Several local National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees will be honored by the American Meteorological Society at its 81st Annual Meeting in Albuquerque this week.
After two years with unusually high numbers of tornadoes in the United States, the tornado season for this year has proven relatively quiet, with only 741 tornadoes reported, the lowest total since 1989, according to National Weather Service officials. However, they advise all Americans to be prepared for tornadoes because they can happen anywhere at any time.
K-12 students are teaming up with government scientists and forecasters to monitor the effects of severe weather events in their communities. On Tuesday, May 9, from 2-3 p.m. ET, Dr. Joe Schaefer, Director of the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., will host a Web chat with GLOBE students, discussing how they can help provide crucial data for forecasting, tracking and monitoring severe storms.
Severe weather experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. have prepared a list of some of the more notable tornado outbreaks that occurred in the United States during the twentieth century. The summary lists the tornadoes by decade and notes the technological and policy improvements that resulted.
Six major tornado outbreaks occurred in the United States during 1999, with half of them hitting at unusual times of the year – during the winter months of January and December – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported today. Those outbreaks included 216 tornadoes and caused 18 deaths.
The total number of tornadoes reported this year was 1,225, which is 200 fewer than last year when there were 1,424 tornadoes, the busiest year on record. The 1999 total ranks the fourth highest since the agency’s records began in 1950. A total of 94 deaths occurred this year from 29 killer tornadoes.
A record-breaking 141 tornadoes ripped through Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee in January, the National Weather Service reported today. More tornadoes occurred on Jan. 21 — a preliminary total of 87 — than on any previous January day on record.