Severe Thunderstorm Warnings Survey
Discussion of Results
Note that responses refer to the online survey unless otherwise indicated.
1. Where Are You Located?
Respondents were asked to select the location that they would be referring
to when answering the survey. The majority of respondents indicated that they
were referring to SE Queensland (41%), followed by 13% referring to New South
Wales (Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong).
Figure 1. Location referred to when answering the survey.
2. What Activities Do You Use Severe Thunderstorm Warnings For?
Respondents were asked to nominate a single activity for which they use severe
thunderstorm warnings. This question was answered by 94% of survey respondents,
with 79% of these indicating that they use severe thunderstorm warnings when
undertaking personal or leisure activities.
Figure 2. Activities for which severe thunderstorm warnings are used.
3. Are Severe Thunderstorm Warnings Available in Time?
Respondents were asked if severe thunderstorm warnings available in time to
meet their requirements. This question was answered by 95% of survey respondents,
and of these, 88% indicated that they believed that the Bureau of Meteorology's
severe thunderstorm warnings were available in time to meet their needs, either
always or most of the time, with only 3% of respondents indicating that warnings
weren't available in time often enough.
Figure 3. Timeliness of severe thunderstorm warnings.
4. Are Severe Thunderstorm Warning Easy to Understand?
Respondents were asked if they find severe thunderstorm warnings easy
to understand. Of the 35,229 responses to this question in the online
survey, 92% of respondents indicated that they found severe thunderstorm
warnings easy to understand, whilst 4% of respondents indicated that they
were unsure what time severe thunderstorms would affect their area. In
the telephone survey, 77% of respondents indicated that they found severe
thunderstorm warnings easy to understand, whilst 3% of respondents indicated
that they were not easy to understand, and 18% said that they had not
used a severe thunderstorm warning.
Figure 4. Understood severe thunderstorm warnings.
5. How Do You Rate the Accuracy of Severe Thunderstorm Warnings?
Respondents were asked how they rate the accuracy of the Bureau of Meteorology's
severe thunderstorm warnings, in general. This question was answered by 94%
of survey respondents, and of these, 81% indicated that they believed that the
Bureau of Meteorology's severe thunderstorm warnings were always or usually
accurate. Only 2% of respondents felt that the warnings were usually inaccurate.
Figure 5. Accuracy of severe thunderstorm warnings.
6. How Do You Rate the Usefulness of the Severe Thunderstorm Warning Service
Compared to One Year Ago?
This question was answered by 94% of online survey respondents, and of
these, 53% indicated that they believed that the severe thunderstorm warning
service was more useful compared to a year ago, whilst 30% believed it
to be no different. In the telephone survey, 38% of respondents indicated
that they believed that the severe thunderstorm warning service was more
useful compared to a year ago, whilst 45% believed it to be no different,
1% thought it wasn't as good, and 16% were uncertain.
Analysis of the results on a regional basis shows that 46% of Victorian,
52% of New South Wales and 60% of Queensland online survey respondents
indicated that they found the severe thunderstorm warning service was
more useful compared to a year ago. In Victoria and Queensland, graphical
severe thunderstorm warnings had been introduced over the past year (Queensland
in December 2005, Victoria in March 2006). Also, detailed graphical warnings
for the greater Sydney area were extended to include Newcastle and the
Hunter Valley in February 2006. No changes were made in other states in
the year prior to the survey period.
These responses indicate that the introduction of the graphical severe
thunderstorm warning service has been well received by Victorian, New
South Wales and Queensland residents, and seen as a useful improvement
on the earlier text-based warnings.
Figure 6. Usefulness of warnings compared to one year ago.
7. Do You Mainly Use the Bureau Website to Obtain Severe Thunderstorm Warnings
or Do You Mainly Rely on Other Media?
This question was answered by 94% of survey respondents, and of these, 87%
indicated that they mainly used the Bureau of Meteorology website to obtain
severe thunderstorm warnings.
Figure 7. Media used to access warnings.
8. Have You Used the Bureau of Meteorology's Website to Obtain Graphical
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings?
This question was answered by 94% of online survey respondents, and of
these, 81% indicated that they had used the Bureau of Meteorology website
to obtain graphical severe thunderstorm warnings. In the telephone survey,
46% of respondents said that they had looked at a graphical severe thunderstorm
warning, 52% of respondents said that they hadn't looked at one and 2%
were uncertain.
Figure 8a. Used graphical severe thunderstorm warnings.
Figure 8b. Usage of graphical severe thunderstorm warnings by region.
9. What Do You Think of the Graphical Section of the Severe Thunderstorm
Warnings?
Of all respondents who answered this question, 93% indicated that the graphical
section of graphical severe thunderstorm warnings improves the warning.
Figure 9. Opinion of graphical section of severe thunderstorm warnings.
10. Did You Find the Graphical Section of the Severe Thunderstorm Warning
Easy to Understand?
This question was answered by 59% of survey respondents, and of these, 97%
indicated that they had found the graphic on the graphical severe thunderstorm
warning easy to understand.
Figure 10. Was the graphical section of the warning easy to understand.
11. What Additional Features Would Make the Graphical Severe Thunderstorm
Warnings Issued for Your Region More Useful for You?
Of the respondents who answered question 11, 83% indicated that no additional
features were required to make the graphical severe thunderstorm warnings more
useful for them, whilst 17% specified additional features that they felt would
make the warnings more useful.
Additional features suggested included:
- Indicate speed of storms
- More locations/suburbs or landmarks shown on graphic
- More detail/more specific
- Expected time of arrival in major cities/centres or nearest towns
- Moving image/animation showing expected path/progress
- Label cancellations on links to warnings
- Display lightning
Figure 11. Additional features for Graphical Severe Thunderstorm Warnings.
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