Federal Alliance for Safe Homes Names Ken Graham 2022 National Weatherperson of the Year

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Feb. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) named National Hurricane Center (NHC) Director Ken Graham as the 2022 National Weatherperson of the Year. The award coincides with the February 5 celebration of National Weatherperson's Day, the birthday of pioneering weather observer John Jeffries whose work in the 1780s paved the way for many aspects of meteorology today.

The award committee cited Ken's forecasting excellence, use of behavioral science, and extraordinary leadership style, among the many reasons for his selection. Nominators praised his knowledge, passion for others, calming spirit, and enduring dedication to protecting lives.

Ken has led the nation through back-to-back devastating hurricane seasons with 19 U.S. landfalling tropical storms and hurricanes. His strong relationships within the nation's emergency management community help ensure that communities prepare for hurricane hazards. During storms, his news media outreach efforts provide life-saving information to the public in the face of tropical cyclone threats. 

Ken leads the World Meteorological Organization's Region IV Hurricane Committee. In that role, he ensures that meteorological services throughout the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and Canada have the information necessary to provide life-saving decision support to disaster planners and the public ahead of hurricane threats. 

Despite challenging times, Ken successfully leads the NHC. He has faced a global pandemic that altered operational posture and limited public outreach opportunities. Still, his commitment and dedication kept the NHC staff safe while ensuring that they fulfilled its life-saving mission. 

"Leaders like Ken Graham do not come along every day," said FLASH President and CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson. "He combines exceptional skills, vision, engaging optimism, kindness, and true passion for protecting people and communities. Our nation is safer and more resilient because of his impeccable service, and we are honored to recognize him today."

Below is a sampling of voter comments: 

• Ken's leadership, commitment to his job, and delivery of vital information during a year filled with so many named storms were extremely important. He really deserves national recognition.
• Ken Graham has a calm demeanor and packs a lot of information in an efficient, easy to understand way. He's always my go-to during hurricane season. Thanks, Ken!
• Director Graham goes above and beyond the call of duty to assist high-impact weather areas in making life-saving decisions and creating the appropriate preemptive and post-response measures.
• Ken is clear in his explanations of what to anticipate without causing undue alarm while still presenting the seriousness of the situation! His knowledge of hurricanes is unsurpassed.
• Ken is a national treasure. He is an approachable, humble person. He genuinely shows interest in those he meets, and he has a heart of dedication and service.

Three meteorologists comprised the 2022 finalist lineup, including Ken Graham, Chris Sowers, Meteorologist - 6ABC Philadelphia, and Dr. Reed Timmer, Extreme Meteorologist and Storm Chaser. Nominators cited finalists' standout local forecasting and education, real-time updates, and life-saving information during extreme weather events. All received high marks for contributions to America's disaster safety and resilience. 

National Weatherperson of the Year past award winners include:

• 2014 – Jim Cantore, On-Camera Meteorologist, and Co-Host, "AMHQ" - The Weather Channel
• 2015 – Max Mayfield, former National Hurricane Center Director
• 2016 – Alex Garcia, Chief Meteorologist - KABB-TV, San Antonio, TX
• 2017 – Dr. Richard Knabb, Hurricane Expert & Tropical Program Manager - The Weather Channel
• 2018 – Ada Monzón, Chief Meteorologist, AMS Fellow - CBM-WIPR-TV, Puerto Rico
• 2019 – James Spann, Chief Meteorologist - ABC 33/40, Birmingham, AL
• 2020 – Joe Snedeker, Morning Meteorologist - WNEP Newswatch 16, Scranton, PA
• 2021 – Ginger Zee, Chief Meteorologist - ABC News

Finalists and winners are selected based on qualitative evaluation and public polling.

About FLASH

The nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) is the country's leading consumer advocate for strengthening homes and safeguarding families from disasters. The FLASH partnership includes more than 100 innovative and diverse organizations that share a vision of making America a more disaster-resilient nation, including FEMA, Florida Division of Emergency Management, Huber Engineered Woods, International Code Council, ISO - Verisk Analytics, Lowe's, MyRadar, National Weather Service, Renew Financial, Simpson Strong-Tie, State Farm, and USAA. In 2008, FLASH and Disney opened the interactive weather experience StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes in Lake Buena Vista, FL. FLASH's signature program No Code. No Confidence. - Inspect2Protect.org provides consumers with a one-of-a-kind building code transparency tool to easily identify their community's building code. Learn more about FLASH and access free consumer resources by visiting www.flash.org and www.Inspect2Protect.org, calling toll-free (877) 221- SAFE (7233), following @federalalliance on Twitter, and Facebook.com/federalalliance.

SOURCE Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)