Video highlighting how severe weather forecasts are made, featuring actions taken by both the NOAA Storm Prediction Center and local NWS Forecast office during a rare Christmas Day tornado that struck Mobile, Ala., in 2012. It’s here that some of the world’s most significant scientific and technological breakthroughs are born. Meteorologically, the region known as Tornado Alley is ideally situated for the formation of supercell thunderstorms, often the producers of violent (EF-2 or greater) tornadoes. When danger to people and property is imminent, the National Weather Service issues a warning. Florida has numerous tornadoes simply due to the high frequency of almost daily thunderstorms. Dual Polarized Radar Technology takes the radar from 2D to 3D. In 2011, a total of 1,894 tornadoes caused 551 fatalities. Many of the world's severe weather experts work in Norman. FACETs helps people decide when – and when not – to take action. As they test and evaluate emerging forecasting and warning technologies, visiting broadcasters and emergency managers share their own vital insights. NOAA’s Testbed is a one-of-a-kind experience for stakeholders, especially with so many advances in forecasting. For example, NOAA's Forecasting a Continuum of Environmental Threats program (FACETs) proposes a fresh approach to communicating threats. Connecting the social applicability and expertise of emergency management and broadcasters to physical scientists and forecasters offers unique and critical perspectives, empowering stakeholders to work together to generate, apply and share life-saving weather hazard information. Meteorologically, the region known as Tornado Alley is ideally situated for the formation of supercell thunderstorms, often the producers of violent (EF-2 or greater) tornadoes. NOAA’s Testbed is a one-of-a-kind experience for stakeholders, especially with so many advances in forecasting. Tornado alley map by Dan Craggs/Wikipedia Commons. (NOAA). Supercells, or powerful, persistent and rotating storms, are birthing grounds for the strongest tornadoes across the Great Plains. Norman's Weather Forecast Office provides warnings for regions of Oklahoma and Texas. (NOAA). Winds are at least 58 mph. They know how life-changing severe weather can be. FACETs proposes a fresh approach to communicating threats. With many partners, NOAA continues to advance understanding of severe weather and achieve the technological breakthroughs vital to protecting lives, property and U.S. economies. NOAA Research’s National Severe Storms Laboratory and the Tri-Agency Radar Operations Center and Southern Climate Impacts Planning Programoffsite link are also vital components. In 1973, National Severe Storms Laboratory researchers intercepted a storm in Union City, Okla., being scanned by experimental Doppler radar. Examples include the following: Winds are at least 58 mph. When these tropical systems move ashore, the embedded convective storms in the rain bands often produce tornadoes. Dual Polarized Radar Technology takes the radar from 2D to 3D. This pattern was named the Tornado Vortex Signature. United States Tornado Frequency and Tornado Alley. Working in Norman lets us see where it all comes together, from promising research to breakthrough forecasting techniques and tools that save lives. FACETs hones in with fast, concrete, easily understood communications. Each year, in the quest to improve forecasts, the lab partners with the Storm Prediction Center to host experiments in the Hazardous Weather Testbed. Others forecast severe thunderstorms and tornadoes for the lower 48. In Tornado Alley, warm humid air from the Gulf of Mexico lies beneath cold dry air from the Rocky Mountains, creating an ideal environment for tornadoes to be born within thunderstorms. In addition, several tropical storms or hurricanes often impact the Florida peninsula each year. (NOAA), Tiffany Meyer, Cooperative Institute Research Associate and NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed Technical Advisor at the NSSL in Norman, Okla. (NOAA), NOAA's Science on a Sphere® (SOS) is a room-sized, global display system that uses computers and video projectors to display planetary data onto a six-foot diameter sphere, analogous to a giant animated globe. In the glass-walled corridors, all eyes are on the sky. Of these violent twisters, only a few (0.1% of all tornadoes) achieve EF-5 status, with estimated winds over 200 mph and nearly complete destruction. In time, NOAA deployed a national network of Doppler radars, which have since been credited with saving an untold number of lives by detecting hazardous weather, triggering tornado alerts and other warnings. Formerly the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)…, Click Map for Larger Image of Tornado Alley, Click Map for Larger Image of Dixie Alley, Enhanced Fujita Tornado Damage Intensity Scale, Statistical Weather and Climate Information. Strong to violent tornadoes (those of EF-3 or stronger on the Enhanced Fujita Tornado Damage Intensity Scale), are relatively rare, and do not typically occur outside the United States. Watches highlight areas at specific risk two to eight hours in advance and typically cover about 25,000 square miles. In Tornado Alley, warm humid air from the Gulf of Mexico lies beneath cold dry air from the Rocky Mountains, creating an ideal environment for tornadoes to be born within thunderstorms. The remaining small percentage of tornadoes are categorized as violent (EF-3 and above). They can occur in any state and be a mile wide. Video showcasing milestones in severe weather forecasting. As this story map was being developed, eye-witnesses reported over 825 tornadoes tearing through the Great Plains. Florida is one and "Tornado Alley" in the south-central United States is the other. (Photo by Mike Coniglio/NOAA NSSL), NOAA/University of Oklahoma Cooperative Institute Researcher Elizabeth Smith preparing the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system for operation on the outskirts of a storm. Catch the action in America’s heartland! They're partners in TORUS, a new and ambitious field project aimed at understanding the link between tornadoes and the storms that spawn the most destructive ones. Storm Prediction Center forecasters monitor conditions 24/7, delivering accurate and timely watches and forecasts for severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, wildfires, and winter weather, communicating risks up to eight days in advance. To improve forecasts, drones, mobile radars, NOAA aircraft, lidar to detect atmospheric particles, swarms of instruments tied to small weather balloons and more are observing storms, yielding a data-driven, multi-dimensional view of each storm system. Connecting the social applicability and expertise of emergency management and broadcasters to physical scientists and forecasters offers unique and critical perspectives, empowering stakeholders to work together to generate, apply and share life-saving weather hazard information. Tornadoes in this region typically happen in late spring and occasionally the early fall. By documenting the tornado's life cycle on film, they were able to compare filmed images with Doppler data, leading to the landmark discovery that, even before it showed up on film, the tornado was forming within the thunderstorm. - Zach Stanford, Oklahoma Emergency Management Officer, Video highlighting NOAA's continuing quest for better forecasts, with emphasis on the NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT). For Norman staff, work is personal as well as a professional passion.

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