Keys to Preparing a Winter Weather Operations Manual

This article discusses key considerations in drafting a winter weather operations manual. A number of benefits are listed, such as: consolidating and organizing all institutional information into one accessible source; providing the impetus for management to make extensive plans; contributing to consistency and continuity; and helping communicate to employees, officials and the public the full picture of responsibilities and requirements. A list of general topic groups is provided, including: legal issues, such as risk management and mitigation; historical and educational topics, such as record of decisions and public information campaigns; strategic, with definitions of overall doctrines of the agency; and tactical, such as technical aspects of implementing the program and specific procedures and methods. Sources for guidance in shaping the document are given, along with an outline of potential topics.