WFO Tampa MIC Brian LaMarre promotes WFO Tampa web services - with an emphasis on Graphic Tropical Weather Hazards. Picture taken by WCM Daniel Noah on August 31, 2007.
(September 12, 2007) - Two weeks ago, WFO Tampa Meteorologist-in-Charge Brian LaMarre and Warning Coordination meteorologist Daniel Noah collaborated with management of the St. Petersburg Times newspaper to conduct a hurricane preparedness exercise. The fictional category 4 Hurricane "Zoey" made landfall just north of Tampa Bay and produced a storm surge of 18 to 22 feet - a worst case scenario for Pinellas County and the greater Tampa Bay Area.
Pinellas County is the home of The Times and one million people. During impacts from a major hurricane, the county will become a barrier island. Regarding the effects from a high-impact event, Pinellas County is second only to New Orleans as the most vulnerable place for a hurricane to strike.
Visual images of county inundation led to gasps from managers participating in the exercise, and turned the words "20 foot storm surge" into a realistic benchmark for their Continuity of Operations plan. For instance, ahead of the storm, The Times could be forced to retrieve a large number of the more than 7,000 newspaper racks in the Tampa Bay area to prevent additional flying debris and limit damages to property. Throughout the exercise, the newspaper's team reevaluated action plans - with an emphasis on refining printing requirements the day after a hurricanes' impact should debris and flooding hamper production.
During an open forum for suggestions, The Times adopted Noah's suggestion of creating a toll-free number (similar to 1-888-NOAA-911) to account for personnel and collect pertinent information regarding their well being during an emergency.
