Enhancing text-based chat with visuals for hazardous weather decision making

We created a visual chat application for use during hazardous weather events. The application, NWSChat2, allows National Weather Service forecasters, media members, and storm trackers to communicate with each other, basing their conversation on a common shared radar map of the storm. Users can additionally annotate the map with `pins´ or draw notes with a stylus. These annotations are automatically shared with all other users. The collaborative nature of NWSChat2 makes it well-suited for disseminating information to all users during weather emergencies.