Evaluation of the Warning Value Chain as an Educational Approach for University Students

Abstract

The weather information value chain provides a framework for characterising the production, communication, and use of information by all stakeholders in an end-to-end warning system. It covers weather and hazard monitoring, modelling and forecasting, risk assessment, communication, and preparedness activities.   A 4-year international project under the WMO World Weather Research Programme is using value chain approaches to describe and evaluate warning systems for high-impact weather by integrating physical and social science. One of the project’s key outputs is a database questionnaire for high-impact weather event case study collection and analysis. The questionnaire is primarily aimed at scientists and practitioners to review, analyse and learn from previous experience using value chain approaches. Project scientists are using it to analyse high impact weather events that have occurred in recent years.   Beyond the professional use for severe event assessment, the questionnaire has proven to be an effective educational tool for university students to learn about high-impact events. Undergraduate students at the University of Miami used the questionnaire to study the warning value chain for Hurricanes Ida (2021) and Ian (2022) as an assignment in an undergraduate tropical meteorology course. Similarly, undergraduate interns at the Bureau of Meteorology completed the questionnaire for the Black Summer Bushfires in south-east Australia (2019/2020) and did a comparative study of the warning value chains for Hurricane Isaias (2020) for the Caribbean and the US. Using available online resources, the students prepared their responses and collaborated in teams to present syntheses of their evaluations. Engaging students in such a cross-disciplinary study enhanced their critical thinking about high-impact weather event forecasting, impacts, warning communication and response. In this presentation we introduce the database questionnaire and how it can be used for educational purposes.  The questionnaire and accompanying guide are freely available for anyone to use and can be downloaded at http://hiweather.net/Lists/130.html. We encourage not only the research and operational communities but also academic institutions to participate in this project by contributing case studies of high impact events and collaborating in their analysis.      Corresponding/presenting author: David Hoffmann, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Australia; david.hoffmann@bom.gov.au