[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 28 (Friday, February 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9129-9130]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02658]


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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; Tornado Watch/Warning Post-Event Evaluation

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 April 9, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0797 in the subject line of your 
comments. 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 Dr. Makenzie Krocak, Research Scientist, NOAA NSSL, 120 David L. 
Boren Blvd., Norman, OK 73071, 405-325-0805, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Each year over 1,000 tornadoes affect communities across the United 
States, yet little is known about how individuals receive, interpret, 
and respond to information from NOAA relating to this hazard. In fact, 
only a small sample of tornadoes ever receive study, and most often 
those are only the most violent tornadoes. No generalizable, or even 
relatively large-scale information on tornado forecast and warning 
response after real-world events exists. The NOAA National Weather 
Service (NWS) and National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) designed the 
data collection instrument to allow for more routine collection of this 
information. Respondents include members of the United States public 
who have been in or near a tornado, received a tornado warning, or were 
in or near a strong storm that made them concerned about tornadoes. 
They answer questions about the ways they received, understood, and 
responded to information about the event, including NWS watch and 
warning information. This survey is delivered through a web application 
hosted by NSSL called Tornado Tales, available online at https://inside.nssl.noaa.gov/tornado-tales/.
    After approval of our initial data collection instrument (that 
shown on the website), the OU Cooperative Institute for Severe and 
High-Impact Weather Research and Operations (CIWRO) and NOAA NSSL 
Behavioral Insights Unit carried out post-event data collections for 
multiple tornado events, validating the questions and identifying 
issues for improvement. This fieldwork led to several needed 
improvements, including the addition of questions about the event more 
broadly, changing some response types, rephrasing some questions that 
were interpreted too broadly, and including questions about efficacy 
and the availability of forecast information to individuals. While the 
revisions have added questions to the survey, their improved clarity 
should allow for faster response times per question. We estimate the 
time to complete the survey is five to ten minutes on average. Subject 
recruitment will primarily be done by NOAA NSSL and its partners 
advertising the survey via websites and social media outlets. In 
addition to these efforts, there is also the possibility that during 
post-storm damage assessment activities NWS forecasters may direct 
impacted individuals to the Tornado Tales website.
    In addition to the changes to the survey instrument, researchers at 
NOAA NSSL and at the OU CIWRO Behavioral Insights Unit would like to 
conduct interviews with emergency managers, broadcast meteorologists, 
and members of the public after certain tornado events. These more in-
depth interviews will collect similar information to the survey 
instrument from members of the public, broadcast meteorologists, and 
Emergency Management personnel who recently experienced a tornado 
event. The interviews will walk respondents through a timeline of 
events leading up to the tornado event. Researchers will use a skip-
logic approach, meaning participants will only answer questions about 
the time periods relevant to their personal experience. The purpose of 
these interviews will be to more thoroughly explore how residents, 
broadcast meteorologists, and Emergency Managers received, understood, 
and responded to tornado forecasts and warnings. Given the in-person 
nature of these interviews, we expect them to take between 15 and 30 
minutes on average.

II. Method of Collection

    The method of data collection currently gathers tornado survivor 
stories through a web-based interface (https://inside.nssl.noaa.gov/tornado-tales). Specific questions in the web-based application are 
aimed at discovering whether and how information about potential 
tornado threats was received across time, including tornado watches and 
warnings, and what action citizens did or did not take as the event 
unfolded. We use a `skip-logic' method in the survey so that 
individuals only answer questions that are relevant to their 
experiences.
    The interviews will be conducted in-person or via video call with 
individuals who recently experienced a tornado event. Researchers will 
also use a skip-logic approach during the interviews such that 
respondents will not be asked questions that are not relevant to their 
experience (i.e., questions about time periods before respondents 
received any forecast or warning information). Consent will be obtained 
to take notes and record the interviews.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0797.
    Form Number(s): None.

[[Page 9130]]

    Type of Review: Revision.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: survey: 1,200, interviews: 50.
    Estimated Time per Response: survey: 5-10 minutes, interviews: 15-
30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: survey: 200 hours, interviews: 
25 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: None.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority:

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 Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-02658 Filed 2-8-24; 8:45 am]
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