Kim Klockow McClain
Kim Klockow McClain is a social science researcher at the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, and she leads the CIWRO/NSSL Behavioral Insights Unit.
Kim Klockow McClain is a social science researcher at the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, and she leads the CIWRO/NSSL Behavioral Insights Unit. Her research focuses on informed decision-making in weather and climate contexts, including issues in the communication of forecast uncertainty. She is also actively involved in policy for social science within NOAA, and spent several years working at NOAA HQ after completing an AMS/UCAR Congressional Science Fellowship in the U.S. Senate. Kim received her PhD in Geography and MS in Professional Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma, and BS degrees in both Economics and Synoptic Meteorology from Purdue University.
- November 6, 2023
- "It Just Seems Like Storms Always Go There, Not Here"
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Have you ever felt this way about the place you live? Does it feel like anytime storms roll through, the worst seems to go around you? Do you feel, deep down, like the place you live just won’t be hit by a tornado? Or if you live along the coast, perhaps, that a hurricane is unlikely to affect you directly?
You might not be alone, and the effect of these beliefs, in some cases, could be consequential.
- By Kim Klockow McClain
- October 26, 2023
- Nudge Theory and Choice Architecture: Can Weather Social Science Be this Simple?
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Interest in integrating social science into meteorology has grown significantly in recent years, leading to substantial research in the field. However, a major challenge lies in defining and measuring success in communication, particularly regarding weather resilience, raising questions about the criteria for "effective communication" and who determines it.
- By Kim Klockow McClain
- October 9, 2023
- Cultivating a Model for Post-Tornado Fieldwork at NSSL
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In just a few decades’ time, the physical science of meteorology has evolved rapidly, aided in part by increasingly sophisticated field campaigns of many kinds. Spurred by an explosion of scientific development, including improved theoretical and empirical research in recent years, alongside growth in the hiring of social scientists within meteorological organizations, social science fieldwork is now experiencing its own surge of growth. This article will describe a little bit of the NSSL team’s approach, highlighting our study of the December 10, 2021 tornado outbreak as an example of what we hope to do for many key events now and in the future.
- By Kim Klockow McClain
- August 30, 2023
- The Mission to Improve Social Science Data Collection
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Efforts are underway to collect real-event observations, like post-tornado surveys, to better understand human behavior during weather events. Organizations, including the National Severe Storms Laboratory and National Weather Service, are using standardized surveys and citizen science apps to gather data and improve insights into meteorological questions.
- By Kim Klockow McClain