08-09-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ramsey County | Base Plan 60 has been requested MUST be reported to the Ramsey County ECC and the Ramsey County Duty Officer immediately after the request is made. 6.4.3.1.4 National Weather Service and Wireless Emergency Alerts For continuity of operations and effective response, the NWS coordinates with its local partners prior to issuing WEA messages. The NWS, in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has an established list of weather warnings that will trigger WEA for the affected area, generally defined as a polygon. WEA messages are disseminated by IPAWS. 6.4.3.1.5 NOAA Weather Radio Using technology similar to older portable radio pagers, desktop radio receivers can be activated when they receive particular tone or data signals. The alerting signal is typically followed by audio information. The nationwide National Weather Radio network operated by the NOAA is the best known and most widely deployed example of this technology. Tone-alert radios can provide both alerting and warning detail quickly over a wide area but require an investment in the receiving equipment that many members of the public decline to make. Some NOAA Radios have Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) capability, allowing public or jurisdictions to limit warnings only to an area of concern. Severe weather watches and warnings will be transmitted by NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio and relayed by The State Warning Point and broadcast/cable outlets. •The Ramsey County Warning Point is the Ramsey ECC. •The alternate Ramsey County Warning Point is the Backup ECC 6.4.3.1.6 211 Call Center The United Way’s 211 can act as a statewide social service referral agency during normal operating hours. During an emergency, RCEMHS may request 211 service as an information dissemination center for the EOC. The EOC provides the Call Center critical information in the form of talking points for release to the public. Likewise, the Call Center provides critical information to the EOC regarding the condition of the population. 6.4.3.1.7 Additional Systems Other systems exist that can support public information and warning, such as commercially available smartphone applications. 6.4.3.2 Internal Alerting Systems 6.4.3.2.1 Skywarn and Weather Intelligence The Metro Skywarn organization trains and maintains a roster of certified severe weather spotters (amateur and public safety). Amateur spotters are volunteers trained and certified in the NOAA NWS Skywarn Spotter system. When activated, these spotters go to the perimeter of the areas where severe weather is anticipated and position themselves to observe and report. They report to the Network Control Center (Net Control) for Metro Skywarn. There are two Metro Skywarn Net Control centers: