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Read. Understand. Apply.
The Warn Room blogs apply 70 years of research to the practice of alerts and warnings. We show how evidence-based changes to message content, style, and structure can create more effective warnings.
Warning Gallery
Helping you Improve Wireless Emergency Alerts!
Some Wireless Emergency Alerts are exemplary in their construction and inclusion of content. Others are not. Risk communicators can learn from each other in order to improve their messaging when it really matters.
Come back frequently for more examples.
An incomplete LOCKDOWN message for law enforcement activity
Law enforcement messages with instructions to lockdown are HARD to write. Especially when you have limited time and need people to take...
Jeannette Sutton
Mar 11, 2024
5-Star Wildfire Warning during dire conditions
Wildfires and fire weather are arguably some of the most difficult events to communicate about and to effectively guide people to safely....
Jeannette Sutton
Mar 6, 2024
Writing for your audience: when being understated is the norm
On February 20, 2024, a resident of the city of Plymouth, London, UK was digging in their garden and found an unexploded ordinance (UXO)...
Jeannette Sutton
Mar 4, 2024
"All clear" messaging; emphasizing event resolution
We frequently get questions about 'what conditions warrant a follow-up WEA' and 'what content should those messages include'? In...
Jeannette Sutton
Feb 28, 2024
Be prepared to evacuate for flooding
Some hazards, like hurricanes, wildfires, and atmospheric rivers, offer risk communicators the gift of time to prepare their constituents...
Jeannette Sutton
Feb 8, 2024
The importance of templates for active shooter messages
When we poll emergency managers and other public safety risk communicators about the threats that create the greatest anxiety for...
Jeannette Sutton
Feb 6, 2024
Do NOT travel messaging in Winter Storms.
The December 2022 winter storm in New York affected more than just Erie County and the city of Buffalo. While Erie and Buffalo bore the...
Jeannette Sutton
Jan 18, 2024
5-Star Winter Storm Messaging
In 2022, Erie County and the city of Buffalo experienced a catastrophic winter storm at the height of the Christmas holiday, resulting in...
Jeannette Sutton
Jan 16, 2024
Silver Alerts and JARGON
It may come as little surprise that WEA is frequently used by law enforcement to issue alerts for missing and endangered persons (MEP). ...
Jeannette Sutton
Jan 10, 2024
Scary Messages - motivating behavior with persuasive language
There has been a long and ongoing discussion about how "scary" a message should be to motivate behavior. Some argue that people need to...
Jeannette Sutton
Dec 22, 2023
Bridge Closed - Find Alternate Route
We routinely see messages for roads that are closed using WEA. This is primarily within the states of Texas and Georgia and they are...
Jeannette Sutton
Dec 20, 2023
What is the hazard and why should I follow your advice?
Before posting this WEA to the Warning Gallery, the editors tried to revise the message, but were stumped. Without significant effort to...
Jeannette Sutton
Dec 15, 2023
The Problem with ALL CAPS MESSAGES
Messages delivered in ALL CAPS have a problem. Writing in ALL CAPS may seem like a reasonable strategy to get people's attention...
Jeannette Sutton
Dec 13, 2023
WEA is one of many ways to alert. What's your backup plan?
2023 has included a number if significant chemical releases associated with train derailments. While the East Palenstine, OH event...
Jeannette Sutton
Dec 11, 2023
Kasey Alert, Ashanti Alert, Ebony Alert: making missing persons alerts meaningful
When we look across the country today, we find there are a LOT of named alerts for missing persons. Each one represents a different...
Jeannette Sutton
Dec 8, 2023
Law enforcement notifications and message consistency.
When WEA was first initiated, messages addressed imminent and actionable threats, requiring public response to increase the safety of a...
Jeannette Sutton
Dec 6, 2023
Burn Bans and the importance of a complete message
Burn bans are issued when there is an increased risk of wildfire. In an analysis of all wildfire WEAs sent from January 2020- April...
Jeannette Sutton
Dec 4, 2023
A Well-Written Cancellation Message for a Boil Water Advisory.
The National Weather Service has done quite a bit of research on the use of the terms "watch", "warning", and "advisory", demonstrating...
Jeannette Sutton
Dec 1, 2023
A highly localized message with limited value.
If you read The Warn Room regularly, you know that a foundational aspect of good warnings is that they deliver complete information to...
Jeannette Sutton
Nov 27, 2023
A 5-Star Alert for a Missing Person
This missing person alert is a great example of how to write an actionable message with enough content that a receiver may be able to act...
Jeannette Sutton
Nov 25, 2023
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