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National Weather Service Names Whiting Field 'Storm Ready'

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090924-06
Release Date: 9/24/2009 12:06:00 PM

By Jay Cope, Naval Air Station Whiting Field Public Affairs

WHITING FIELD, Fla. (NNS) -- Hurricane season is still in full swing, and Naval Air Station Whiting Field has the National Weather Service's (NWS) vote of confidence that the base is prepared should a major storm occur. NWS assigned their "Storm Ready" designation to the base during a short presentation Sept. 23.

NAS Whiting Field is the first military installation in northwest Florida and only the ninth nationwide to receive "storm ready" approval.

Representatives from the regional NWS office in Mobile, Ala., traveled to Milton, Fla., to present the plaque and the signs recognizing the base's new status to the base Commanding Officer Capt. Enrique Sadsad.

"This is a great accomplishment for Whiting Field," Sadsad said. "We have been training and preparing, and if something were to hit us, we know we would be as prepared as we can be."

The "storm ready" designation began in 1999 with the intent to help ensure communities had the communication procedures and storm preparedness structure in place to respond to a weather-related emergency. According to NWS statistics, 90 percent of all presidentially declared disasters are weather related leading to nearly $14 billion in damages annually.

Military bases are qualifying communities, and Whiting Field's emergency manager Jim Walsh worked for more than six months to ensure the program requirements were met. Guidelines include having a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center, providing multiple methods to inform the community of potential weather problems, having a system for monitoring local weather conditions, promoting weather preparedness through community seminars, and developing and training a formal severe weather plan.

"It was a pleasure working with Jim (Walsh) and from the moment we walked on the base there was no doubt that everything was in order," John Purdy, senior meteorologist with the Mobile office of the NWS said. "The base exceeded qualifications in every area and you can be justifiably proud of your program."

NAS Whiting Field's home county, Santa Rosa County, Fla., is also a "storm ready" community, and seeing the signs for the designation along the road was the impetus for Walsh's effort. A little research indicated military bases qualified, and he completed the application process. According to Walsh, Navy bases already have much of the structure in place, and it is mostly a matter of documenting the programs and activities which the bases perform as a part of their normal routines.

However, having just passed the anniversary of hurricanes Ivan and Dennis, Walsh sees the added emphasis of the "storm ready" designation as being valuable.

"I believe this is a good time to reflect on the turmoil those storms caused and to ensure we are prepared for the next one," he said. "This designation recognizes the commitment we have made to our populace that we are doing everything possible to be prepared for any storm that may arise."