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New technology that increases the warning time for tornadoes and hurricanes could potentially save hundreds of lives every year
This article was published in print as "A Better Eye On the Storm."
Jane Lubchenco has been NOAA Administrator since 2009. She is a marine ecologist and environmental scientist, with expertise in oceans, climate change and interactions between the environment and human well-being. John L. "Jack" Hayes is director of the National Weather Service at NOAA. He is responsible for the preparation and delivery of weather warnings and predictions to government, industry and the general public.
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Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs an expert in the field, I can say unequivocally that the claims of the authors on the value of satellite data, especially from the polar orbiters, for warnings of severe weather 5-7 days in advance are excessively hyped and not sufficiently substantiated.
Moreover, the authors would have you believe that forecasts of this sort require just plugging in more and more satellite data into computer weather prediction models and, wa-la, early warnings of extreme weather. The fact is that for a fraction of the cost of a single satellite, increased investments focused on accelerating improvements in weather models and systems would almost certainly yield greater gains in forecast accuracy and reliability (more bang for the buck).
New to me are Weather Radar Circles.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI can see were these could be used in deciphering the path and strength of Tornado.
Guessing, but I think the understanding of these would give a 24 to 48 hour Tornado warning.
http://www.physforum.com/index.php?showtopic=11462&st=0
If grid spacing is so important for tornado prediction, why not use dynamic grid spacing? If most of the atmosphere is relatively calm, and can be modeled with a large grid spacing, then volumes containing potential tornadoes could have their grid spacing dramatically reduced for a very small computational cost.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt looks to me like better decision making on the part of people would help too. When a resident says on the news that they all took shelter in the bathroom and we see pictures of a former house that is less than a foot high, does it not seem appropriate that the old-fashioned storm cellar would be a better idea? The tornado didn't dig holes; it only took away what was sticking up from the earth (like homes, cars, people). Am I missing something?
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