Weather Risks and Decisions in Society (WRaDS)

Understanding the weather-society interface through theoretical and actionable social and interdisciplinary science

The Weather Risks and Decisions in Society (WRaDS) research group conducts theoretically driven, quantitative and qualitative empirical research to understand and improve risk communication and decision making related to weather and climate disasters. Our work involves deep collaborations with disciplinarily diverse researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to identify and rigorously investigate important, challenging scientific and societal problems.

Research Themes

Risk communication and decision making in the context of predictability and prediction

Our science is grounded in understanding risk messaging, risk perceptions, and decision making as they intersect with weather predictability and with current and evolving prediction capabilities

Innovative approaches to addressing pressing gaps in social science observations during hazardous weather events

We develop new methods and tools for collecting, curating, and sharing ephemeral and dynamic social science observations in real-time and integrating these observations with relevant meteorological and social systems data

User-centered development of weather forecast and risk information

We take a convergence research approach to develop and improve weather forecast and risk information by building understanding of the needs, uses, and decision contexts of multiple key stakeholders

Foundational and theoretical research on risk communication and decision making

We leverage a wide range of literature, methods, and analytic techniques to answer basic science questions that develop and advance social science theory