Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

May/June 2001

OKADE Speakers Series Presents Storm Research Expert
by Sharon Burke, Oklahoma DDS

On March 21, 2001 the Oklahoma Association of Disability Examiners (OKADE) presented Mr. Patrick Burke, University of Oklahoma graduate, from the NOAA/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS) who spoke on the topic - “The Science Of Meteorology, Tornado Chasing, And Severe Storm Research”.

The presentation covered a myriad of topics including investigations of all aspects of severe and hazardous weather, his personal accounts of storm chasing including the May 3, 1999 tornadic outbreak. Scientists from NSSL recently completed two field experiments to study severe and hazardous weather. Their work targeted ways to improve forecasts of winter weather and thunderstorms, studying how rain and lightning are formed. The knowledge gained from these field studies will enable scientists to make better forecasts of deadly weather phenomenon including tornadoes, lightning, hail, flash floods, snowstorms, and freezing rain. The NSSL is committed to incorporating cutting edge scientific understanding of severe weather signatures in radar data into tools, designed to help National Weather Service forecasters make better and faster warning decisions. NSSL researchers will soon begin adapting state-of-the-art radar technology currently deployed on Navy ships for use in spotting severe weather. Phased radar reduces the scan or data collection time from six minutes to only one minute, potentially increasing the average lead time for tornado warning from 12 to 17 minutes. When combined with other technology being developed at NSSL, warning lead times may be extended to an unprecedented 22 minutes. He also presented the Weather Web Sites for weather-related agencies and labs, professional societies for meteorology and current weather information, forecasts & images! Places to go on the Internet for weather information are:

www.spc.noaa.gov/cooling/index.html
www.nssl.noaa.gov/GoldenAnniversary
www.cirrus.sprl.umich.edu/wxnet/
www.sel.noaa.gov/index.html
www.weather.unisys.com
www.rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/
www.cirrus.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/misc/

This is an ongoing project of the OKADE SPEAKERS SERIES presented quarterly.