{"id":6690,"date":"2017-03-23T13:43:39","date_gmt":"2017-03-23T17:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atl.com\/?p=6690"},"modified":"2017-03-23T14:44:52","modified_gmt":"2017-03-23T18:44:52","slug":"hartsfield-jackson-earns-stormready-certification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.atl.com\/atl\/hartsfield-jackson-earns-stormready-certification\/","title":{"rendered":"Hartsfield-Jackson earns StormReady certification"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Shane Blatt
\nSenior Public Relations Manager<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) has officially become StormReady, earning the designation after demonstrating weather-related emergency preparedness.<\/p>\n

Officials with the National Weather Service, on hand for a press conference Wednesday in the Domestic Terminal atrium, presented ATL leaders with a certificate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are the first airport in Georgia and only the second commercial site in the state to achieve this distinction,\u201d said Michael Smith, ATL\u2019s senior deputy general manager. \u201cWith this certification, ATL has demonstrated that it has the necessary tools in place \u2013 through planning, education and awareness \u2013 to potentially save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The United States experiences, on average, about 10,000 thunderstorms and 1,000 tornadoes each year, and about 98 percent of all presidentially declared disasters are weather related. Given those statistics, the life-saving benefits of being StormReady are clear, Smith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the case of a tornado, for instance, this Airport may have just a matter of seconds to respond, notifying airlines, employees and, of course, the traveling public about what actions to take,\u201d said Smith, who stood next to a \u201cWe Are StormReady\u201d sign, one of nine that will be placed on roadways throughout the Airport campus.<\/p>\n

David Nadler, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service-Peachtree City\/Atlanta, said more than 2,500 locations across the U.S. are StormReady, but just a handful of StormReady sites are airports. They include Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports, Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Indianapolis International Airport.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the uniqueness of the various groups that come together to support and make up airport operations, it is a little more challenging to recognize airports as StormReady, which makes this recognition even more special,\u201d Nadler said.<\/p>\n

Eligibility guidelines are based on population. Given that ATL is the world\u2019s busiest airport, having served more than 104 million passengers in 2016 alone, Hartsfield-Jackson had to meet the highest standards.<\/p>\n

Eligibility requirements include maintaining a 24-hour Emergency Operations Center with redundant methods of receiving, monitoring and relaying National Weather Service information and warnings to the public. It also includes close collaboration between the Airport\u2019s Centralized Command and Control Center, or C4, and meteorologists at the National Weather Service-Peachtree City\/Atlanta.<\/p>\n

\u201cStormReady means we have made a step forward in improving our readiness levels to be able to respond to emergencies at the Airport and to be able to provide a safer environment for our passengers,\u201d C4 Director Gus Hudson said.<\/p>\n

The StormReady program requires renewal every three years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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David Nadler of the National Weather Service presents the StormReady certificate to ATL Senior Deputy General Manager Michael Smith.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n