MIDLAND, Texas — The National Weather Service (NWS) and local meteorologists across the region coordinate with each other when weather brings any major impacts.
Amber Hluchan is the warning coordination meteorologist for NWS in which she serves a pivotal role in helping connect the community with emergency management, government officials and local schools across the region. It is a way to spread the awareness of what upcoming weather and potential impacts could be.
"Most of these winter meetings are done for the coordination purposes," Hluchan said. "Whenever we get together with the media, or emergency management or the dots, the effort is for that we are all in lockstep for when winter season comes around."
Hluchan's role is helping coordinate with these communities and spreading awareness especially with those in the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). They help whenever winter weather strikes and preparations are able to be made alongside local governments to prime the roads in time before any winter weather event.
One key point with Hluchan's role is taking in the consideration of what meteorologists call changeover events. For example, when it rains and then freezing rain occurs, it could impact the work already done within TxDOT as in washing off the brime off the roads.
Every year, NWS holds a winter outlook meeting to talk about what the long-term models are trending and compare to similar weather events in the past to create what they call an analog which is almost an average calculation of what we could see as in precipitation, and average temperature. Hluchan helps assist with the communication aspect towards the local communities within the region. They do it along with the forecasters to share the message of what the trends are leading into the winter season and what they should keep an eye on heading into the winter season.
The National Weather Service also holds coordination meetings with the group of emergency management, schools and government officials in which is called the Integrated Warning Team. Ahead of any winter or severe weather event, NWS gives a discussion and awareness of what the situation is at hand if it comes in the form of snow, ice or any forms of impactful weather.
"These coordination calls [are] where we are talking about what's going to happen you know what some of those impacts could be so that our partners know the decisions they need to make," said Hluchan, regarding the Integrated Warning Team.
Hluichan and the team of meteorologists at the National Weather Service play a key role in serving the community in more than helping forecast the weather across the region. As in being the leader and steppingstone for what impacts our communities could have. All meteorologists want to do is serve the safety of loved ones and families across the Permian Basin whenever weather strikes to deliver the important weather message that impacts everyone's lives on a daily basis.