Tornado Service Assessment

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

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 7 minutes per response, including the

time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and

completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other

suggestions for reducing this burden to Chris Ellis, NOAA National Ocean Service, at [email protected], or contact him

at 843-740-1195.

Respondents are not identified on their questionnaires, and any reports will present data in aggregate form only.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subjected

to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork

Reduction Act, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.

Tornado Survey Questions

There was a tornado event that occurred in your area 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 tornado 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 tornado 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 tornado 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
Commercial Radio Broadcast (e.g., AM, FM, HD, Satellite Radio, etc.)	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
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) via cellphone	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

2. How far in advance were you made aware that a tornado 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 a tornado would be possible for my area

3. Based on the information you were given, what did you feel the threat(s) from the tornado would be? (Please select all that apply)

• Damaging winds

• Destructive hail

• Flash flooding

• Frequent lightning

• Funnel clouds

• Heavy rains

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

• Purchased extra water/food

• Filled prescription(s)

• Filled vehicle(s) with gas

• Got extra cash

• Purchased/borrowed a generator

• Increased communication with friends/relatives

• Allowed more time for travel

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

• Purchased/created/updated an emergency survival kit

• I did not take any special preparations

• Other (please specify)

The following questions pertain to the actions you took once the tornado warning was issued for your area. If you feel you were unwarned, please skip to question #8.

5. Did you take any of the following actions when you received the tornado warning?

Action	Yes	No	I Do Not Remember
Did you seek shelter?	o	o	o
Did you seek additional information via various media outlets (e.g., TV, Radio, Internet)?	o	o	o
Did you attempt to drive out of the tornado threat area?	o	o	o
Did you attempt to figure out if your specific location was in the warning?	o	o	o
Did you secure your property (e.g., put lawn chairs in storage)?	o	o	o
Did you put a helmet on your head and/or your child’s head?	o	o	o
Did you continue previous activities?	o	o	o

6. Which of the following actions was the first action you took when you received the tornado warning?

Action	My First Action
Sought shelter	o
Sought additional information via various media outlets (e.g., TV, Radio, Internet)	o
Tried to drive out of the tornado threat area	o
Tried to figure out if my specific location was in the warning	o
Secured my property (e.g., put lawn chairs in storage)	o
Put on a helmet and/or put a helmet on my child’s head	o
Continued previous activities	o
Other (Please state action)	o
I did nothing	o

7. If you sought shelter during the tornado warning, please answer Part A. If you did not seek shelter during the tornado warning, please answer Part B.

   1. What led to your decision to seek shelter during the tornado warning? (Please choose the answer that best applies to your situation.)

• I typically take cover immediately after receiving a tornado warning issued for my area.

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

• Friends and family urged me to seek shelter

• I could see the threatening weather outside

• Previous experiences I had with tornadoes 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 tornado warning? (Please choose the answer that best applies to your situation.)

• I typically do not take action immediately after receiving a tornado warning issued for my area

• I did not believe I would be impacted by the tornado (Please state why)

• I could not see threatening weather outside

• Previous experiences I had with tornadoes led me to believe I was not in danger.

• I did not trust the accuracy of the warning

• Other (Please state why)

The following question pertains to the information you may have received during the tornado warning and the actions that you may have taken.

8. People rely on various sources for information during hazardous weather events. Please indicate how the following sources influenced your decisions as this tornado warning 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
Commercial Radio Broadcast (e.g., AM, FM, HD, Satellite Radio, etc.)	o	o	o	o
Print Media (e.g., local newspapers)	o	o	o	o
Websites / Social Media (e.g., Weather.com, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)	o	o	o	o
National Weather Service Website (i.e., Weather.gov)	o	o	o	o
Word of Mouth from Friends/Family	o	o	o	o
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) via cellphone	o	o	o	o
Siren / Community Alerting (e.g., sirens, Reverse 911, vehicle messaging signs, etc.)	o	o	o	o
Government Officials (e.g., Mayor, Governor, President, etc.)	o	o	o	o
Emergency Management (e.g., police, fire department, emergency managers, etc.)	o	o	o	o
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) or used a NOAA Weather Radio, then please answer the following questions. If you feel did not receive your information from the National Weather Service, please skip to question #10.

9. Please rate your level of satisfaction with the information and services you received from the National Weather Service during this particular tornado.

	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 tornado 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

10. In a few short words, please explain your understanding of a Tornado Watch.

11. In a few short words, please explain your understanding of a Tornado Warning.

12. Based on your understanding of the National Weather Service’s tornado watch and tornado warnings, how likely are you to take protective action?

Product	Not Likely At All	Somewhat Likely	Likely	Very Likely	Unsure
Tornado Watch	o	o	o	o	o
Tornado Warning	o	o	o	o	o

13. When the National Weather Service issues a tornado watch or tornado warning for your area, how likely do you think it is that you will experience a tornado near you location?

Product	Not Likely At All	Somewhat Likely	Likely	Very Likely	Unsure
Tornado Watch	o	o	o	o	o
Tornado 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.