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Safety in the winter established at new weather center

A new state-of-the-art Weather Risk Communication Center has been developed as a resource to better assist extreme winter conditions.

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York State has a new tool to help in the decision making process during extreme weather events. 

New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the launch of New York State's Weather Risk Communication Center at the University of Albany. The new center will help to improve and strengthen decisions made before, during and after extreme weather, according to the release.

“As we face the rising risk of extreme weather events, I’m proud to establish New York’s Weather Risk Communication Center to strengthen our preparedness and keep New Yorkers informed and safe before, during, and after emergencies,” Governor Hochul said.

The Weather Center will utilize forecasts from the National Weather Service and data from other NYS weather networks, like the Mesonet. Real-time maps, that will be able to be provided during snow storms to map temperatures and locations of different conditions.

State Weather Risk Communication Center Director, Nicker Bassill, says that they already have the ingredients necessary to make nationwide weather decisions. "We'll build upon the excellent service from the National Weather Service and work hand-in-hand with our state partners in emergency management, transportation, and energy to provide them with the information they need before, during, and after a storm," Bassill said.

He also added that there will be simultaneous research, "Social scientists and software developers will build better tools and communication strategies. Being located at UAlbany also lets us train the next generation of experts by incorporating a robust student internship program."

The center will not only serve for state-level managers, but will also be available for other public entities that need support in making weather decisions, like schools and when to close.

A $3 million investment by NYS was funded for the use of the weather networks and the Emergency Preparedness and Response in Weather Extremes project. An annual $1.5 million was funded for the full-time positions, student employment, internship opportunities and use of the Mesonet data.

You can find out more information about the center here.

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