[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 158 (Thursday, August 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46681-46682]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17805]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Weather and Society Survey

AGENCY: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before October 18, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Do not 
submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Nicole Kurkowski, R2O Team Lead, DOC/NOAA/NWS/OSTI, 1325 East-West 
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 301.427.9104, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This is a request for a new collection of information.
    The data collection is sponsored by DOC/NOAA/National Weather 
Service (NWS)/Office of Science and Technology Integration (OSTI). 
Currently, NOAA lacks data and data collection instruments that 
articulate and explicate how individuals receive, interpret, and 
respond to NOAA information, forecasts, and warnings for severe, 
winter, and tropical weather hazards. Furthermore, NOAA lacks this type 
of data longitudinally (i.e., collected over time). Without this type 
of longitudinal data, NOAA, and the

[[Page 46682]]

NWS specifically, cannot determine if it has met its mission of saving 
lives and property, propose societal impact performance metrics, nor 
demonstrate if progress or improvements have been made, as outlined in 
the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017. This 
effort aims to advance the Tornado Warning Improvement and Extension 
Program (TWIEP)'s goal to ``reduce the loss of life and economic losses 
from tornadoes through the development and extension of accurate, 
effective, and timely tornado forecasts, predictions, and warnings, 
including the prediction of tornadoes beyond one hour in advance (Pub. 
L. 115-25)''. This work addresses NOAA's 5-year Research and 
Development Vision Areas (2020-2026) Section 1.4 (FACETs). The Weather 
and Society Survey also advances the findings of the National Academy 
of Science 2012 report, ``Assessment of the NWS Modernization 
Program'', in reference to NWS' ``chain of events associated with a 
tornado warning'' (p52). This effort also advances the NWS Strategic 
Plan (2019-2022) ``Transformative Impact-Based Decision Support 
Services (IDSS) and Research to Operations and Operations to Research 
(R2O/O2R).'' Furthermore, the Survey furthers the NWS Weather Ready 
Nation (WRN) Roadmap (2013) Sections 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.8, and 
3.1.4.
    This information would be collected at the Cooperative Institute 
for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS) and the University of 
Oklahoma's Center for Risk and Crisis Management (CRCM), who has 
developed data collection instruments that would allow for more routine 
and longitudinal data collection, as the data will be collected on an 
annual basis. Furthermore, this team has developed interactive 
``dashboards'', or tools, to visualize the aggregated data.
    Respondents include adults (age 18+) who reside in the United 
States, recruited by survey companies that maintain large panels of 
people who sign up to complete internet surveys, such as Qualtrics and 
Survey Sampling International. Respondents will be asked questions 
about the ways they have received, interpreted, and responded to NWS 
information, forecasts, and warnings for severe, tropical, and winter 
weather hazards. Questions about preparedness for specific hazards such 
as heat waves, tornadoes, and drought may also be included. This data 
collection serves many purposes, including gaining a better 
understanding of how key factors within a given population, or 
organization, vary over time, location, and across different groups; 
the ability to detect gradual trends or abrupt changes in those factors 
over time or in response to particular events; and the potential to 
explore possible correlations and causal relationships with other 
observed variables of interest. These data will be used by the OSTI in 
NWS to develop a baseline and performance metrics to improve the 
information and services it provides and to help members of the weather 
enterprise answer basic questions about the people in the communities 
they serve, which is a necessary step towards customizing and improving 
risk communication, education, and decision support to meet the 
characteristics of the community, including those in vulnerable 
populations. The information collected will help identify differences 
and best practices between communities and assist NWS in developing new 
education and risk communication strategies. The survey data and its 
associated dashboard will serve as interactive tools to allow NWS 
forecasters, partners, and policymakers to access and explore data for 
training and performance evaluation purposes.

II. Method of Collection

    The primary method of data collection will be a web-based survey 
interface. Specific questions in the surveys determine how members of 
the U.S. public receive, comprehend, and respond to severe, tropical, 
and winter weather related information. Furthermore, these survey items 
will be translated to Spanish.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-XXXX.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular (New information collection).
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 20 minutes each for the Severe Weather 
Survey, Tropical Weather Survey, and Winter Weather Survey.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: None.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: 15 U.S.C. Ch. 111, Weather Research and 
Forecasting Information.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-17805 Filed 8-18-21; 8:45 am]
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