There’s a saying in Nevada that if you don’t like the weather, you should wait five minutes. While this might be an exaggeration (it seriously never stopped snowing this winter) TMCC’s new role as a Weather Ready Nation (WRN) Ambassador puts our institution at the forefront of improving our community’s readiness, responsiveness, and overall resilience against extreme weather, water, and climate events.
WRN Ambassadors are formally recognized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as organizations committed to collaborating with NOAA, sharing preparedness messaging in outreach to the public, and serving as examples themselves by implementing resilience best practices in the support of NOAA’s mission to save life and property by providing critical environmental intelligence, including weather forecasts and warnings, to our partners and the general public.
As a WRN Ambassador, TMCC has committed to working with NOAA and other Ambassadors to strengthen national resilience against extreme weather. WRN Ambassadors help to unify the efforts across government, non-profits, academia, and private industry toward making the nation more ready, responsive, and resilient against extreme environmental hazards. Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) is a strategic outcome where society’s response should be equal to the risk from all extreme weather, water, and climate hazards.
To be recognized as a WRN Ambassador, TMCC will continue to:
- Promote Weather-Ready Nation messages and themes to our students, staff, and stakeholders;
- Engage with NOAA personnel on potential collaboration opportunities;
- Share our success stories of preparedness and resiliency;
- Serve as an example by educating employees on workplace preparedness.
In return, NWS Reno (our local NOAA affiliate) will assist the college in meeting its future goals in building emergency preparedness on campus, assisting in our goal of becoming the leading contributor to building a more sustainable future and improve the community’s readiness for significant weather by helping to “spread the word” through means of communications that include our website and social media accounts.
In addition to this, as a WRN Ambassador, TMCC will receive:
- Daily weather briefings
- 24/7 forecaster availability (important during winter storm conditions)
- Winter weather guidance for soccer games (starting fall 2019)
Yes, you read that correctly: as a WRN Ambassador, TMCC will be able to receive specific weather briefings before events, highlighting the risk of thunderstorms during the event and potential weather impacts from storms. These reports will include specifics on winds, precipitation and extreme temperatures, and the overall timing of weather hazards.
The WRN Ambassadorship is one of many campus initiatives toward making our community more prepared, sustainable and “green.” Vamos Verdes—a call intended for our new soccer teams—is equally relevant for our sustainability measures that work toward making TMCC “more green.”
If you ever have a question about the weather, TMCC—as a WRN Ambassador—will have the answer for you, no matter how quickly the weather changes. For more information about TMCC’s status as a WRN Ambassador or other Sustainability Initiatives, contact the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Sustainability at 775-673-7027.