The Problem

Critical data scattered across a dozen websites

During severe weather events, Haywood County emergency management staff needed to simultaneously monitor USGS stream gage levels, National Weather Service watches and warnings, power outage counts from multiple utilities, NCDOT traffic incidents, and NOAA river flood forecasts. Each data source lived on a separate website with its own interface, refresh cycle, and geographic scope.

Decision makers were toggling between browser tabs during the exact moments they needed the clearest possible operational picture. Information that should drive protective action decisions — rising water levels approaching bank full, new flood warnings, cascading power outages — was fragmented across sources that didn’t talk to each other.

The Solution

One screen, every source, always current

We built a single ArcGIS Dashboard that pulls live data from USGS stream gages, NWS weather alerts, ReadyNC and Duke Energy outage feeds, NCDOT TIMS traffic incidents, and citizen-submitted weather impact reports — all filtered to Haywood County and cross-linked through a central map widget.

When the map extent changes, every downstream widget updates: the watches and warnings list, traffic incident details, stream gage table, outage counts, and flood report summaries all filter to the visible area. Embedded NOAA flood forecasts for the Pigeon River at Canton and NC State Climate Office weather station data provide additional context without requiring users to leave the dashboard.

Cross-Filtering Architecture: The central map widget drives the entire dashboard. When the map extent changes, it filters the watches/warnings list, TIMS incident details, stream gage table, outage data, rainfall indicators, and flood report counts to the visible area. Bidirectional: selecting a row in the stream gage table flashes the gage on the map and zooms to it. Duke outage table selection does the same.

Arcade Conditional Formatting: The stream gage table uses Arcade expressions to compare current water elevation against bank full elevation in real time. Rows turn yellow when a gage exceeds bank full. Giving operators an instant visual signal without needing to interpret raw numbers.

Dual Utility Gauges: ReadyNC uses a static max of 39,187 total customers. Duke Energy dynamically calculates its gauge max from live CUSTOMER_SERVED totals, so the proportion always reflects current service area. Both use color thresholds: green below 10%, yellow at 50%+.

Maximum Rainfall Indicator: Pulls the maximum 6-hour rainfall accumulation across all gages equipped with rain gauges. Gives operators the single most critical precipitation number without scanning individual stations.

Mobile-Responsive Layout: Separate desktop and mobile views optimized for each form factor. Desktop uses a three-column docking layout with tabbed panels. Mobile uses a stacked layout with simplified widgets — the gage table drops to three columns (name, condition, trend) and the Canton flood forecast switches from a full NOAA iframe to an auto-refreshing HEFS hydrograph image.

Embedded External Content: NOAA flood forecast hydrograph, NC State Climate Office weather stations, and HEMC outage maps embedded directly in the dashboard via iframes. Users access authoritative source data without leaving the operational interface.

Smart Filtering: TIMS traffic incidents automatically exclude construction and maintenance events, showing only weather-relevant and emergency incidents. Flood reports and weather impact counts filter to the last 7 days, keeping the operational picture current without manual date management.