National Heat Alert System Recognized with “Sammie” Award
The primary developers of a national heat alert system, called National Weather Service (NWS) HeatRisk, were recently awarded with a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal. This premier awards program for career federal employees, known as the “Sammies” and considered the Oscars of public service, shines the spotlight on remarkable accomplishments that benefit the nation, seeks to build trust in our government and illustrates the role of the nonpartisan civil service, highlighting what we lose when it is disrupted.
HeatRisk was developed as a collaboration between the NWS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide an easy-to-understand way to communicate the dangers of upcoming heat in the 7-day forecast. The innovative approach uses a color-coded numeric system that is easy for the public to understand, along with providing decision makers with clear guidance to take proactive measures during heat events. It is of particular benefit to heat-sensitive individuals who can protect themselves days before heat reaches extreme levels or heat alerts are issued. It is currently available as an experimental product of the NWS for the continental U.S. (CONUS) with plans to expand it further over the upcoming years.
Michael Staudenmaier Jr. ’91, MS ’93 provided the initial vision and leadership for developing the HeatRisk tool, managing resources and his team’s expertise to achieve success. He also was instrumental in expanding the tool nationally and collaborating with the CDC to incorporate health data. From an initial concept designed to provide a nationally consistent science-based approach toward identifying upcoming heat events back in 2013, HeatRisk was originally prototyped at two NWS offices in California in 2014, then expanded into a regional prototype over the western U.S. in 2016. Over the next few years, Staudenmaier and the HeatRisk team continued to mature the innovative approach and incorporate more CDC-sourced heat-health data into the methodology. Because of the initial success and overwhelming positive feedback on the approach, it was then expanded as a prototype to the entire CONUS in 2023. The mature experimental version was released on Earth Day in 2024 and has rapidly become an important part of heat-related decision making for the public and decision-makers in various sectors, including emergency management, public health, and education.
