Working with the NWS, A Practical Guide for PIOs

Описание: Webinar Title: Working with the NWS: A Practical Guide for PIOs

Description: When severe weather threatens your community, the public looks to you for clear, calm, and timely information. Join three National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologists from across Kentucky for a practical conversation designed specifically for communication professionals. This session will not teach meteorology. Instead, it will focus on how to turn weather information into messages people can understand and act on. You’ll hear directly from the experts you work with during floods, tornadoes, winter storms, and other hazards. You’ll learn how to better use their tools, briefings, and support before, during, and after an event.

Day: TUESDAY
Date: 13 March 2026
Location: Virtual (Zoom)
Time: Noon EST, 11:00 AM CST, 9:00 AM PST

Featured Presenters:
Jane Marie Wix, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, NWS Jackson
• https://www.weather.gov/jkl/
• Facebook:   / nwsjacksonky  
• Twitter: https://x.com/nwsjacksonky
• Jane Marie is from Brandenburg, KY. She is a 2010 graduate of WKU. She worked as a meteorologist intern at NWS Louisville, KY. Her first full-time NWS position was in Marquette, MI. In 2013 she became a forecaster at the NWS Jackson, KY office. She served 2 temporary detail stints as a forecaster for the Weather Prediction Center in Washington, DC in 2017-18. In 2021 she stepped into the role of Warning Coordination Meteorologist, serving 33 counties across eastern Kentucky.

Michael Kochasic, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, NWS Louisville
• https://www.weather.gov/lmk/
• Facebook:   / nwslouisville  
• Twitter: https://x.com/NWSLouisville
• Mike is in his 14th year with NWS. He has been the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the NWS Forecast Office in Louisville, KY since July of 2021. Before Louisville, he spent time with NWS in Wilmington, NC working numerous severe weather events related to tropical cyclones, including hurricanes Dorian and Isaias. Mike also spent time providing support to state EMA partners in Sacramento, CA during some of the largest wildfires in state history.

Christine Wielgos, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, NWS Paducah
• https://www.weather.gov/pah/
• Facebook:   / nwspaducah  
• Twitter: https://x.com/NWSPaducah
• Christine received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Meteorology from Northern Illinois University. She has worked with the NWS in Paducah, KY since March 2000. As Warning Coordination Meteorologist, Christine's responsibilities include ensuring consistency and integrity of National Weather Service products and services, conducting safety and preparedness programs throughout the area, and leading education and training courses for partners and the public.

For more information, contact: David Davis, KYEM Public Information Officer, [email protected]; (502) 607-1049

Wednesday Webinar Series: The Wednesday Webinar Series was established as part of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) to provide Public Information Officers (PIOs) and other communication related fields with virtual opportunities to address topic specific issues in quick 1-hour monthly webinars. KYEM plans to continue these valuable training efforts with monthly topics and featured speakers selected and scheduled accordingly to help provide attendees with real-world application to the following: planning and developing a process with clearly defined procedures to gather and provide accurate, timely, and accessible information on an event as it approaches or as it has occurred.