May 02 2025
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May 2025 updates

By HURREVAC Support

Improved opacity controls for evacuation zones When evacuation zones are turned on in HURREVAC, there are now two buttons on the opacity slider in Quick Layers Options: one for the fill and one for the boundary. By default, the fill is set at 50% opacity and the boundary is set at 20% opacity. Depending on what you are trying to analyze or display, it may be beneficial to adjust these levels. Below is a hypothetical example where we compare the storm surge inundation hazard alongside evacuation zones to help us consider which areas may need to evacuate. The zone outlines were made more prominent (100%) while the zone fill was adjusted to be more transparent (25%). This example also made the MEOW Surge brighter (100%) and layered it over the zones. But depending on the complexity of the outlines and default colors of the zones you are working with, other opacity and layering choices may work better. Note that changes made in Quick Layers are temporary (not associated with your user settings) so it is necessary to make opacity adjustments each time you use HURREVAC. Storm Simulator wind probabilities discontinued The experimental step that generated downstream wind products was discontinued on May 1, 2025 due to resource constraints. The removal of this optional step does not affect the rest of Storm Simulator. In other words, it is still possible to make a simulated storm track and forecast, just without map layers for wind probabilities or wind watches and warnings. All simulated storms with associated wind products that were saved prior to May 1, 2025, are still available.

Apr 24 2025
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Virtual Training: K0311 – Hurricane Readiness for Coastal Communities

By HURREVAC Support

Update: slides and other resources from this course are available at the NHC Outreach Resources page. The FEMA National Hurricane Program is pleased to announce the upcoming virtual delivery of K0311: Hurricane Readiness for Coastal Communities, scheduled for April 29–30, 2025, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET each day. This course is designed to enhance preparedness and response capabilities among emergency managers and public safety officials in hurricane-prone coastal areas. Delivered by subject matter experts from FEMA and the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the training covers hurricane hazards, forecast interpretation, decision-making tools, and best practices for operational readiness. Course details Continuing Education Credit Participants seeking credit through the National Disaster and Emergency Management University (NDEMU) (formerly EMI) must complete the following steps: This course is beneficial for both new and experienced emergency management professionals looking to strengthen hurricane preparedness and response strategies ahead of the 2025 hurricane season. Please share this opportunity with colleagues who may benefit from this valuable training. For questions, contact the National Hurricane Program team (nhp@fema.dhs.gov).

Nov 19 2024
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New Toolbox Behavior and other Updates

By HURREVAC Support

HURREVAC now highlights active selections in the Toolbox, which is located in the lower left corner of the workspace. For example, this behavior indicates whenever the Tropical Weather Outlook is turned on by default when the program loads. Other tools like Text Advisories, Evacuation Timing and Training are also highlighted when clicked and their respective windows are open. Tools that open from the right side panel – Reports, Storm Surge (SLOSH) Explorer, and Storm Simulator – are also highlighted in the same way when you click on them. The right side panel now has a slightly different look, which removes the tabs at the top and only shows one tool at a time. It is still possible to switch between these three panel-based features using the toolbox. Other recent program changes Tropical Weather Outlook: storm icons are shown for all systems except the one that is actively selected (the ‘working’ storm). The TWO is beneficial for situational awareness, but we also recommend turning off the TWO layer when focused on tracking a particular storm unless you want to show its track in relation to other areas of potential development. Wind watches and warnings: improved caching now lets new information populate on the map without needing to restart the browser. This layer is often published shortly after the other advisory text products, so there can be a period of a few to several minutes where the HURREVAC map does not yet show a wind watch/warning line to match the text. Deterministic winds for JTWC areas of responsibility: added an exception to the recent program changes to show the 64kt (typhoon or cyclone) winds on the map throughout the 5 day period when applicable, as that threshold is explicitly forecast in JTWC advisories. The deterministic wind timing report still limits specific results for the 64-kt threshold to 3 days in all areas. Note to users in South Carolina: the state’s latest Hurricane Evacuation Study (HES) data has been implemented in the program during recent weeks and months. This includes new Evacuation Zones and clearance times in the Evacuation Timing window. New HES documents for the Resources tab are coming soon.  

Nov 04 2024
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Time change reminder for HURREVAC users

By HURREVAC Support

The recent change from daylight saving time to standard time means that products from the National Hurricane Center and other forecast agencies are available one hour earlier. These changes are automatically reflected in HURREVAC, but users tracking late-season tropical activity should be aware of the following times. Regular (complete) advisories are now issued at 4 a.m., 10 a.m., 4 p.m., and 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. (In Central Standard Time: 3 a.m., 9 a.m., 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.) Intermediate advisories are issued at 1 a.m., 7 a.m., 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. EST while watches and warnings are in effect. (In CST: Midnight, 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m.) Tropical Weather Outlooks are issued around 1 a.m., 7 a.m., 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. EST. By default, HURREVAC’s time display matches the system setting of your computer or device. There is no need to change any HURREVAC settings to account for the end of daylight saving time unless you manually set a custom time zone (UTC offset) in User Preferences.

Sep 23 2024
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New Self-guided Training Resources

By HURREVAC Support

We invite HURREVAC users to take advantage of two new ways to learn how to use the program or brush up on skills: YouTube videos and in-app training modules. Quick Guide to HURREVAC on YouTube New to the program and short on time? We’ve condensed all the basics into a five-part YouTube video series. To watch, use the embedded viewer below to start the playlist, visit our YouTube page, or pick a particular topic from the list below. In-app Training Modules When logged into HURREVAC, click Training in the toolbox in the lower left portion of the workspace. That opens a window with a list of the training topics. These are self-paced, step-by-step, interactive modules that gradually build up the concepts you’ll need to know to get the most out of the program. Though you can interact with HURREVAC on a touch device, we recommend using a laptop/desktop screen and mouse for the best experience because the training module covers up some parts of the interface. If you are new to the program or have never taken any training classes before, we recommend starting with Introduction to HURREVAC, Customizing the Workspace and Finding Key Storm Information before proceeding to the others. You’re welcome to complete the rest, or select a topic that is relevant to your needs. Other ways to learn HURREVAC For printable at-a-glance reference guides in PDF format, go to our User Guides and Tutorials page to find the Quick Reference Guide and Workspace Handout. For in-depth video training with longer demonstrations and expert descriptions of hurricane forecast products, watch the recordings of our annual webinar series. For the most detailed documentation, use our searchable in-app User Guide (login required).