Recognized for extreme weather readiness
2025-01-17
At the December Board of Directors meeting, Cherriots was officially recognized by the National Weather Service as a new member to the StormReady community.
What does it mean for Cherriots to be StormReady?
The StormReady designation is awarded to emergency management programs demonstrating a strong commitment to community resilience and meets the National Weather Service’s criteria for weather event readiness. The criteria include having:
- An established Emergency Operations Center
- Access to a 24/7 Warning Point to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts
- An Emergency Operations Plan
- Participation in community preparedness activities, and
- Recognition as a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador
What is a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador?
The Ambassador Program is an initiative by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) that formally recognizes partners dedicated to enhancing the nation’s readiness, responsiveness, and overall resilience to extreme weather, water, and climate events. Cherriots, as an agency and an emergency management program, is proud to embody these principles and was recognized as a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador by the National Weather Service in August 2024.
The StormReady Journey
In the fall of 2024, Cherriots Emergency Management, having fulfilled all StormReady criteria, submitted an application to the program. The National Weather Service conducted a verification visit in early September and officially informed Cherriots of the District’s StormReady designation on September 18. Then, on December 19, the National Weather Service formally presented the StormReady designation to the Cherriots Board of Directors.
The National Weather Service’s StormReady Program, recognizes communities, agencies and organizations whose emergency management programs demonstrate outstanding preparedness for hazardous weather and flooding. Since its inception in 1999, the StormReady program has recognized more than 2,000 communities, agencies and groups across the nation.
Among Good Company
Cherriots is the 49th entity in Oregon to receive such a designation and one of two transit agencies in the Pacific Northwest to have received this recognition. In our region, Marion County and the City of Aumsville are two other entities that hold this designation.
Cherriots hopes that receiving this recognition will inspire more local communities and businesses to look into the program and join us in becoming StormReady, strengthening our region’s resilience to severe weather events.