Office of Coast Survey

NOAA’s Storm Surge Roadmap: a Pathway NOAA’s Storm Surge Roadmap: a Pathway to Improved Products and Servicesto Improved Products and Services

Jesse C. FeyenStorm Surge Roadmap Portfolio Manager

Office of Coast Survey

The Vision

• Community planning• Training and education• Leads to appropriate personal and community response

• Infuse state of the art science and technology

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Highly accurate, relevant, and timely information

CLEARLY COMMUNICATED

which results in reductions in loss of life and ensures all communities are resilient

Office of Coast Survey

NOAA’s Coastal Flood Mission

• Supports a range of time scales– Long-term coastal planning– Evacuation plans– Forecasting imminent events

• Requires expertise from across NOAA – Meteorology, oceanography, geodesy, remote sensing, observing,

modeling, computing, mapping & GIS, social science, outreach…

National Weather Service + National Ocean Service + Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research

Office of Coast Survey

The Bottom LineCustomers Ask:• Who will get flooded?

How much?• When will it arrive and

leave?• What will the impacts be?• How often will it occur?• How should I respond?

NOAA needs to:• Determine storm water levels

– Total Water Level (TWL) comes from surge + tides + waves + rivers

– Model and product accuracy needs to reflect uncertainty

• Describe flooding as inundation above ground– In statements and maps

• Communicate actionable information– Intuitive and consistent

Office of Coast Survey

Improving NOAA’s Capabilities

• Storm Surge Roadmap: NOAA’s plan for the future

• 10 year plan to improve products and services

• Shows a common direction across the agency and to partners

Bottom line: first-ever comprehensive effort to holistically address rapidly expanding problem and establish a community approach

Common Goal

Office of Coast Survey

Addressing the Goals of the Roadmap

• Improving calculation of flood risk– Developing higher resolution Total Water Level models

(surge + tide + waves + rivers) by enhancing SLOSH, installing ADCIRC

– Developing ensembles to determine uncertainty

• Tackling inundation mapping challenges– New graphics showing floods above ground level

• Using social science to improve communication– Assessing public’s understanding and partner’s needs,

design and test new products

Office of Coast Survey

Supporting the Pacific

• Gather information about needs unique to this area– Coastal inundation prediction

• Build partnerships– Coastal Storms Program, Sea Grant, NWS Pacific

Region, CPHC, NCEP, USACE, researchers, …

• Develop our common vision and the steps we can take to achieve it– Finding the right tool, determining how to implement it

Office of Coast Survey