CNCounty News

Prep for disaster with StormReady

Image of storm ready Osceola County.JPG

Key Takeaways

When Hurricane Florence reached the southeast U.S. coast last month, community preparedness arguably offered one of the best lines of defense against the hurricane’s impacts.

Learn More

The National Weather Service’s StormReady program

The National Weather Service (NWS) recognizes the importance of disaster preparedness and through its StormReady community preparedness program, equips local jurisdictions with the safety and communication strategies needed to prepare for, protect against and respond to extreme weather events.

Developed in the late 1990s, the StormReady program seeks to recognize the work emergency managers have done to prepare their local jurisdictions for severe weather.

The NWS site lists requirements for an official StormReady designation which includes:

  • Establishing a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center
  • Establishing several methods of communicating severe weather warnings and forecasts to the public
  • Creating a system that monitors local weather conditions
  • Promoting the importance of public readiness through community seminars
  • Developing a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.

Prior to receiving a StormReady designation, communities are provided with guidelines on how to enhance disaster preparedness. StormReady designations can help communities obtain funding for various preparedness activities and foster better citizen engagement in disaster preparedness through public education. As of September 2018, there were 1295 counties and parishes with StormReady designations.

The goals of the NWS StormReady program align well with NACo’s Strengthening Coastal Counties Resilience Program, a technical assistance and training program focusing on strengthening coastal counties’ resilience.

Both programs seek to help participants better prepare for extreme weather events and climate-related hazards through planning, education and awareness.

Bike Hero

Attachments

Related News

Texas National Guard troops use boats to search for survivors in Kerr County following floods that began in the region on July 4, 2025. More than 230 Guard personnel are working in three counties to clear debris and conduct search and rescue operations. Photo courtesy of the Texas National Guard
County News

Texas Hill Country floods kill more than 100 across six counties

Nineteen different local and state agencies are involved with the search and rescue efforts over six counties following flash flooding in Texas' Guadalupe River. 

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple
County News

Insurance incentives fortify against disasters

La. insurance commissioner: "The federal government needs to look at what Louisiana and other states are doing when it comes to prioritizing funding and resources for individuals and state and local governments that are building resiliently."

A diversion outlet returns floodwaters to the Red River in northern Cass County, N.D. A diversion channel carries floodwater west of Fargo and other Cass County areas. Photo courtesy of the Army Corps of Engineers
County News

Diversion project spells relief from Fargo-area flooding

After suffering several top-10 worst floods in just a few years, Cass County, N.D. citizens voted for a sales tax that funds a massive diversion project that should protect the growing region from the Red River’s swells.