When Seconds Count, StormReady® Communities are Prepared

Guideline 1: Communications & Coordination Center

To be recognized as StormReady, an agency must have a 24-hour warning point to receive NWS information and provide local reports and advice. This office might be a law enforcement or fire department dispatching point. Cities or towns without a local dispatching point, can use a county agency. The warning point must:

  • Operate 24 hour a day
  • Have warning reception capability
  • Offer warning dissemination capability
  • Have the ability and authority to activate local warning system(s)

Emergency Operations Center.

Agencies serving jurisdictions with more than 2,500 people need an Emergency Operations Center* (EOC). The EOC must be staffed during hazardous weather events and would assume the warning point's hazardous weather functions. The EOC must be staffed with emergency management director or designee and be able to:

  • Assume weather-related duties of the warning point, when staffed.
  • Be activated based on guidelines related to NWS information or weather events.
  • Offer warning reception capability. (See guideline 2)
  • Activate local warning system(s). Must have capabilities equal to or better than the warning point.
  • Communicate with adjacent EOCs/Warning Points.
  • Link with NWS to relay real time weather information to support the warning decision making process.

* If the population of a "community" is less than 15,000, it is only required to have a
24 hour warning point if the county seat population is less than 40,000.
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