“StormReady encourages communities to take a proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations and public awareness in partnership with their local National Weather Service office,” said Ken Graham, meteorologist-in-charge of the National Weather Service forecast office in New Orleans. Graham presented parish officials with a recognition letter and special StormReady�® signs during a ceremony in the Council Chambers at the St Charles Parish Courthouse in Hahnville.

The nationwide community preparedness program uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle local severe weather and flooding threats. The program is voluntary and provides communities with clear-cut advice from the local National Weather Service forecast office and state and local emergency managers. The program began in 1999 with seven communities in the Tulsa, Okla., area. Today, there are more than 1,400 StormReady communities.

“The program is designed to help StormReady communities improve communication and safety skills needed to save lives before, during and after a severe weather event,” said Frank Revitte, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the New Orleans/Baton Rouge Weather Forecast Office.

St. Charles Parish shows off signage declaring it part of NOAA’s StormReady program. Pictured are (left to right) EOC Emergency Coordinator Benjamin Botnick, EOC Senior Coordinator Jason Tastet, Emergency Coordinator Jim Polk, EOC Director Tab Troxler, St. Charles Pairsh EMS Supervisor Ken Russo and School Board Physical Plant Administrator John Rome Jr. St. Charles is now one of only 12 StormReady communities in Louisiana. This means St. Charles has met all the requirements to join this elite group of communities that are prepared for any weather event through 24-hour staffing and monitoring, multiple ways of communicating with the public and more.

To be recognized as StormReady, a community must establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center; have more than one way to receive severe weather forecasts and warnings and to alert the public; create a system that monitors local weather conditions; promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars; and, develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.