A letter from Victoria Mayor Alto requesting that Sidney provide an emergency shelter for extreme weather events generated much discussion in the community and among the Mayor and Council at a recent Sidney Town Council meeting. After more than an hour of discussion, a motion for staff to present some options for the council passed by a 4-3 vote. These are highlights from the discussion at the meeting.

Extreme Weather Shelter for Sidney S4E38

After the devastating Hurricane Helene struck North Carolina last September, Gary Thompson, the state’s deputy hazard mitigation officer, says on StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast that the state hopes to make its stream gauges and flood warning system more resilient before next year’s storm season. Thompson says North Carolina plans to upgrade those critical communication systems with ultrasonic radar sensors and satellites so they can continue to predict flood zones, issue evacuation warnings and deliver critical information to residents about incoming storms. “One of the advantages is all the equipment is out of the water, so if there's a lot of rain, a lot of velocity, if we have the equipment high enough and stable enough for it to survive during that event,” Thompson says. Joining him is Taylor Kerby, founder of Triangle UAS, an equipment vendor that helped design North Carolina’s modern stream gauges, and Pattiy Torno, a longtime resident of Asheville, North Carolina, which was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Helene.


New episodes of StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast are posted each Wednesday.
For more of the latest news and trends across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,Soundcloud or Spotify.


Hurricane Helene devastated communities, inspired tech upgrades

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Karen Palmer, a senior fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF) and director of RFF’s Electric Power Program; Kevin Rennert, a fellow at RFF and director of RFF’s Federal Climate Policy Initiative; and Margaret Walls, a senior fellow at RFF and director of RFF’s Climate Risks and Resilience Program. Palmer, Rennert, and Walls offer insights on notable stories in energy and the environment in 2024, including an intense Atlantic hurricane season and emerging narratives around climate policymaking in all three branches of government. They also look ahead to developments to watch in environmental and energy policy in 2025.

References and recommendations:

“Storm Watch Series: Weather Volatility in the United States” on the Common Resources blog; https://www.resources.org/special-series-weather-volatility-in-the-united-states/

“Brave the Wild River” by Melissa L. Sevigny; https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393868234

“Troublesome Rising: A Thousand-Year Flood in Eastern Kentucky” edited by Melissa Helton; https://www.kentuckypress.com/9781950564439/troublesome-rising/

“Shift Key” podcast; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shift-key-with-robinson-meyer-and-jesse-jenkins/id1728932037

“Alone on the Ice” by David Roberts; https://wwnorton.com/books/Alone-on-the-Ice/

“Landman” television series; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14186672/

“Boomtown” podcast; https://www.texasmonthly.com/podcasts/series/boomtown/

2024 Year in Review on Environmental Economics, with Karen Palmer, Kevin Rennert, and Margaret Walls

Celeste Saulo has always been fascinated by the weather. Now Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), she is seeing climate breakdown warp global weather systems beyond recognition, with devastating impacts on countless lives and livelihoods.

“We can see how many people are suffering…We can see that people are running out of food, are running out of water, and the real narrative is that this will affect everyone sooner or later.”

The United Nations Secretary General has issued a red alert for the planet after a full decade of record-breaking heat driven by human activity. In this episode, Celeste Saulo reflects on our shared responsibility to future generations, on an emotional meeting with the Pope, and on why she can never give up hope.

 “If you work with youth, you need to have hope, because for me, it's not fair not having hope… We need to work along the lines we believe are better opportunities for them, and we need to engage them, and I would say, to follow them.”

S10-E5: How to save humanity from climate breakdown - Celeste Saulo Secretary-General WMO

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Emily Theokritoff, a research associate at Imperial College London. Theokritoff specializes in climate damage attribution—the emerging science of connecting human activity and climate change to extreme weather events. Theokritoff breaks down this evolving field of study, how research that attributes extreme weather events to climate change is conducted, the challenges posed by a lack of historical data in parts of the world, and how scientists deal with uncertainty in determining the causes of past and future events. She also shares her perspective on how scientists in the field of extreme weather attribution are adapting research and communication methods to provide the public with faster, clearer insights in the face of increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events.

References and recommendations:

“Mapped: How climate change affects extreme weather around the world” from Carbon Brief; https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/attribution-studies/index.html

Connecting Climate Change to the Weather We See, with Emily Theokritoff

The gardening season has come early in 2025, with temperatures climbing in the early spring and even late winter.  That's forced flowers to bloom and trees to bud early. Andre Viette talks about the impact of the warm temperatures, drought and more recent rainfall.
In the Garden with Andre Viette, airs live Saturday mornings between 8 - 11 a.m. You can call and ask questions at (540)-433-9782.

In the Garden with Andre Viette - Temperatures, drought & rain-5/10/25 Hr.1

Legislator Dom Thorne and OEM’s Ed Schneyer join us and discuss emergency dispatchers, flash floods, hurricane prep, and the incredible work Suffolk is doing since Superstorm Sandy . These guys brought the facts, the urgency, and the heart.

Legislator Dom Thorne and OEM’s Ed Schneyer

Some incidental background information about the weather event recorded in this recording: https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/rare-tornado-warning-in-adelaide-as-storms-powerful-winds-slam-sa/1890841.

2025.08.29 A Stormy Night and Dawn. Late Winter.

Elizabeth Dunn, a faculty member at the University of South Florida's College of Public Health, joins the Priorities Podcast to share her expertise on the technology and psychology behind hurricane evacuation orders. She says that storms are becoming stronger and developing more quickly, elevating the importance of governments issuing clear messages. And many people who receive evacuation orders inland or who think only high-category storms are worth avoiding, she says, frequently find themselves in dangerous situations. 

Top stories this week: 

Texas has created a “hostile foreign adversaries unit” designed to stop the growing influence of the Chinese Communist Party on U.S. soil. The unit was created by SB 2514, a new law that joins more than a dozen other new laws and executive orders created over the past year targeting Chinese influence in Texas.

Less than one month before the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program is set to expire, several industry groups on Tuesday signed a letter addressed to congressional leaders requesting that the program be revived, but this time with more money. Led by the Alliance for Digital Innovation, the groups are asking homeland security and appropriations committee leaders to expand the program to the tune of $4.5 billion over two years.

Delaware’s technology department on Tuesday announced that it’s named Aashish Patel, who’s been serving as the state’s interim chief security officer, to serve in the position long term.

New episodes of StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast are posted each Wednesday.
For more of the latest news and trends across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud or Spotify.

Why some people don’t evacuate before hurricanes

In this episode of FEO on the Air - Masterclass - hosted by FEO CEO Dave MacNeil, we are joined by Kevin Kennedy of Kennedy Crowd Safety Solutions.

Today's conversation is about the affects of  extreme weather emergencies on festivals and events in Ontario.

Here is an important link for you:

Kennedy Crowd Safety Solutions Official website

https://www.kennedycrowdsafety.ca/



Episode 95 - FEO on the Air - Masterclass - Kennedy Crowd Safety Solutions

Each Wednesday, StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast explores the latest in state and local government technology news and analysis. Listen to in-depth conversations with government and industry’s top executives, and learn about trending stories affecting state and local IT leaders ranging from modernization and digital accessibility to the latest advances in generative artificial intelligence.

Festivals & Events Ontario (FEO) was established in 1987 as an association devoted to the growth and stability of the festival and event industry in Ontario. FEO supports a lively, engaged and dedicated festival and events industry by sharing knowledge, enabling networking and providing leadership on education, advocacy and promotion.

If you would like to become a member of Festivals and Events Ontario, click here http://www.festivalsandeventsontario.ca/members/join-feo or you can email Debbie Mann (debbie@festivalsandeventsontario.ca).

If you would like to suggest a topic or a guest for the next FEO On the Air, just email Dave MacNeil (dave@festivalsandeventsontario.ca).

Resources Radio is a weekly podcast by Resources for the Future. Each week we talk to leading experts about climate change, electricity, ecosystems, and more, making the latest research accessible to everyone.

𝔈𝔵𝔭𝔩𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤, 𝔱𝔥𝔢 ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔯, 𝔞𝔰 𝔞𝔫 𝔈𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔱, 𝔞 𝔐𝔬𝔡𝔢, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞 𝔇𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔬𝔣 𝔅𝔢𝔦𝔫𝔤.

Website: https://www.un.org/en/awake-at-night
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaFlemingUN
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelissaFleming
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissarfleming

What does it take to be a United Nations worker in some of the world’s most complex and dangerous places? How are UN humanitarians, human rights advocates, prosecutors, development experts, climate leaders and peacekeepers improving our world? Stationed in all reaches of the world and witness to suffering and atrocities, how are they helping people and coping themselves? 

To find out, Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, meets them.

Here, you will discover extraordinary personal stories from people who devote their lives to helping others.

New tracks tagged #extreme weather