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Program Agenda (Updated 10 October 2011) National Weather
Program Agenda (Updated 10 October 2011) changes or additions from previous update in red National Weather Association 36th Annual Meeting Wynfrey Hotel, Birmingham, Alabama October 15-20, 2011 Theme: The End Game - From Research and Technology to Best Forecast and Response See the main meeting page http://www.nwas.org/meetings/nwa2011/ for information on the meeting hotel, exhibits, sponsorships and registration Authors, please inform the Program Committee at [email protected] for any corrections or changes required in the listing of your presentations or abstracts as soon as possible. This agenda will be updated periodically as changes occur. Instructions for uploading your presentation to the FTP site can be found here. All presenters please read the presentation tips which explain the AV systems, poster board sizes and provide suggestions for good presentations. All activities will be held in the Wynfrey Hotel unless otherwise noted. Please check in at the NWA Information and Registration desk at the Wynfrey Hotel earliest to receive nametags, program and the most current information. Saturday, October 15 10:00am NWA Aviation Workshop at the Southern Museum of Flight. Contact Terry Lankford [email protected] for more information. The workshop is from 10 am until 1 pm. 10:00am NWA WeatherFest at the McWane Science Center. Contact James-Paul Dice [email protected] for more information. The event is from 10 am until 2 pm. 11:00am NWA Ninth Annual Scholarship Golf Outing, Bent Brook Golf Course, sponsored by Baron Services. Contact Betsy Kling [email protected] for more information or to sign-up. -
3.5 an Overview of the 28 April 2014 Tornado Outbreak in the Tennessee Valley
3.5 An Overview of the 28 April 2014 Tornado Outbreak in the Tennessee Valley Christopher B. Darden, Brian C. Carcione, David J. Nadler, Kristopher D. White National Weather Service, Huntsville, AL Bryce R. Williams Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 1. Introduction The synoptic pattern at 0000 UTC on 29 Although 2014 is generally considered April (during the heart of the event) was marked to be an overall below-normal severe weather by a closed low pressure area centered over year, late April 2014 was marked by a typically- southeastern Nebraska at 500 hPa (Figure 3), active period across the southeastern United resulting in a negatively-tilted trough across the States, including a record rainfall event along the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys. East of the Gulf Coast on 29 April, and a regional tornado low, modest ridging created diffluent flow from outbreak on 28-29 April. That tornado outbreak the Tennessee Valley into the eastern Great affected primarily Mississippi (including an EF- Lakes. 4 tornado which struck the town of Louisville, The surface map from 0000 UTC 29 MS) and Alabama, but also impacted Tennessee April (Figure 4) indicated a cyclone directly and western Georgia (Figure 1). under its 500 hPa counterpart with an occluded The National Weather Service weather front extending eastward across Iowa into central forecast office (WFO) in Huntsville, Alabama Illinois. The primary cold front extended covers 11 counties in northern Alabama and southward along the Mississippi River into three counties in southern Tennessee. Within Louisiana, then westward into south Texas. -
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. -
Observational Analysis of the Interaction Between a Baroclinic Boundary and Supercell Storms on 27 April 2011
OBSERVATIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN A BAROCLINIC BOUNDARY AND SUPERCELL STORMS ON 27 APRIL 2011 by ADAM THOMAS SHERRER A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in The Department of Atmospheric Science to The School of Graduate Studies of The University of Alabama in Huntsville HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA 2014 ABSTRACT The School of Graduate Studies The University of Alabama in Huntsville Degree Master of Science College/Dept. Science/Atmospheric Science Name of Candidate Adam Sherrer Title Observational Analysis of the Interaction Between a Baroclinic Boundary and Supercell Storms on 27 April 2011 A thermal boundary developed during the morning to early afternoon hours on 27 April as a result of rainfall evaporation and shading from reoccurring deep convection. This boundary propagated to the north during the late afternoon to evening hours. The presence of the boundary produced an area more conducive for the formation of strong violent tornadoes through several processes. These processes included the production of horizontally generated baroclinic vorticity, increased values in storm- relative helicity, and decreasing lifting condensation level heights. Five supercell storms formed near and/or propagated alongside this boundary. Supercells that interacted with this boundary typically produced significant tornadic damage over long distances. Two of these supercells formed to the south (warm) side of the boundary and produced a tornado prior to crossing to the north (cool) side of the boundary. These two storms exhibited changes in appearance, intensity, and structure. Two other supercells formed well south of the boundary. These two storms remained relatively weak until they interacted with the boundary. -
United States April & May 2011 Severe Weather Outbreaks
Impact Forecasting United States April & May 2011 Severe Weather Outbreaks June 22, 2011 Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 April 3-5, 2011 3 April 8-11, 2011 5 April 14-16, 2011 8 April 19-21, 2011 13 April 22-28, 2011 15 May 9-13, 2011 26 May 21-27, 2011 28 May 28-June 1, 2011 36 Notable Severe Weather Facts: April 1 - June 1, 2011 39 Additional Commentary: Why so many tornado deaths? 41 Appendix A: Historical U.S. Tornado Statistics 43 Appendix B: Costliest U.S. Tornadoes Since 1950 44 Appendix C: Enhanced Fujita Scale 45 Appendix D: Severe Weather Terminology 46 Impact Forecasting | U.S. April & May 2011 Severe Weather Outbreaks Event Recap Report 1 Executive Summary An extremely active stretch of severe weather occurred across areas east of the Rocky Mountains during a period between early April and June 1. At least eight separate timeframes saw widespread severe weather activity – five of which were billion dollar (USD) outbreaks. Of the eight timeframes examined in this report, the two most notable stretches occurred between April 22-28 and May 21-27: The late-April stretch saw the largest tornado outbreak in world history occur (334 separate tornado touchdowns), which led to catastrophic damage throughout the Southeast and the Tennessee Valley. The city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama took a direct hit from a high-end EF-4 tornado that caused widespread devastation. At least three EF-5 tornadoes touched down during this outbreak. The late-May stretch was highlighted by an outbreak that spawned a massive EF-5 tornado that destroyed a large section of Joplin, Missouri. -
Mesoscale and Stormscale Ingredients of Tornadic Supercells Producing Long-Track Tornadoes in the 2011 Alabama Super Outbreak
MESOSCALE AND STORMSCALE INGREDIENTS OF TORNADIC SUPERCELLS PRODUCING LONG-TRACK TORNADOES IN THE 2011 ALABAMA SUPER OUTBREAK BY SAMANTHA L. CHIU THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Atmospheric Science in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013 Urbana, Illinois Advisers: Professor Emeritus Robert B. Wilhelmson Dr. Brian F. Jewett ABSTRACT This study focuses on the environmental and stormscale dynamics of supercells that produce long-track tornadoes, with modeling emphasis on the central Alabama storms from April 27, 2011 - part of the 2011 Super Outbreak. While most of the 204 tornadoes produced on this day were weaker and short-lived, this outbreak produced 5 tornadoes in Alabama alone whose path-length exceeded 50 documented miles. The results of numerical simulations have been inspected for both environmental and stormscale contributions that make possible the formation and maintenance of such long–track tornadoes. A two-pronged approach has been undertaken, utilizing both ideal and case study simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting [WRF] Model. Ideal simulations are designed to isolate the role of the local storm environment, such as instability and shear, to long-track tornadic storm structure. Properties of simulated soundings, for instance hodograph length and curvature, 0-1km storm relative helicity [SRH], 0-3km SRH and convective available potential energy [CAPE] properties are compared to idealized soundings described by Adlerman and Droegemeier (2005) in an effort to identify properties conducive to storms with non-cycling (sustained) mesocyclones. 200m horizontal grid spacing simulations have been initialized with the 18 UTC Birmingham/Alabaster, Alabama [KBMX] soundings, taken from an area directly hit by the day’s storms. -
P7.114. Extreme Damage Incidents in the 27 April 2011 Tornado Superoutbreak
P7.114. EXTREME DAMAGE INCIDENTS IN THE 27 APRIL 2011 TORNADO SUPEROUTBREAK Eugene W. McCaul, Jr.1,Kevin R. Knupp2, Chris Darden3, and Kevin Laws4 1. Universities Space Research Association, Huntsville, AL 2. University of Alabama Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 3. NOAA National Weather Service, Huntsville, AL 4. NOAA National Weather Service, Birmingham, AL 1. INTRODUCTION The digital photographic documentation was ob- On 27 April 2011, a tornado superoutbreak tained during ground and aerial surveys conducted as containing at least 11 EF4 and 4 EF5 tornadoes swept soon as possible after the superoutbreak. Owing to through the Southeastern and Eastern United States, long-lasting power outages, highway obstructions by de- wreaking death and destruction comparable to the bris, remote locations of damage, fuel shortages, and worst ever documented in the historical record. The the sheer amount and scope of the damage, not all death toll of 319 directly attributable to the tornadoes ground surveys could be completed while damage re- exceeds even that of the ”Jumbo” Outbreak of 3-4 mained undisturbed by power restoration and general April 1974. Total property losses are believed to have recovery operations. Nevertheless, all photos presented exceeded $10 billion. In Alabama, the epicenter of the herein are believed to be representative of actual dam- outbreak, some 10 million cu. yd. of debris had to be ages caused by the tornadoes. Additional information cleared after the storms, and 1.06% of the state’s total was obtained from interviews with tornado survivors area was damaged by tornadoes. and eyewitnesses, to verify that observed damage was With early Spring dynamics superimposed on late indeed caused by tornadoes, and to clarify the manner Spring thermodynamics, the volatile weather scenario in which the damage occurred. -
Five Years After an EF-4 Tornado Devastated Tuscaloosa, the Crimson White Refl Ects on That Day and How Far This Community Has Come
VOLUME 122 | ISSUE 63 APRIL 27, 2016 Five years after an EF-4 tornado devastated Tuscaloosa, The Crimson White refl ects on that day and how far this community has come. The Forest Lake area after the April 27 storm, overlaid with today’s recovery. CW / Drew Hoover and Layton Dudley. Photo Illustration by Melanie Viering WEDNESDAY 2 April 27, 2016 VISIT US ONLINE cw.ua.edu facebook The Crimson White instagram thecrimsonwhite twitter @TheCrimsonWhite CONTENTS cw.ua.edu P.O. Box 870170 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 Newsroom: 348-6144 People helping people Fax: 348-8036 Advertising: 348-7845 Emergency workers and volunteers worked for months to clean up the aftermath of the April SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA SINCE 1894 27, 2011 tornado. Additional assistance, both in EDITORIAL the form of donations and volunteers, poured editor-in-chief Sean Landry in from across the country. [email protected] print managing editor Peyton Shepard digital managing editor Kelly Ward 3 features editor Alyx Chandler visuals editor Melanie Viering opinions editor Leigh Terry chief copy editor Alexis Faire Rebuilding businesses news editor Elizabeth Elkin culture editor Matthew Wilson Many businesses in the path of the April 27, sports editor Tyler Waldrep 2011 tornado had to rebuild after the storms, photo editor Layton Dudley still an ongoing process fi ve years later. multimedia editor Patrick Maddox community manager Dominique Taylor social media editor Collin Burwinkel lead designer Kylie Cowden ADVERTISING 8 advertising manager Emanuel Adelson (205) 223-5578 [email protected] territory manager Dee Griffin (334) 349-2473 [email protected] A magnolia tree in the wind special projects manager Michael Lollar (205) 317-7992 [email protected] From students to parents to University faculty creative services manager Mille Eiborg (205) 614-1457 to emergency responders, people who were [email protected] affected by the April 27, 2011 tornado shared is the community newspaper of The University their stories from that day and how it changed of Alabama. -
Rebuttals Tornadoes
Claim: Global warming is causing more and stronger tornadoes REBUTTAL Tornadoes are failing to follow “global warming” based predictions. Strong tornadoes have seen a drop in frequency since the 1950s. The years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 all saw below average to near record low tornado counts in the U.S. since records began in 1954. 2017 rebounded only to the long-term mean while 2018 activity has returned to well below the 25th percentile. This lull followed a very active and deadly strong La Nina of 2010/11, which like the strong La Nina of 1973/74 produced record setting and very deadly outbreaks of tornadoes. When an amplified La Nina like jet stream pattern developed in the spring of 2019, a very active period raised the seasonal total to above the 50th percentile for the first time in years. Population growth and expansion outside urban areas have exposed more people to the tornadoes that once roamed through open fields. Tornado detection has improved with the addition of NEXRAD, the growth of the trained spotter networks, storm chasers armed with cellular data and imagery as well as the proliferation of cell phone cameras and social media. This shows up most in the weak EF0 tornado count but for storms from moderate EF1 to strong EF 3+ intensity, the trend has been down despite improved detection. Tornadoes like most all weather extremes are driven by natural factors with active seasons strongly correlated with stronger La Nina events and the cold phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, which favors more frequent and stronger La Ninas. -
SEDAAG Executive Committee SEDAAG Steering Committee
SEDAAG Executive Committee President: Doug Gamble, UNC Wilmington Vice President: Ron Kalafsky, University of Tennessee Treasurer: Heidi Lannon, Santa Fe College Secretary: Josh Inwood, University of Tennessee Councilor: Derek Alderman, University of Tennessee Past President: Russ Ivy, Florida Atlantic University SEDAAG Steering Committee Members of the Executive Committee (see above) Editors, Southeastern Geographer : Carl Andy Reese and David Cochran, University of Southern Mississippi Student Representative: Liz Shockey, UNC Charlotte State Representatives: Alabama Jennifer Rahn, Samford Florida Chris Meindl, USF- St. Petersburg Georgia Katherine Hankins, Georgia State Kentucky Daehyn Kim, University of Kentucky Mississippi Kathleen Sherman-Morris, Mississippi State North Carolina Michael Lewis, UNC Greensboro South Carolina Christa Ann Smith, Clemson University Tennessee Micheline van Riemsdijk, Tennessee Virginia Dawn Bowen, University of Mary Washington West Virginia Robert Kruse, West Liberty University SEDAAG 2012 Local Arrangements Committee Bill Graves University of North Carolina at Charlotte Barbara John University of North Carolina at Charlotte Tyrel Moore University of North Carolina at Charlotte Jonathan Kozar University of North Carolina at Charlotte Liz Shockey University of North Carolina at Charlotte Saskia van de Gevel Appalachian State University Officers, Association of American Geographers President: Eric Sheppard, University of Minnesota Vice President: Julie Winkler, Michigan State University Secretary: Jenny -
Claim: Global Warming Is Causing More and Stronger Tornadoes
Claim: Global warming is causing more and stronger tornadoes REBUTTAL Tornadoes are failing to follow “global warming” predictions. Big tornadoes have seen a drop in frequency since the 1950s. The years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 all saw below average to near record low tornado counts in the U.S. since records began in 1954. 2017 to date has rebounded only to the long-term mean. This lull followed a very active and deadly strong La Nina of 2010/11, which like the strong La Nina of 1973/74 produced record setting and very deadly outbreaks of tornadoes. Population growth and expansion outside urban areas have exposed more people to the tornadoes that once roamed through open fields. Tornado detection has improved with the addition of NEXRAD, the growth of the trained spotter networks, storm chasers armed with cellular data and imagery and the proliferation of cell phone cameras and social media. This shows up most in the weak EF0 tornado count but for storms from moderate EF1 to strong EF 3+ intensity, the trend has been flat to down despite improved detection. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Storm Prediction Center Source: Storm Prediction Center Source: Storm Prediction Center Source: Storm Prediction Center Tornado outbreaks of significance occur most frequently in La Nina years, which are favored when the Pacific is cold as it was in the 1950s to the early 1970s and more recently 1999, 2008, 2010 and 2011. Source: Storm Prediction Center The death toll in the strong La Nina of 2011 was the highest since the “Superoutbreak” in the strong La Nina year of 1974. -
2014 Southeast Emmy Award Nominations
2014 SOUTHEAST EMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS Outstanding Achievement: Television News Programming Excellence Category: 1A Newscast – Daily Markets (1-25) WGCL CBS ATLANTA NEWS AT 11:00 SUZANNE GUNN, ELIZABETH TAYLOR, STEPHANY FISHER, MARKIINA BROWN, MIKE PALUSKA, GREG ROBERTS TELEMUNDO ATLANTA TELEMUNDO ATLANTA: NEWSCAST JUDITH MARTINEZ, JORGE BUZO, JENNIFER OLMEDILLO, ANDREA DIAZ, JUAN ZAYAS, LUIS ESTRADA UNIVISION NOTICIAS 34 ATLANTA EDICION NOCTURNA 11 PM GIANNCARLO CIFUENTES, AMANDA RAMIREZ, JULIO BARRIGA, KIARINNA PARISI, ANDRES QUINONES, FERNANDO ORDAZ UNIVISION NOTICIAS 34 ATLANTA EDICION 6 PM GIANNCARLO CIFUENTES, AMANDA RAMIREZ, JULIO BARRIGA, KIARINNA PARISI, ANDRES QUINONES, FERNANDO ORDAZ WSB-TV CHANNEL 2 ACTION NEWS AT 6 MIKE DREADEN, MISTI TURNBULL, JOE COWAN, LUCAS JOHNSON, JUSTIN FARMER, JOVITA MOORE WSB-TV CHANNEL 2 ACTION NEWS NIGHTBEAT AT 11 MIKE DREADEN, MISTI TURNBULL, CHERYL NTAB, SHEILA SCHUTT, DAVE SCHREIN WXIA/WATL-TV 11 ALIVE NEWS TONIGHT ELLEN CROOKE, MELISSA MACK, BRENDA WOOD, MATTHEW PEARL, MIKE NAVIN, JON SHIREK WXIA/WATL-TV 11 ALIVE NEWS TONIGHT – DFCS MELISSA MACK, BRENDA WOOD, DEVIN FEHELY, JON SHIREK, MIKE NAVIN, ELLEN CROOKE 2014 SOUTHEAST EMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS Outstanding Achievement: Television News Programming Excellence Category: 1B Newscast – Daily Markets (26-75) WBRC FOX6 NEWS AT 10 SHANNON MAZE, JAMES FINCH, KENNETH SMITH, ROB DAVIS WLOS NEWS 13 AT 11PM JULIE FRIES, BRYAN OVERSTREET WVTM ALABAMA'S 13 NEWS AT 10 ROBYN SIRMANS, PHILLIP DUMORNAY, ANDREA LINDENBERG, JERRY TRACEY, DON HAWES, KALISHA WHITMAN