Why Storm-Based Warnings?
Storm-based warnings will show the specific meteorological or hydrological threat area and are not restricted to geopolitical boundaries. By focusing on the true threat area, warning polygons (a shape with many sides as depicted on the right) will improve
NWS warning accuracy and quality. Storm-based warnings will promote improved graphical warning displays, and in partnership with the private sector, support a wider warning distribution through cellphone alerts, pagers and web-enabled Personal Data Assistants (PDAs). The media will be able to display the polygons showing the public at large where the area of maximum threat is, and better depict who or what is at greatest risk.
If the typical storm-based warning was one-quarter the size of the typical warned county, the economic value to the public due to reduced cost of sheltering is a minimum of $100 million per year. Emergency managers will be able to make better decisions on what resources may be National Weather Service Storm-Based Warnings
On Oct. 1, 2007, the National Weather Service introduced storm-based warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, flash floods and marine hazards that are more geographically specific for these short-duration weather events. When issuing a warning, the National Weather Service will specify areas within a county and refer to commonly known landmarks such as highways or rivers. required and where. Law Enforcement and Fire Departments can know which areas need to be put on alert. Schools and businesses can more accurately determine whether they may or may not need to activate their tornado procedures and close down operations. Other government agencies and customers, such as the FAA and airlines, will be able to make better risk assessments. For example, airport operators will be able to better ascertain whether or not they need to temporarily shut down an airport.
Storm-Based Warning Process
Instead of issuing warnings by county, your local NOAA NWS Weather Forecast Office will be able to narrow their focus on a portion of a county (or counties) that have the greatest threat for being impacted by severe weather. The warned area is defined by latitude and longitude coordinates and depicted by polygons (as illustrated on the right). Utilizing Doppler radar algorithms, the calculated movement of severe storms can be indicated through this technique as well.