Marine Nonconvective Service Assessment

OMB Approval No. 0648-0342 / Expires: 4/30/2015

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Non-Convective Marine Survey Questions

There was a hazardous marine weather event that occurred over the (name marine area) waters on the (morning, afternoon, evening) of (month) (date), (year). The National Weather Service is looking to receive feedback on the weather information you may have received during this event. We would appreciate it if you answered the following questions regarding that specific hazardous marine weather event. Feedback collected from this survey will help the NWS improve products and services with future events in your area.

The following questions have to deal with the information you may have received before the hazardous marine weather event and the actions you may have taken.

1. People rely on various sources of information when making a decision to prepare for hazardous weather events. Please indicate how the following sources influenced your decisions on how to prepare before this hazardous marine weather event occurred.

Source Type	No Influence At All	Very Little Influence	Some Influence	A Lot of Influence	I Have No Access
Local Television Broadcast (e.g., ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc.)	o	o	o	o	o
National Television Broadcast (e.g., Weather Channel, CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, etc.)	o	o	o	o	o
NOAA Weather Radio Broadcast	o	o	o	o	o
US Coast Guard Radio Broadcast	o	o	o	o	o
Commercial Radio Broadcast (e.g., AM, FM, HD, Satellite Radio, etc.)	o	o	o	o	o
NAVTEX (Navigational Telex)P	o	o	o	o	o
Print Media (e.g., local newspapers)	o	o	o	o	o
National Weather Service Website (i.e., Weather.gov)	o	o	o	o	o
Other Websites / Social Media (e.g., Weather.com, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)	o	o	o	o	o
NWS RADIOFAX (WEATHERFAX)	o	o	o	o	o
Siren / Community Alerting (e.g., sirens, Reverse 911, vehicle messaging signs, etc.)	o	o	o	o	o
Word of Mouth from Friends/Family	o	o	o	o	o
Word of Mouth from Government Officials (e.g., Mayor, Governor, President, etc.)	o	o	o	o	o
Word of Mouth from Emergency Management (e.g., police, fire department, emergency managers, etc.)	o	o	o	o	o
Word of Mouth from Faith Leaders (e.g., Pastors, Priest Imam, etc.)	o	o	o	o	o

1. How far in advance were you made aware that hazardous marine weather would be possible for your area?

• Less than an hour before

• Between 1 hour and 6 hours before

• Between 7 hours and 24 hours before

• Between 1 and 2 days before

• Between 3 and 4 days before

• 5 or more days before

• I was not aware hazardous marine weather would be possible for my area

2. Based on the information you were given, what did you feel the primary threat or threats from the hazardous marine weather would be? (Please select all that apply)

• Damaging winds

• Dense fog / poor visibility

• Freezing spray

• Heavy seas (i.e., larges swells, steep waves, confused seas)

• Sea ice

3. What, if any, special preparations did you take in the days and hours before the hazardous marine weather event? (Please select all that apply)

• Altered course

• Stayed in harbor/port

• Took safe harbor

• Loaded additional fuel

• Increased communication with friends/relatives

• Allowed more time for travel

• Cancelled or adjusted scheduled plans, appointments, and/or activities

• Found alternative means of transportation

• Purchased/updated/tested an emergency survival gear

• I did not take any special preparations

• Other (please specify)

The following questions pertain to the actions you took once the (insert marine product name here) was issued for your area. If you feel you were unwarned, please skip to question #8.

4. Did you take any of the following actions when you received the (insert marine product name here)?

Action	Yes	No	I Do Not Remember
Did you seek shelter/safe harbor?	o	o	o
Did you seek additional information via various media outlets (e.g., TV, Radio, Internet)?	o	o	o
Did you attempt to move out of the hazardous marine weather threat area?	o	o	o
Did you try to figure out if your specific location was in the (insert marine product name here)?	o	o	o
Did you secure your property (e.g., removed loose items from deck)?	o	o	o
Did you continue previous activities?	o	o	o

5. Which of the following actions was the first action you took when you received the (insert marine product name here)?

Action	My First Action
Sought shelter / safe harbor	o
Sought additional information via various media outlets (e.g., TV, Radio, Internet)	o
Tried to move out of the hazardous marine weather threat area	o
Tried to figure out if my location was in the (insert marine product name here)	o
Secured my property (e.g., removed loose items from deck)	o
Resumed previous activities	o
Other (Please state action)	o
I did nothing	o

6. If you sought shelter / safe harbor during the (insert marine product name here), please answer Part A. If you did not seek shelter during the (insert marine product name here), please answer Part B.

   1. What led to your decision to seek shelter / safe harbor during the (insert marine product name here)? (Please choose the answer that best applies to your situation.)

• I typically take cover immediately after receiving a (insert marine product name here) issued for my area.

• Expected wave conditions

• Expected wind conditions

• Consistency/urgency of forecast

• Company policy

• Other information source(s) (e.g., TV, Radio, Internet, Friends/Family, etc.) confirmed that threatening weather was approaching my area

• Friends, family, and/or other mariners urged me to seek shelter / safe harbor

• I could see the threatening weather outside

• Previous experiences I had with hazardous marine weather led me to believe I could be in danger.

• Other (Please state why)

1. What led to your decision to not seek shelter during the (insert marine product name here)? (Please choose the answer that best applies to your situation.)

• I typically do not take action immediately after receiving a (insert marine product name here) issued for my area

• I did not believe I would be impacted by the hazardous marine weather (Please state why)

• I could not see threatening weather outside

• Previous experiences I had with hazardous marine weather led me to believe I was not in danger.

• I did not trust the accuracy of the (insert marine product name here)

• Other (Please state why)

The following question pertains to the information you may have received during the hazardous marine weather event and the actions that you may have taken.

7. People rely on various sources for information during hazardous weather events. Please indicate how the following sources influenced your decisions as this hazardous marine weather event was ongoing.

Source Type	No Influence At All	Very Little Influence	Some Influence	A Lot of Influence
Local Television Broadcast (e.g., ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc.)	o	o	o	o
National Television Broadcast (e.g., Weather Channel, CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, etc.)	o	o	o	o
NOAA Weather Radio Broadcast	o	o	o	o
US Coast Guard Radio Broadcast	o	o	o	o
Commercial Radio Broadcast (e.g., AM, FM, HD, Satellite Radio, etc.)	o	o	o	o
NAVTEX (Navigational Telex)	o	o	o	o
Print Media (e.g., local newspapers)	o	o	o	o
National Weather Service Website (i.e., Weather.gov)	o	o	o	o
Websites / Social Media (e.g., Weather.com, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)	o	o	o	o
NWS RADIOFAX (WEATHERFAX)	o	o	o	o
Word of Mouth from Friends/Family	o	o	o	o
Word of Mouth from Government Officials (e.g., Mayor, Governor, President, etc.)	o	o	o	o
Word of Mouth from Emergency Management (e.g., police, fire department, emergency managers, etc.)	o	o	o	o
Word of Mouth from Faith Leaders (e.g., Pastors, Priest Imam, etc.)	o	o	o	o

The following question pertains to the information and services you received from the National Weather Service and whether you understood the information and services. For instance, if you visited a National Weather Service website (e.g., Weather.gov), NOAA Weather Radio, or NWS WEATHERFAX then please answer the following questions.

8. Please rate your level of satisfaction with the information and services you received from the National Weather Service during this particular hazardous marine weather event.

	Very Dissatisfied	Dissatisfied	Neither Dissatisfied nor Satisfied	Satisfied	Very Satisfied
Quality of the information or service received	o	o	o	o	o
Timeliness of the information or services received	o	o	o	o	o
Accuracy of information or services received	o	o	o	o	o
Format of the information or services received	o	o	o	o	o
Degree to which the information or services received helped you in decision making	o	o	o	o	o
Degree in which the information or services received explained the hazardous marine weather threat and expected impacts	o	o	o	o	o
Overall satisfaction with information or services received	o	o	o	o	o
Overall satisfaction compared with services/data obtained from other weather information industries (e.g., media, private weather companies, etc.)	o	o	o	o	o

9. In a few short words, please explain your understanding of a (insert marine product type here) advisory.

10. In a few short words, please explain your understanding of a (insert marine product type here) watch.

11. In a few short words, please explain your understanding of a (insert marine product type here) warning.

12. Based on your understanding of the National Weather Service’s marine products, how likely are you to take protective action based on these products?

Product	Not Likely At All	Somewhat Likely	Likely	Very Likely	Unsure
Small Craft Advisory	o	o	o	o	o
Dense Fog Advisory	o	o	o	o	o
Freezing Spray Advisory	o	o	o	o	o
Gale Watch	o	o	o	o	o
Storm Watch	o	o	o	o	o
Hurricane Force Wind Watch	o	o	o	o	o
Gale Warning	o	o	o	o	o
Storm Warning	o	o	o	o	o
Hurricane Force Wind Warning	o	o	o	o	o
Heavy Freeze Spray Warning	o	o	o	o	o
Hazardous Sea Warning	o	o	o	o	o

13. When the National Weather Service issues marine products for your area, how likely do you think it is that you will experience hazardous marine weather near you location?

Product	Not Likely At All	Somewhat Likely	Likely	Very Likely	Unsure
Small Craft Advisory	o	o	o	o	o
Dense Fog Advisory	o	o	o	o	o
Freezing Spray Advisory	o	o	o	o	o
Gale Watch	o	o	o	o	o
Storm Watch	o	o	o	o	o
Hurricane Force Wind Watch	o	o	o	o	o
Gale Warning	o	o	o	o	o
Storm Warning	o	o	o	o	o
Hurricane Force Wind Warning	o	o	o	o	o
Heavy Freeze Spray Warning	o	o	o	o	o
Hazardous Sea Warning	o	o	o	o	o

14. What is your gender?

    1. Male

    2. Female

15. What is your age?

    1. 18 - 29

    2. 30 - 39

    3. 40 - 49

    4. 50 - 59

    5. 60 - 69

    6. 70+

16. What is your race?

    1. African American

    2. Asian

    3. Caucasian

    4. Hispanic

    5. Other (please specify) ________________

17. What is your education level?

    1. Elementary School Only

    2. Some High School, but Did Not Finish

    3. Completed High School

    4. Some College, but Did Not Finish

    5. Two Year College Degree/A.A./A.S. or equivalent

    6. Four Year College Degree/B.A./B.S. or equivalent

    7. Some Graduate Work

    8. Completed Masters or Professional Degree

    9. Advanced Graduate Work/Ph.D

18. What is your household income?

    1. Under $25,000

    2. $25,000 - $39,999

    3. $40,000 - $49,999

    4. $50,000 - $74,999

    5. $75,000 - $99,999

    6. $100,000 - $124,999

    7. $125,000 - $149,999

    8. Over $150,000

The National Weather Service sincerely thanks you for your participation in this survey. We will be sure to use your feedback in our continued efforts to improve our products and services that help protect lives and property. Thank you for your time.