top of page
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.
All Posts
Your evacuation messages shouldn't be so confusing
WEAs issued 8/29/23 (click image to enlarge) If you are a Warn Room reader, you know that we usually write about the use of "trigger...
Jeannette Sutton
Aug 29, 2023
**Evacuation Warning** but for flash flood
(click image to enlarge) WEA issued in advance of #Hilary for the CA desert The folks at the Editor's Desk have written a LOT about the...
Jeannette Sutton
Aug 27, 2023
A clear & concise public health advisory
Public health advisories frequently fall into the category of "WEA-ble" due to the potential for impact on community populations.
Jeannette Sutton
Aug 24, 2023
Include actionable instructions in an alert
A BOIL WATER notice can be confusing to many people leading to questions like: Why do we have to boil water? for how long? Will it really...
Jeannette Sutton
Aug 19, 2023
Including hazard impact information increases message understanding
Sometimes, threats and hazards may seem self-explanatory; other times, a hazard impact statement will help the receiver to understand why...
Jeannette Sutton
Aug 5, 2023
Making use of ALL CAPS
Of the many problems in public alert and warning messages, the habit of falling back upon "how things have always been done" or "what...
Jeannette Sutton
Jul 29, 2023
Edits to an incomplete message about a power outage
WEA issued on 7/20/2023 Sometimes a message will be issued that lacks so much context, we have to do some digging to figure out what it's...
Jeannette Sutton
Jul 22, 2023
The JARGON style of wildfire messaging
Two WEAs issued for wildfire on 7/21/23 Clearly, alert and warning writers are neck deep in technical jargon when talking about IPAWS,...
Jeannette Sutton
Jul 21, 2023
Warning messages must include the hazard
WEA issued 7/10/2023 It's entirely possible that a local message recipient will know why they are advised to evacuate immediately. If...
Jeannette Sutton
Jul 12, 2023
The downside of templated messages.
WEA issued 7/9/2023 Templates for alerts and warnings certainly have their place. They have the advantage of providing pre-scripted...
Jeannette Sutton
Jul 10, 2023
Should I send a WEA for a weather event?
Sheriff's WEA issued on 6/29/2023 (click image to enlarge) The National Weather Service has the authority and responsibility to issue...
Jeannette Sutton
Jun 28, 2023
Post-event messages should inform people that they are safe.
WEA issued 6/27/2023 Researchers are learning a great deal about how to effectively communicate that an event has ended, an order has...
Jeannette Sutton
Jun 28, 2023
Message Inconsistency
Wildfire WEA issued on 6/28/2023 In prior posts, we discussed the importance of message consistency. Most frequently, this is a topic...
Jeannette Sutton
Jun 27, 2023
It's time to get serious about excessive heat messaging.
WEAs have the power to reach people without requiring them to opt-in. Use this tool to deliver content that is meaningful and...
Jeannette Sutton
Jun 22, 2023
4 Stars for this alert!
WEA issued on 6/20/23 We like to call attention to the GOOD alerts when we see them. In this case, the message is nearly complete (it is...
Jeannette Sutton
Jun 19, 2023
Law Enforcement warning and all-clear
A series of messages about law enforcement activity. The Warning Gallery has many examples of incomplete warning messages that would...
Jeannette Sutton
Jun 10, 2023
90 Characters of Jargon
The warning gallery has previously displayed examples of incomplete messages that could use improvement. In this case. we're focused on...
Jeannette Sutton
May 23, 2023
An unfamiliar hazard and a local area emergency
At The Warn Room, we don't claim to be experts in all hazards, which is why adding hazard impact information to a message really helps...
Jeannette Sutton
May 13, 2023
LCFD NYPD UALB... the problem with acronyms
Source information is important, y'all! While clearly there are constraints that come with a 90 character WEA, when you have the full 360...
Jeannette Sutton
May 4, 2023
Location information update
(WEA sent 4/23/23) The editor's desk draws from research to suggest improvements to the hazard impact statement and to specify the...
Jeannette Sutton
Apr 23, 2023
bottom of page