This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
The City of Longmont launched “Smart Weather”, an add-on to our existing emergency notification system, Everbridge. Residents may recall that earlier in 2017, the Longmont City Council made the decision to move away from a non-functioning, ineffective outdoor warning siren system and embrace newer forms of technology to communicate with the public during emergencies.
Smart Weather sends specific alerts automatically to community members. This software will allow the city to automatically “push” alerts. These alerts may be sent via:
• text message
• email addresses
• landline phones
Only tornado warnings and flash flood warning are issued automatically to registered devices. Smart Weather also has the ability to deliver numerous other watches, warnings and weather alerts if community members wish to receive them, but they will not be delivered automatically.
Smart Weather sends alerts to a specific area that may be affected by a weather event. This area is determined by the National Weather Service. Devices and/or land lines registered to addresses inside the affected area will receive alerts. For example, if a tornado warning is issued for the eastern half of the City of Longmont, only the addresses inside the affected area will be automatically alerted. The rest of Boulder County, including the City of Boulder and the western half of the City of Longmont would not receive an automated alert.
To receive alerts through Smart Weather, you will need to register your devices and/or land lines, even if you have already registered for Everbridge. The registration process is done online at https://www.longmontcolorado.gov/departments/departments-n-z/public-safety-department/public-safety-services/reverse-9-1-1-mobile-devices.
For questions regarding the Smart Weather registration process, contact Ken Nichols at [email protected] or 303-651-8566 if you live in the City of Longmont, and the Boulder Office of Emergency Management at 303-441-3390 if you live in any other part of Boulder County. For more information on Smart Weather: https://www.everbridge.com/product/smart-weather/
