From Improving Tornado Warnings: from Observation to Forecast
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14B.6 ESTIMATED CONVECTIVE WINDS: RELIABILITY and EFFECTS on SEVERE-STORM CLIMATOLOGY
14B.6 ESTIMATED CONVECTIVE WINDS: RELIABILITY and EFFECTS on SEVERE-STORM CLIMATOLOGY Roger Edwards1 NWS Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK Gregory W. Carbin NWS Weather Prediction Center, College Park, MD 1. BACKGROUND In 2006, NCDC (now NCEI) Storm Data, from By definition, convectively produced surface winds which the SPC database is directly derived, began to ≥50 kt (58 mph, 26m s–1) in the U.S. are classified as record whether gust reports were measured by an severe, whether measured or estimated. Other wind instrument or estimated. Formats before and after reports that can verify warnings and appear in the this change are exemplified in Fig. 1. Storm Data Storm Prediction Center (SPC) severe-weather contains default entries of “Thunderstorm Wind” database (Schaefer and Edwards 1999) include followed by values in parentheses with an acronym assorted forms of convective wind damage to specifying whether a gust was measured (MG) or structures and trees. Though the “wind” portion of the estimated (EG), along with the measured and SPC dataset includes both damage reports and estimated “sustained” convective wind categories (MS specific gust values, this study only encompasses the and ES respectively). MGs from standard ASOS and latter (whether or not damage was documented to AWOS observation sites are available independently accompany any given gust). For clarity, “convective prior to 2006 and have been analyzed in previous gusts” refer to all gusts in the database, regardless of studies [e.g., the Smith et al. (2013) climatology and whether thunder specifically was associated with any mapping]; however specific categorization of EGs and given report. -
5-Day Weather Outlook 04.23.21
Friday, April 23, 2021 5-Day Statewide Weather Outlook No Threat Low Threat Moderate Threat High Threat Damaging Flash Coastal Day Lightning Tornado Wildfire Fog Rip Currents Wind/Hail Flooding Flooding Panhandle Western Far NW FL Far NW West Coast Fri South FL (overnight) Panhandle W Panhandle Florida Elsewhere North FL Panhandle & Sat Central FL North Florida North Florida South FL Statewide Big Bend South FL Northeast FL Sun South FL Statewide & Peninsula Panhandle Mon South FL Elsewhere Southeast Tue South FL Statewide Florida Severe Weather Hazard Breakdown for Saturday: Tornadoes (left), Damaging Winds (center), Large Hail (right) Maximum Wind Gusts through Saturday Afternoon Forecast Rainfall Totals Through Tuesday Night FDEM Statewide 5-Day Weather Outlook 04.23.21 …Potentially Significant Severe Weather Event for North Florida on Saturday…Two Rounds of Severe Weather Possible Across North Florida…Windy Outside of Storms in North Florida…Hot with Isolated Showers and Storms in the Peninsula this Weekend…Minor Coastal Flooding Possible in Southeast Florida Next Week… Friday - Saturday: A warm front over the Gulf of Mexico tonight will lift northward through the Panhandle and Big Bend Saturday morning. This brings the first round of thunderstorms into the Panhandle late tonight. The Storm Prediction Center has outlined the western Panhandle in a Marginal to Slight Risk of severe weather tonight (level 1-2 of 5). Damaging winds up to 60 mph and isolated tornadoes will be the main threat, mainly after 2 AM CT. On Saturday, the first complex of storms will be rolling across southern Alabama and southern Georgia in the morning and afternoon hours, clipping areas north of I-10 in Florida. -
NWS Storm Prediction Center SPC 24X7 Operations
3/6/2019 NWS Storm Prediction Center FACETs will enable ... • Robust quantification of the weather hazard risk Initial realizations of the FACETs Vision: Real- • Better individual and group decision making • Based on individual needs …through both NWS & the private sector time tools and information for severe weather • Consistent communication and DSS, commensurate to decision making risk • Rigorous quantification of potential impacts Dr. Russell S. Schneider Director, NOAA-NWS Storm Prediction Center 3 March 2019 National Tornado Summit – Public Sheltering Workshop NOAA NWS Storm Prediction Center www.spc.noaa.gov • Forecast tornadoes, thunderstorms, and wildfires nationwide • Forecast information from 8 days to a few minutes in advance • World class team engaged with the research community • Partner with over 120 local National Weather Service offices Current: Forecast & Warning Continuum SPC 24x7 Operations Information Void(s) Outlooks Watches Warnings Event Time Days Hours Minutes Space Regional State Local Uncertainty FACETs: Toward a true continuum optimal for the pace of emergency decision making 1 3/6/2019 Tornado Watch SPC Severe Weather Outlooks Alerting messages issued to the public through media partners SPC Forecaster collaborating on watch characteristics with local NWS offices to communicate the forecast tornado threat to the Public Issued since the early 1950’s SPC Lead Forecaster SPC Lead Forecaster National Experience Average National Experience: 10 years as Lead; almost 20 overall NWS Local Forecast Office Partners -
John Hart Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK
John Hart Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK 7th European Conference on Severe Storms, Helsinki, Finland – Friday June 7th, 2013 SPC Overview: US Naonal Weather Service 122 Local Weather Forecast Offices Ususally about 12 meteoroloGists who work rotating shifts. Very busy with daily forecast tasks (public/aviation forecasts, etc). Limited severe weather experience, even if they work in an active office. Image source: Steve M., Minnesota ClimatoloGy Working Group SPC Overview: US Storm Predic/on Center • Focus on severe storms. • Second set of eyes for the local offices. • Consistent overview of severe storm threat. • HIGH EXPERIENCE LEVELS Forecasts for entire US • Very competitive to join staff (except Alaska and Hawaii) • Stable staff • Few people leave before retirement • No competition with local offices • SPC does not issue warnings • Easy collaboration with local offices Our job is to help the local offices, not compete or overshadow. Image source: Steve M., Minnesota ClimatoloGy Working Group SPC Overview: US Storm Predic/on Center • Usually four forecasters on shift • Lead Forecaster • 2 mesoscale forecasters • 1 outlook forecaster • Lead Forecaster • Shift supervisor • Makes final call on all products • Issues watches • Promoted from mesoscale/outlook forecaster ranks • Mesoscale Forecaster • Focuses on 0-6 hour forecasts • Writes mesoscale discussions • Outlook Forecaster • Focuses on longer ranges and larger scales • Days 1-8 • Write convective outlooks Image source: Steve M., Minnesota ClimatoloGy Working Group My Background -
Downloaded 09/30/21 06:43 PM UTC JUNE 1996 MONTEVERDI and JOHNSON 247
246 WEATHER AND FORECASTING VOLUME 11 A Supercell Thunderstorm with Hook Echo in the San Joaquin Valley, California JOHN P. MONTEVERDI Department of Geosciences, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California STEVE JOHNSON Association of Central California Weather Observers, Fresno, California (Manuscript received 30 January 1995, in ®nal form 9 February 1996) ABSTRACT This study documents a damaging supercell thunderstorm that occurred in California's San Joaquin Valley on 5 March 1994. The storm formed in a ``cold sector'' environment similar to that documented for several other recent Sacramento Valley severe thunderstorm events. Analyses of hourly subsynoptic surface and radar data suggested that two thunderstorms with divergent paths developed from an initial echo that had formed just east of the San Francisco Bay region. The southern storm became severe as it ingested warmer, moister boundary layer air in the south-central San Joaquin Valley. A well-developed hook echo with a 63-dBZ core was observed by a privately owned 5-cm radar as the storm passed through the Fresno area. Buoyancy parameters and ho- dograph characteristics were obtained both for estimated conditions for Fresno [on the basis of a modi®ed morning Oakland (OAK) sounding] and for the actual storm environment (on the basis of a radiosonde launched from Lemoore Naval Air Station at about the time of the storm's passage through the Fresno area). Both the estimated and actual hodographs essentially were straight and suggested storm splitting. Although the actual CAPE was similar to that which was estimated, the observed magnitude of the low-level shear was considerably greater than the estimate. -
ESSENTIALS of METEOROLOGY (7Th Ed.) GLOSSARY
ESSENTIALS OF METEOROLOGY (7th ed.) GLOSSARY Chapter 1 Aerosols Tiny suspended solid particles (dust, smoke, etc.) or liquid droplets that enter the atmosphere from either natural or human (anthropogenic) sources, such as the burning of fossil fuels. Sulfur-containing fossil fuels, such as coal, produce sulfate aerosols. Air density The ratio of the mass of a substance to the volume occupied by it. Air density is usually expressed as g/cm3 or kg/m3. Also See Density. Air pressure The pressure exerted by the mass of air above a given point, usually expressed in millibars (mb), inches of (atmospheric mercury (Hg) or in hectopascals (hPa). pressure) Atmosphere The envelope of gases that surround a planet and are held to it by the planet's gravitational attraction. The earth's atmosphere is mainly nitrogen and oxygen. Carbon dioxide (CO2) A colorless, odorless gas whose concentration is about 0.039 percent (390 ppm) in a volume of air near sea level. It is a selective absorber of infrared radiation and, consequently, it is important in the earth's atmospheric greenhouse effect. Solid CO2 is called dry ice. Climate The accumulation of daily and seasonal weather events over a long period of time. Front The transition zone between two distinct air masses. Hurricane A tropical cyclone having winds in excess of 64 knots (74 mi/hr). Ionosphere An electrified region of the upper atmosphere where fairly large concentrations of ions and free electrons exist. Lapse rate The rate at which an atmospheric variable (usually temperature) decreases with height. (See Environmental lapse rate.) Mesosphere The atmospheric layer between the stratosphere and the thermosphere. -
The Birth and Early Years of the Storm Prediction Center
AUGUST 1999 CORFIDI 507 The Birth and Early Years of the Storm Prediction Center STEPHEN F. C ORFIDI NOAA/NWS/NCEP/Storm Prediction Center, Norman, Oklahoma (Manuscript received 12 August 1998, in ®nal form 15 January 1999) ABSTRACT An overview of the birth and development of the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, formerly known as the National Severe Storms Forecast Center, is presented. While the center's immediate history dates to the middle of the twentieth century, the nation's ®rst centralized severe weather forecast effort actually appeared much earlier with the pioneering work of Army Signal Corps of®cer J. P. Finley in the 1870s. Little progress was made in the understanding or forecasting of severe convective weather after Finley until the nascent aviation industry fostered an interest in meteorology in the 1920s. Despite the increased attention, forecasts for tornadoes remained a rarity until Air Force forecasters E. J. Fawbush and R. C. Miller gained notoriety by correctly forecasting the second tornado to strike Tinker Air Force Base in one week on 25 March 1948. The success of this and later Fawbush and Miller efforts led the Weather Bureau (predecessor to the National Weather Service) to establish its own severe weather unit on a temporary basis in the Weather Bureau± Army±Navy (WBAN) Analysis Center Washington, D.C., in March 1952. The WBAN severe weather unit became a permanent, ®ve-man operation under the direction of K. M. Barnett on 21 May 1952. The group was responsible for the issuance of ``bulletins'' (watches) for tornadoes, high winds, and/or damaging hail; outlooks for severe convective weather were inaugurated in January 1953. -
Tornadogenesis in a Simulated Mesovortex Within a Mesoscale Convective System
3372 JOURNAL OF THE ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES VOLUME 69 Tornadogenesis in a Simulated Mesovortex within a Mesoscale Convective System ALEXANDER D. SCHENKMAN,MING XUE, AND ALAN SHAPIRO Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms, and School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma (Manuscript received 3 February 2012, in final form 23 April 2012) ABSTRACT The Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) is used to simulate a tornadic mesovortex with the aim of understanding the associated tornadogenesis processes. The mesovortex was one of two tornadic meso- vortices spawned by a mesoscale convective system (MCS) that traversed southwestern and central Okla- homa on 8–9 May 2007. The simulation used 100-m horizontal grid spacing, and is nested within two outer grids with 400-m and 2-km grid spacing, respectively. Both outer grids assimilate radar, upper-air, and surface observations via 5-min three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVAR) cycles. The 100-m grid is initialized from a 40-min forecast on the 400-m grid. Results from the 100-m simulation provide a detailed picture of the development of a mesovortex that produces a submesovortex-scale tornado-like vortex (TLV). Closer examination of the genesis of the TLV suggests that a strong low-level updraft is critical in converging and amplifying vertical vorticity associated with the mesovortex. Vertical cross sections and backward trajectory analyses from this low-level updraft reveal that the updraft is the upward branch of a strong rotor that forms just northwest of the simulated TLV. The horizontal vorticity in this rotor originates in the near-surface inflow and is caused by surface friction. -
Near-Surface Vortex Structure in a Tornado and in a Sub-Tornado-Strength Convective-Storm Vortex Observed by a Mobile, W-Band Radar During VORTEX2
VOLUME 141 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW NOVEMBER 2013 Near-Surface Vortex Structure in a Tornado and in a Sub-Tornado-Strength Convective-Storm Vortex Observed by a Mobile, W-Band Radar during VORTEX2 ,1 # @ ROBIN L. TANAMACHI,* HOWARD B. BLUESTEIN, MING XUE,* WEN-CHAU LEE, & & @ KRZYSZTOF A. ORZEL, STEPHEN J. FRASIER, AND ROGER M. WAKIMOTO * Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms, and School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma # School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma @ National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado & Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts (Manuscript received 14 November 2012, in final form 22 May 2013) ABSTRACT As part of the Second Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (VORTEX2) field campaign, a very high-resolution, mobile, W-band Doppler radar collected near-surface (#200 m AGL) observations in an EF-0 tornado near Tribune, Kansas, on 25 May 2010 and in sub-tornado-strength vortices near Prospect Valley, Colorado, on 26 May 2010. In the Tribune case, the tornado’s condensation funnel dissipated and then reformed after a 3-min gap. In the Prospect Valley case, no condensation funnel was observed, but evidence from the highest-resolution radars in the VORTEX2 fleet indicates multiple, sub-tornado-strength vortices near the surface, some with weak-echo holes accompanying Doppler velocity couplets. Using high-resolution Doppler radar data, the authors document the full life cycle of sub- tornado-strength vortex beneath a convective storm that previously produced tornadoes. The kinematic evolution of these vortices, from genesis to decay, is investigated via ground-based velocity track display (GBVTD) analysis of the W-band velocity data. -
Radar Artifacts and Associated Signatures, Along with Impacts of Terrain on Data Quality
Radar Artifacts and Associated Signatures, Along with Impacts of Terrain on Data Quality 1.) Introduction: The WSR-88D (Weather Surveillance Radar designed and built in the 80s) is the most useful tool used by National Weather Service (NWS) Meteorologists to detect precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type (rain, snow, hail, etc) and forecast its position. Radar stands for “Radio, Detection, and Ranging”, was developed in the 1940’s and used during World War II, has gone through numerous enhancements and technological upgrades to help forecasters investigate storms with greater detail and precision. However, as our ability to detect areas of precipitation, including rotation within thunderstorms has vastly improved over the years, so has the radar’s ability to detect other significant meteorological and non meteorological artifacts. In this article we will identify these signatures, explain why and how they occur and provide examples from KTYX and KCXX of both meteorological and non meteorological data which WSR-88D detects. KTYX radar is located on the Tug Hill Plateau near Watertown, NY while, KCXX is located in Colchester, VT with both operated by the NWS in Burlington. Radar signatures to be shown include: bright banding, tornadic hook echo, low level lake boundary, hail spikes, sunset spikes, migrating birds, Route 7 traffic, wind farms, and beam blockage caused by terrain and the associated poor data sampling that occurs. 2.) How Radar Works: The WSR-88D operates by sending out directional pulses at several different elevation angles, which are microseconds long, and when the pulse intersects water droplets or other artifacts, a return signal is sent back to the radar. -
U.S. Violent Tornadoes Relative to the Position of the 850-Mb
U.S. VIOLENT TORNADOES RELATIVE TO THE POSITION OF THE 850 MB JET Chris Broyles1, Corey K. Potvin 2, Casey Crosbie3, Robert M. Rabin4, Patrick Skinner5 1 NOAA/NWS/NCEP/Storm Prediction Center, Norman, Oklahoma 2 Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, and School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, and NOAA/OAR National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma 3 NOAA/NWS/CWSU, Indianapolis, Indiana 4 National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma 5 Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, and NOAA/OAR National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma Abstract The Violent Tornado Webpage from the Storm Prediction Center has been used to obtain data for 182 events (404 violent tornadoes) in which an F4-F5 or EF4-EF5 tornado occurred in the United States from 1950 to 2014. The position of each violent tornado was recorded on a gridded plot compared to the 850 mb jet center within 90 minutes of the violent tornado. The position of each 850 mb jet was determined using the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) from 1979 to 2014 and NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis from 1950 to 1978. Plots are shown of the position of each violent tornado relative to the center of the 850 mb low-level jet. The United States was divided into four parts and the plots are available for the southern Plains, northern Plains, northeastern U.S. and southeastern U.S with a division between east and west at the Mississippi River. Great Plains violent tornadoes clustered around a center about 130 statute miles to the left and slightly ahead of the low-level jet center while eastern U.S. -
A Revised Tornado Definition and Changes in Tornado Taxonomy
1256 WEATHER AND FORECASTING VOLUME 29 A Revised Tornado Definition and Changes in Tornado Taxonomy ERNEST M. AGEE Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana (Manuscript received 4 June 2014, in final form 30 July 2014) ABSTRACT The tornado taxonomy presented by Agee and Jones is revised to account for the new definition of a tor- nado provided by the American Meteorological Society (AMS) in October 2013, resulting in the elimination of shear-driven vortices from the taxonomy, such as gustnadoes and vortices in the eyewall of hurricanes. Other relevant research findings since the initial issuance of the taxonomy are also considered and in- corporated, where appropriate, to help improve the classification system. Multiple misoscale shear-driven vortices in a single tornado event, when resulting from an inertial instability, are also viewed to not meet the definition of a tornado. 1. Introduction and considerations from a cumuliform cloud, and often visible as a funnel cloud and/or circulating debris/dust at the ground.’’ In The first proposed tornado taxonomy was presented view of the latest definition, a few changes are warranted by Agee and Jones (2009, hereafter AJ) consisting of in the AJ taxonomy. Considering the roles played by three types and 15 species, ranging from the type I buoyancy and shear on a variety of spatial and temporal (potentially strong and violent) tornadoes produced by scales (from miso to meso to synoptic), coupled with the the classic supercell, to the more benign type III con- requirement in the latest definition that a tornado must vective and shear-driven vortices such as landspouts and be pendant from a cumuliform cloud, it is necessary to gustnadoes.