Pima County Office of Emergency Management

Recognized as 2021 Southeast Arizona

Weather Ready Nation Ambassador of Excellence

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) have developed the Weather Ready Nation (WRN) Ambassador Initiative to help improve the nation’s readiness, responsiveness, and overall resilience against extreme weather, water, and climate events. WRN Ambassadors extend across government, non-profits, academia, and private industry; and share the goal of making the nation more ready, responsive, and resilient against extreme environmental hazards. WRN is a strategic outcome where society’s response should be equal to the risk from all extreme weather, water, and climate hazards. Nationwide, there are over 11,000 WRN Ambassadors committed to working with NOAA, the NWS and other Ambassadors to strengthen resilience against extreme weather.

NWS Tucson recognized the Pima County Office of Emergency Management (PCOEM) as the 2021 Ambassador of Excellence in southeast Arizona for their efforts to prepare the public for hazards relating to extreme weather and their continued actions to maintain the county’s status as a StormReady Community. PCOEM highlighted the weather-related dangers present during the monsoon in a number of ways.  They worked with the NWS and the Pima County Board of Supervisors to acquire a Monsoon Safety Awareness Week proclamation, and along with the Sheriff Department, co-hosted a pre-monsoon media briefing with the NWS and other agencies. Additionally, PCOEM prepared the public for the monsoon by actively promoting the My Alerts program, which disseminates emergency messages about weather-related impacts directly from the county to those who are registered. They continued to promote this program throughout the monsoon and routinely posted weather safety rules on their social media channels. Finally, PCOEM coordinated with the NWS and numerous other agencies to ensure those potentially impacted by increased flash flooding threats associated with the Bighorn Fire burn area continued to be ready despite a prolonged dry period leading into the 2021 monsoon.