Sean Ernst is a MS student with the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma (OU).  Sean’s research interest is the societal impacts of hazardous weather and weather risk communication. Sean  earned his BS in Meteorology in Spring 2018 from OU.  His research interests were greatly impacted by the 2013 Moore and El Reno tornadoes, as he has focused his study on how weather information is communicated to the public, and the impacts that public perception of that information can impact their response to dangerous weather.  Since then, he has worked to study emergency managers’ weather information needs, the perceptions of NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologists of effective Impact-based Decision Support Services, and the general public’s reception of tornado warnings in Oklahoma.

With KPHI TV,  Sean will focus on how the Severe Weather Outlooks, created by the NWS Storm Prediction Center, impact severe weather communication by broadcast meteorologists. Stay tuned for more information regarding focus groups at the upcoming 47th Conference on Broadcast Meteorology/Fifth Conference on Weather Warnings and Communication.