Peggy
09-28-2007, 09:13 AM
A very long time coming, but welcome, nonetheless -
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —
The National Weather Service is revamping the way it has issued severe weather warnings for decades with a new system designed to mark a geographic bull's eye where a storm will hit.
The system, which goes into effect Oct. 1, switches from alerts based on county lines to notices aimed at specific communities, weather service officials said Tuesday. Using radar and computer modeling programs, the system is meant to predict the moment a storm will hit a community or even a certain crossroads.
Known as storm-based warnings, the new alerts could reduce a warning area from thousands of square miles to a few hundred square miles, experts said.
A storm-based warning focuses on a storm itself and the geographic area that might be affected by it," said Eli Jacks, a meteorologist at NWS headquarters in suburban Washington. "We can really reduce the number of people being warned by reducing that geographic area."
The new system will initially be limited to warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, floods and marine hazards. Later, it will be expanded to include other threats like extreme heat, Jacks said.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —
The National Weather Service is revamping the way it has issued severe weather warnings for decades with a new system designed to mark a geographic bull's eye where a storm will hit.
The system, which goes into effect Oct. 1, switches from alerts based on county lines to notices aimed at specific communities, weather service officials said Tuesday. Using radar and computer modeling programs, the system is meant to predict the moment a storm will hit a community or even a certain crossroads.
Known as storm-based warnings, the new alerts could reduce a warning area from thousands of square miles to a few hundred square miles, experts said.
A storm-based warning focuses on a storm itself and the geographic area that might be affected by it," said Eli Jacks, a meteorologist at NWS headquarters in suburban Washington. "We can really reduce the number of people being warned by reducing that geographic area."
The new system will initially be limited to warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, floods and marine hazards. Later, it will be expanded to include other threats like extreme heat, Jacks said.