Solano NewsNet joins NOAA's Weather-Ready Nation initiative

Solano NewsNet has been accepted to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s (NOAA) Weather-Ready Nation initiative, a public-private partnership between the National Weather Service and local organizations that promote climate awareness and emergency preparedness.

The ambassadorship will allow Solano NewsNet to collaborate with NOAA on digital and in-person community outreach initiatives to help residents, business owners and government officials be ready, responsive and resilient to extreme weather, water and climate events, while receiving critical forecasts and other information from NOAA that will help improve weather-related messaging through Solano NewsNet’s editorial products.

“Solano NewsNet was started two years ago during a weather-related emergency — the LNU Lightning Complex wildfire — so emergency awareness, preparedness and response is baked into our editorial DNA,” Matthew Keys, the founding publisher and editor of Solano NewsNet, said on Friday. “As Solano County’s breaking news leader, Solano NewsNet already provides critical weather information, forecasts and alerts through our digital channels, and we are looking forward to our collaboration with NOAA and the National Weather Service through the Weather-Ready Nation initiative as we jointly build on our community initiatives.”

Solano NewsNet is the first media organization in Solano County to join NOAA’s Weather-Ready Nation initiative. Other local ambassadors in the Weather-Ready Nation initiative include the California Highway Patrol, the Solano County Office of Emergency Services, the City of Benicia, the Vallejo Flood & Wastewater District and the Vacaville Premium Outlets.

To participate, Weather-Ready Nation ambassadors must maintain an active dialogue with NOAA and the National Weather Service, utilize NOAA-generated information like emergency alerts and preparedness messaging, and collaborate on research opportunities and public outreach events.

“NOAA wants to find ways to collaborate with external organizations in innovative ways to maximize all our efforts toward national resilience,” a NOAA spokesperson wrote in a public question-and-answer post on the organization’s website. “Increased dialog and information sharing will result in reduced redundancy, more consistent weather safety messaging, and improved communication with stakeholders and the general public.”

Participation in the Weather-Ready Nation initiative does not constitute an endorsement by NOAA or the National Weather Service for any third-party organization, product or service, but instead recognizes that an organization like Solano NewsNet “shares a commitment to protecting communities, businesses, and individuals from devastating extreme weather events.”

As part of the Weather-Ready Nation initiative, Solano NewsNet is committed to increasing its weather-related messaging with a specific focus on climate awareness and emergency preparedness throughout Solano County.

Launched as a newsletter in August 2020, Solano NewsNet provides breaking news and in-depth journalism that impact residents and businesses in seven cities — Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville and Vallejo — as well as the unincorporated communities of Solano County, California. The news outlet has over 3,500 community participants, or “Solano NewsNet insiders,” in a special Facebook group limited to those who work or live in Solano County, and a reach of over 55,000 active users across its various social media channels and community collaboration platforms.

Solano NewsNet is owned and operated by Solano Media, LLC.