Roger Marshall: “This week is Severe Weather Awareness Week, and it is a good reminder to always be prepared for extreme weather events…”

“This week is Severe Weather Awareness Week, and it is a good reminder to always be prepared for extreme weather events, which we too often face in Kansas. Ready.gov--that is, r-e-a-d-y.gov--which is run by FEMA, is a great place to find resources related to flooding, thunderstorms, winter weather, or advice on building an emergency kit. Similarly, FEMA offers a free smartphone app which provides real-time alerts, shelter locations, and other resources to help during and after a severe weather event. But it is not enough to just communicate severe weather events to the public. We need to continue to invest in tools and encourage innovation when it comes to weather modeling and forecasting so that we can ensure as much lead time as possible before a severe weather event occurs. From coastal regions to the heartland, severe weather impacts us all, and the Federal Government not only needs to be working with public and private partners to improve systems, but also to encourage and incentivize innovation in the field. Recently, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee has taken a look at the various forecasting and modeling efforts across the country and discussed how we can better improve these systems to give people increased warning in the event of severe weather events.…”