Nationwide, the month of May in 2011 broke the record for the deadliest since 1933, with 178 lives claimed from major disasters in Joplin and Oklahoma alone.  The best way to protect your family from disaster is to be prepared. Evaluate your severe weather procedures before there is an immediate threat. Refresh the memory of everyone in your household about your plan and ensure all are comfortable executing the plan in a timely manner if an emergency situation arises.

Rick Smith, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Norman, Okla., urges awareness and preparedness.

“In Oklahoma it is not a question of if it’s going to happen, it’s when,” Smith said. “As we saw on May 24, 2011, it only takes one day to have a huge impact.”

As Smith pointed out, this year has served as a contrast to the active tornado season of 2011 but there are still plenty of opportunities for threatening conditions. It is essential to stay alert and informed about the weather even when conditions don’t appear to be particularly threatening.  A severe weather situation can change very quickly and unpredictably. Are you ready?

NSSL Mesonet vehicle at the Exploratorium

The partnership is the result of a five-year educational grant with NOAA to co-develop interactive exhibits, learning experiences and professional development workshops for the learning institution.

NSSL retired researcher Dave Rust shared his thunderstorm electricity expertise and his skill at creating weather measuring instruments.  Dave pioneered the use of free-flying balloons and mobile laboratories to make observations, significantly advancing thunderstorm science.

Susan Cobb, NSSL meteorologist and science writer, shared her experience that includes forecasting for locations all over the world, and writing about weather science for all audiences. Susan worked with visitors to understand, experience and forecast weather in the San Francisco area and around the world.

Sean Waugh is a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma and an instrumentation specialist working with the NOAA NSSL.  He helped design and build seven Mobile Mesonets, storm research cars outfitted with weather instruments, computers, and communications equipment. Sean gave personal tours of the Mobile Mesonet and focused on ways NSSL collects data to learn more about storms.

The NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory’s mission to improve our knowledge of severe weather and to develop new tools to better forecast and warn of its hazards has endured since its establishment in 1964. The Exploratorium first opened in 1969 and welcomes more than 500,000 visitors each year.

That's no storm. That's a wind farm.

It’s time for yet another podcast of… That Weather Show… brought to you by the NOAA Weather Partners.  I’m Angelyn Kolodziej.

It’s always raining near Spearville, Kansas.  At least it appears to be when forecasters like Larry Ruthi look at radar displays.  Turns out, what looks like thunderstorms are actually rotating wind turbine blades.  Wind farms are popping up all over as renewable energy becomes a high priority for the nation.  But when they’re built near existing radars, new challenges arise for the NOAA National Weather Service.

Larry has worked at the Dodge City, Kansas Weather Forecast Office for more than sixteen years and has plenty of experience with this issue.

Wind Farm near Spearville, KS

Ruthi: “A wind farm on radar looks very much like an echo from a precipitation target or a shower or thunderstorm.  As the meteorological target moves through a wind farm – particularly if its close to the radar site – the return from the wind farm and the blades that are rotating around the antennas on the wind farm will mix with the return from the showers of t-storms and its a particular problem if its a severe weather event.”

So what’s causing this?  Let’s step back for a minute and talk about how the radar works.  A signal is sent out into the atmosphere.  That signal bounces off things like raindrops or hailstones and returns to the antenna.  The data are displayed for weather forecasters to use.  But the signal also reflects from non-weather objects like trees and mountains.  By detecting the lack of motion, radar can easily filter out these non-moving objects.  However, wind farms near the radar create a unique challenge.

Ruthi: “The towers don’t move but the blades rotate around the tops of those towers.  It makes it very difficult for our algorithm to filter those out.  So there’s a difficult conundrum that we’re dealing with there in trying to filter out the non-meteorological targets and still retaining as best we can the returns that we have from the meteorological targets.”

Wind turbine blade clutter near Montezuma, Kansas resembles a tornado signature.

The cluttered displays can be misleading for anyone using the radar data.  They can also affect the accuracy of forecasts.  Severe weather events like microbursts and tornadoes are sometimes difficult to identify.  Estimating rainfall in the area is also a challenge.

To work around this issue, forecasters must know the location and characteristics of wind farms on radar.  Scanning at higher altitudes can give forecasters a view above the rotating turbine blades.  Additional cooperative efforts may also be possible.

Ruthi: “There’s perhaps an opportunity to work together with the wind farm owners and managers to perhaps – for a short period of time each year when severe thunderstorms affect the wind farm area – to shut down the turbines that we would then be able to examine uncontaminated returns throughout the entire radar umbrella and make valid decisions without the problem of dealing with the wind farms.”

As for future wind farm development, it’s all about location, location, location.  Research shows wind farm impacts generally decrease the farther they are from the radar.  Reaching out to developers at early planning stages is a key focus for the National Weather Service.  By working together, everyone wins.  Larry and other forecasters have a clear view of the weather.  Developers build wind farms in strategic places.  And the public has access to cheaper, cleaner energy AND the best weather information possible.

Thanks for listening to another podcast of… That Weather Show… brought to you by the NOAA Weather Partners.

For more information about wind farm interaction with NEXRAD radar, visit: http://www.roc.noaa.gov/WSR88D/WindFarm/WindFarm_Index_GreatFalls.aspx?wid=*

Attendees enjoyed the event’s many activities and attractions spread throughout the National Weather Center – hourly weather balloon launches with local TV weather personalities, children’s activities, tours of the National Weather Service hallway, meeting the “Weather Friends,” about 40 vehicles entered in the Storm Chaser Car Show and viewing research vehicles involved in the recent VORTEX2 tornado project. The crew from Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers signed autographs and took pictures with folks alongside their chase vehicle, the DOMINATOR.

More than 100 staff and student volunteers contributed to the event’s success.

Highlights from the Festival:

Schneider has been the science support branch chief at SPC since 1997. The branch is responsible for maintaining SPC’s leadership in science and technology and for supporting its national forecast mission. This includes collaborative scientific research efforts in the NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed, a facility designed to support collaboration between research scientists and operational weather forecasters on specific topics that are of mutual interest, and accelerate the transition of promising new meteorological insights and technologies into advances in forecasting.

Schneider has spent his entire career at NOAA’s National Weather Service, first working at NCEP’s Environmental Modeling Center and then moving to the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center as its first science and operations officer. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degrees in atmospheric science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

“I have had a lifelong fascination with severe weather since a series of major tornado outbreaks in 1965 and 1967 near my childhood home in suburban Chicago,” Schneider said. “This fascination continues with every position at the National Weather Service and fuels my focus on improving severe weather warnings for the public.”

Author and co-author of numerous professional publications, Schneider also served as an associate editor of the American Meteorological Society Journal Weather and Forecasting for over a decade. He led the Storm Prediction Center’s efforts to improve severe weather forecasts issued by the National Weather Service and received a Department of Commerce Bronze Medal for his contributions in 2007.

Schneider replaces former SPC director Joseph Schaefer, who retired in January.

NSSL Field Command Vehicle with Wyoming tornado in the background. Credit: Mike Coniglio

The Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment – 2 data collection began its second year of data collection on May 1 and will be in the field through June 15. VORTEX2 is the largest tornado research project in history to explore how, when and why tornadoes form.

NOAA and the National Science Foundation are sponsoring more than 100 scientists, students and staff from around the world to collect weather data around and under a supercell thunderstorm. VORTEX2 teams are using a fleet of 10 mobile radars and 70 other instruments all equipped with cutting edge communication and computer technologies. Much about tornadoes remains a mystery, and researchers hope this data will help them better understand tornadoes and lead to further improvements in tornado warning skill.

During 2009 operations, the VORTEX2 armada roamed more than 10,000 miles across the southern and central Plains from May 10-June 13. Data were collected on 11 supercells, including one tornadic supercell.

New for 2010 operations will be the addition of the University of Colorado Tempest Unmanned Aerial System – model airplanes designed to fly underneath the storm to collect data. Also, three more mobile radars now have dual-polarization capabilities and the radar scouts and mobile mesonets have been redesigned to make operations more efficient.

VORTEX2 2010 operations can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, and through a blog called V2Talk. More information is available on the web: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/vortex2.

More information: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/vortex2

Emergency managers and media will exchange ideas with academia and federal government experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at the tenth annual National Severe Weather Workshop March 4-6 at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center, 2501 Conference Drive, Norman, Okla.

Registration is underway for the three-day workshop, designed to enhance partnerships between severe weather forecasters and researchers, emergency managers, broadcast meteorologists, businesses, storm spotters and other weather enthusiasts. Participants will identify communities at risk, evaluate current and future tools for hazardous weather assessment, and discuss the challenges involved in conveying warning information about impending weather to the public.

This year’s theme, “A Decade of Sharing Information about Weather Emergencies, Communications, and Response,” was selected to highlight the 10 year anniversary of the workshop that started in Norman. “There are sure to be people attending this workshop in 2010 who were at the first workshop in 2001 and they will be quite amazed when they ponder where we’ve come from in such a short span of time,” said Greg Carbin, warning coordination meteorologist at the NOAA Storm Prediction Center and workshop program committee chairperson.

A Trade and Technology Expo composed of company displays and information kiosks will be held in conjunction with the workshop. Most of the companies who have signed on as workshop exhibitors specialize in weather information dissemination technologies.

The Thursday evening banquet speaker will be Leslie Chapman-Henderson, President/CEO of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. – FLASH®. FLASH is an award-winning national, non-profit corporation, founded in 1998 by a collaboration of organizations dedicated to strengthening homes and safeguarding families from disaster.

The event is hosted by NOAA’s National Weather Service and Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, the Oklahoma Emergency Management Association and the Central Oklahoma Chapter of the American Meteorological Society / National Weather Association.

Workshop registration is being taken online at http://www.norman.noaa.gov/nsww. Standard three-day workshop registration is $60 until Feb. 26. Late workshop registration of $175 will be accepted online or at the door. One-day tickets are available for $55 until Feb. 26 and $65 after.

Michael Coniglio and Pamela Heinselman

Research scientists studying improvements in tornado forecasting and new radar systems at the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Okla., Michael C. Coniglio and Pamela L. Heinselman, received presidential commendation when they were awarded the prestigious 2009 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) at a ceremony Jan. 13 at the White House.

The award, which was conferred by President Obama, is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers. An award ceremony is planned in Washington, D.C. in the fall.

“It is quite remarkable to have two researchers from NSSL win this prestigious award in one year,” said James Kimpel, National Severe Storms Laboratory Director. “It speaks well for the future of our lab to have these outstanding young people on board.”

Working in the NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed, Coniglio is a key player in collaborations to evaluate experimental numerical weather models and bring that cutting edge research to forecasters, ultimately improving forecasts. This spring he helped set up the Operations Center and joined scientists in the field for VORTEX2, the largest and most ambitious field experiment in history to explore tornadoes.

Mike Coniglio in VORTEX2. Objects in the mirror may be larger than they appear.

Heinselman has led the National Weather Radar Testbed Phased Array Radar Demonstration project for several years. Her research focuses on the use of radar data to improve tornado warning lead times. She has served as a mentor to numerous undergraduate and graduate meteorology students, encouraging the next generation of scientists.

“In honoring these scientists early in their careers, we recognize both their achievements to date and the promise of their continued contributions to the nation,” said Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator. “NOAA takes great pride in these individuals and in its entire complement of stellar science.”

NSSL scientist David Stensrud and former NSSL researcher Erik Rasmussen are past recipients of the honor.

The National Severe Storms Laboratory serves the nation by working to improve the lead time and accuracy of severe weather warnings and forecasts in order to save lives and reduce property damage. NSSL scientists are committed to their mission to understand the causes of severe weather and explore new ways to use weather information to assist National Weather Service forecasters and federal, university, and private sector partners.

Pam Heinselman with student. "It's fun to watch them grow."

The Presidential Early Career Awards embody the high priority the Administration places on producing outstanding scientists and engineers to advance the nation’s goals and contribute to all sectors of the economy. Nine federal departments and agencies join together annually to nominate the most meritorious young scientists and engineers — researchers whose early accomplishments show the greatest promise for strengthening America’s leadership in science and technology and contributing to the awarding agencies’ missions.

The awards, established by President Clinton in February 1996, are coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy within the Executive Office of the President. Awardees are selected on the basis of two criteria: pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and a commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education or community outreach. Winning scientists and engineers receive up to a five-year research grant to further their study in support of critical government missions.

NSSL is leading CI-FLOW, an interdisciplinary multi-institutional team working to combine existing monitoring technology and new techniques to forecast and warn of coastal storm effects such as heavy rainfall, storm surge, and the subsequent river conditions in coastal North Carolina. CI-FLOW will ultimately provide a total water-level product for any location in the watershed.

For this demonstration, the newly developed CI-FLOW computing environment collected hourly multi-sensor quantitative precipitation estimates from the NSSL Q2 system (nmq.ou.edu) and gridded quantitative precipitation forecast products from NOAA’s Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC). The data was fed into one of two CIFLOW models, the NWS HL-RDHM (Hydrologic Laboratory Research Distributed Hydrologic Model), to generate 10-day forecasts of streamflow from multiple points in the Tar-Pamlico and Neuse River basins.

CI-FLOW also tested NOAA nowCOAST (nowcoast.noaa.gov) CIFLOW visualization capabilities, supported by NOAA Southeastern- Caribbean Regional Team (SECART) funding, to explore how data can be displayed for stakeholder outreach by NOAA SeaGrant and NWS offices as well as internally for science assessments by CI-FLOW team members.

As CIFLOW closes out the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season, CIFLOW partners will continue to leverage a NOAA Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) research effort to stabilize the Advanced Circulation model (ADCIRC) grid to accommodate inland rivers and bays in the North Carolina tidal zones. This will allow CIFLOW to complete a demonstration of the CIFLOW coupled model system to produce simulations of total water level for the lower portions of the Tar-Pamlico and Neuse Rivers and coastline of the Pamlico Sound using past storm events including Hurricane Isabel.

More information: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/ciflow