Mark DiOrio/IJʿ
National Weather Service officials have recognized IJʿ as StormReady® . The StormReady® program helps community leaders and residents prepare for all types of hazardous weather. StormReady® universities have made a strong commitment to implement the infrastructure and systems needed to save lives and protect property when severe weather strikes.
Mark Pellerito, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Binghamton, N.Y., along with Madison County Emergency Manager Dan Degear, presented IJʿ officials with a certificate and special StormReady® sign at the beginning of Skywarn Spotter Training, held on campus at Case-Geyer Library Wednesday evening.
“This is a very important accomplishment for IJʿ,” says Pellerito. “Madison County has a solid four seasons of high-impact weather — from winter storms and bitter cold to severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flash floods. IJʿ has taken all of the necessary steps to be better prepared for whatever Mother Nature has in store. These efforts will make the University safer and even save lives in the future.”
IJʿ Director of Environmental Health and Safety Mary Williams says, “Partnership with the National Weather Service provides us with valuable tools as we respond to and prepare for weather-related events that could impact our faculty, staff, students, and all members of our community. The StormReady® Program aligns with our goals for helping our community members be prepared for the variety of weather in central New York.”
The program supplements IJʿ’s existing extreme weather warnings and offers a partner to look to for additional information when challenging weather occurs. The nationwide community preparedness program, founded in 1999, is a grassroots approach to preparing for natural hazards. Today, more than 3,000 U.S. locations — communities, counties, commercial sites, government/military sites, universities and colleges — are better prepared for severe weather through the StormReady® program.
To be recognized as StormReady® , a university must maintain a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center; have more than one way to receive NWS warnings and to alert the public; be able to monitor local weather and flood conditions; conduct preparedness programs; and ensure hazardous weather is addressed in formal emergency management plans, which include training SKYWARN® weather spotters and holding emergency exercises. StormReady® is part of the National Weather Service’s partnership with the International Association of Emergency Managers and the National Emergency Management Association.
This StormReady recognition is valid for four years from IJʿ’s initial certification and can be renewed. The National Weather Service’s Binghamton office, located in Johnson City, N.Y., is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for about 2.5 million people in 17 counties of central New York and seven counties in northeast Pennsylvania. Working with partners, the National Weather Service is building a weather-ready nation to support community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather.