AccuWeather Advantage: Businesses receive more than 1-hour advance notice and 90 extra live-saving minutes before San Diego flooding

As San Diego, California, saw a month’s worth of rain in a day on Jan.22, 2024, AccuWeather once again showed its commitment to safety by providing businesses with the most advance notice, outperforming all other weather sources. While the storm caused widespread damage, high-water rescues, and logistical challenges, AccuWeather’s proven Superior Accuracy™ allowed businesses to enact their emergency plans and issue evacuations when seconds count and lives are on the line. 

⇒ READ MORE: Assessing the risk: Understanding the financial impacts of flooding on businesses

AccuWeather was the ONLY SOURCE to provide additional notice and the most accurate warning of a rapidly developing flood threat:

• AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Flash Flood Warning, which provided more than 1 hour of advance notice BEFORE the first flood reports were received. 

• As has been the case in many other situations, AccuWeather issued the flash flood warning for the San Diego area BEFORE any other source and was able to provide 90 minutes of ADDITIONAL time to prepare. This extra time is especially valuable in such a rapidly developing flooding emergency, not only to give time to take safety precautions but also to reroute around potentially closed roads and take other preventative actions.

• Free government public sources and all other providers did not issue a flash flood warning until 20 minutes AFTER flooding had already been reported. 

Several inches of rain fell in parts of San Diego, including over five inches northeast of downtown, triggering intense flooding and mudslides. This triggered a state of emergency being declared, as the region saw the wettest January day on record. 

A car sits partially submerged on a flooded road during a rain storm Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, in San Diego. Heavy rainfall around the U.S. on Monday prompted first responders in Texas to conduct water rescues and officials in California to issue evacuation warnings over potential mudslides in parts of Los Angeles County. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Juan Gonzales gestures to the waterline of a flooded home during a rain storm Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Juan Gonzales gestures to the waterline of a flooded home during a rain storm Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

⇒ READ MORE: AccuWeather's accurate forecasts help businesses, including a major global retailer, prepare for life-threatening flash flooding in South Florida

The Advantage of AccuWeather’s Advance Notice

AccuWeather's advance notice of the San Diego flooding event brought substantial benefits to various industries.

• Transportation Industry: AccuWeather's advance notice allowed transportation companies to reroute vehicles, preventing disruptions in supply chains and ensuring driver safety. With over 1 hour of advance notice, logistics teams efficiently adjusted schedules, minimizing the impact on the transportation of goods and services.

• Emergency Management:  Emergency management agencies could initiate evacuation plans and deploy resources well in advance, ensuring a more organized and timely response to the unfolding crisis. The extended lead time provided the opportunity to allocate personnel, equipment, and supplies strategically, optimizing the efficiency of emergency response efforts.

• Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities: Hospitals could take necessary precautions to protect patients, such as relocating those in vulnerable areas, ensuring adequate medical supplies, and preparing for potential influxes of patients due to weather-related incidents. 

• Schools and Educational Institutions:  Schools had the opportunity to enact safety protocols, potentially delaying or canceling classes to ensure the safety of students and staff. Also, steps could be taken to protect their infrastructure, such as securing buildings and equipment and reducing the risk of damage during flooding.
  

⇒ READ MORE: AccuWeather delivers life-saving advance notice to businesses, schools and hospitals on New York City flooding

Superior Accuracy™: Better informed, Better protected, Better prepared 

AccuWeather's SkyGuard Notifications deliver timely and actionable insights to businesses, offering advance warnings for severe weather events. AccuWeather provides an average of 16 advance notices when tornadoes are in the forecast, compared to only 8 minutes from all other sources. That means AccuWeather gives you more time to prepare better and get to shelter – all critical when seconds count and lives are on the line.

Want to learn more about how AccuWeather For Business can help your business better prepare for severe weather? Contact one of our experts and get a demonstration of AccuWeather’s SkyGuard Notifications and protect your business, employees, and assets.