Question 1: To what extent does public interpretation of qualitative language align with that of meteorologists?

Hypothesis: The public associate qualitative terms, such as "likely", with certain probability ranges. Alignment with the interpretations of meteorologists is expected, however, there may be areas of disconnect.

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Question 2: To what extent does public attention align with the historical impact of natural hazards?

Hypothesis: Certain hazards are over/under publicized relative to their historical impacts.This affect's public perception of natural hazard risk.

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Question 3: To what extent can meteorologists benefit from pre-planned public communication strategies?

Hypothesis: Different weather settings mandate the use of different public communication approaches. There exists parameters that can be used to categorize most weather scenarios. By understanding these categories, the most effective public communication strategies can be identified for each. This can aid forecasters in choosing the most effective communication strategies, allow for more-timely communication, and increase messaging consistency.

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Question 4: To what extent can electrical outages be forecast as a weather impact?

Hypothesis: There is a strong correlation between electrical outages and particular weather conditions. Analysis of weather conditions during past electrical outages can be used to construct algorithms that project the extent of future outages.

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Question 5: To what extent are "Severe Thunderstorm Warnings" sufficient for all severe thunderstorms?

Hypothesis: The public develops specific archetypes for Severe Thunderstorm Warnings based on experiences. The rare formation of storms that exceed public archetypes is not adequately communicated and exacerbates public risk.

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Question 6: To what extent is the Phoenix-metro area capable of enduring a prolonged electrical outage during an intense heatwave?

Hypothesis: Preventative measures exist, however, should a prolonged outage occur during an intense heatwave, the human impacts would be substantial. The worst case scenario is likely under-appreciated.

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Question 7: To what extent do shifting climate patterns influence wildfire potential over the eastern United States? To what extent are eastern communities capable of managing significant wildfires?

Hypothesis: Factors such as increased atmospheric moisture may decrease wildfire potential, while other factors such as decreased winter snowpack, increased temperatures, and temporal changes in precipitation patterns may increase wildfire potential. The potential for high-impact eastern wildfires is likely under-appreciated.