some point in the future (usually three to six days)," Noble said. "As the event draws nearer and it becomes more certain we are likely to have weather that reaches the criteria to justify a warning, we'll issue a watch; this is a heads-up we're close to an event and it looks like it could be impactful." The watch would be upgraded to a warning once it became relatively certain that the storm was imminent. Noble also explained the criteria MetService used to rule that a thunderstorm was "severe". "MetService classifies a thunderstorm severe if one or more of the following criteria are met: heavy rain from thunderstorms of 25 millimetres per hour, large hail, strong wind gusts from thunderstorms of 110 kilometres per hour or more, or damaging tornadoes with a wind speed more than 116 kilometres per hour." Flooding on the corner of Seabrooke and Margan Avenues in the Auckland suburb of New Lynn on 27 January 2023. Photo: RNZ/ Josie Campbell Weather warnings were assigned colours from yellow to red to indicate severity, and given the term "broad scale" if they covered an area of 1000 square kilometres. Noble said it was very rare for a weather event to be both on a broad scale and meet the criteria for a red warning. The "broad scale red warning" label was only issued when there was an event with expected severe impacts and a potential threat to life over a significant area, and just 16 of these warnings had been issued since the colour coded system was introduced in 2019. Auckland's anniversary weekend storm was the ninth of these, and Cyclone Gabrielle the tenth, Noble said. He said when the colour coded system was first established, MetService only expected between one to three weather events on that scale each year - but eight had occurred since the start of 2023. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lumen Technologies (LUMN) Jumps 7.6% on AI-Powered Typhoon Readiness
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LUMN) is one of the . Lumen Technologies snapped a three-day losing streak on Monday, adding 7.61 percent to close at $4.24 apiece as investors cheered its AI-powered typhoon readiness measures. In a statement, Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LUMN) said it leverages AI-powered automation, geospatial intelligence, and strategic field staging to proactively mitigate risks to service continuity. AI and machine learning are adopted, vital to support real-time storm tracking, path prediction, and infrastructure risk modeling to help the company anticipate threats and allocate resources. Its team also uses geospatial tools such as advanced layer maps to assess vulnerability, prioritize asset protection, and respond faster. 'Our enterprise customers depend on uninterrupted connectivity to run their operations—even in the face of natural disasters,' said Chris Noble, Lumen Technologies, Inc.'s (NYSE:LUMN) SVP for service assurance. Close-up of a technician's hands adjusting a communication router. 'If an uncontrollable event occurs, we are well prepared with the full force of our Lumen resources to respond, restore, and communicate with our customers.' While we acknowledge the potential of LUMN as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Wire
23-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Lumen Technologies Ensures Enterprise Connectivity During Hurricane and Wildfire Season
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the 2025 hurricane and wildfire season intensifies, Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) today detailed its enterprise readiness plan, designed to safeguard mission-critical connectivity and support business continuity for customers operating under extreme conditions. From wildfires in California to hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, Lumen's enterprise network is built for resilience. The company leverages AI-powered automation, geospatial intelligence, and strategic field staging to proactively mitigate risks to service continuity when it matters most. 'Our enterprise customers depend on uninterrupted connectivity to run their operations—even in the face of natural disasters,' said Chris Noble, Lumen SVP service assurance. 'If an uncontrollable event occurs, we are well prepared with the full force of our Lumen resources to respond, restore, and communicate with our customers. Our response framework ensures real-time intelligence and boots-on-the-ground action, keeping our customers connected and operational through any storm.' Lumen's preparedness efforts are strengthened by state and federal partnerships, including coordination with FEMA, enabling faster, more effective disaster response. During past events, Lumen's predictive analytics accurately identified at-risk infrastructure, allowing teams to preemptively clear hazards and stage backup power near critical nodes. Key Elements of Lumen's Disaster Readiness Program: AI & Machine Learning: Real-time storm tracking, path prediction, and infrastructure risk modeling help Lumen anticipate threats and allocate resources. Geospatial Tools: Field teams use advanced layer maps to assess vulnerability, prioritize asset protection, and respond faster. Power Resiliency: Backup generators are staged near projected disaster areas to ensure prompt power restoration. Proactive Maintenance: Real-time analytics-driven inspections account for increased rates of commercial power outages, ensuring network stability. Incident Management: A dedicated national incident management team coordinates around-the-clock support and direct customer communication. Best Practices for Enterprise Customers: Lumen also encourages customers to take proactive steps to maintain operational continuity. Build Redundancy: Ensure your organization has multiple communication channels in place, such as satellite phones, mobile hotspots, and VoIP systems to ensure backup connectivity. Test Backup Power Systems: Regularly inspect and maintain generators and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) to support critical infrastructure during power outages. Don't Cut the Cable: Coordinate closely with restoration crews to avoid cable-cutting incidents during post-storm recovery. Practice Disaster Recovery: Rehearse comprehensive disaster recovery plans, including data backup, network restoration, and employee safety protocols. Added Noble: 'Lumen's enterprise-first network and disaster preparedness strategy reflects its broader mission—keeping businesses connected, protected, and prepared, no matter the forecast.' About Lumen Technologies Lumen is unleashing the world's digital potential. We ignite business growth by connecting people, data, and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. As the trusted network for AI, Lumen uses the scale of our network to help companies realize AI's full potential. From metro connectivity to long-haul data transport to our edge cloud, security, managed service, and digital platform capabilities, we meet our customers' needs today and as they build for tomorrow. For news and insights visit LinkedIn: /lumentechnologies, X: @lumentechco, Facebook: /lumentechnologies, Instagram: @lumentechnologies, and YouTube: /lumentechnologies.
