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Tornadoes
April 2008
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC)
The Storm Prediction Center's mission is to provide timely and accurate forecasts and watches for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes over the contiguous United States. The SPC also monitors heavy rain, heavy snow, and fire weather events across the U.S. and issues specific products for those hazards.
To learn more about the Storm Prediction Center visit: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/
April 2008
NOAA's National Severe Storms Lab (NSSL)
NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory is located in Norman, Oklahoma. They study severe and hazardous weather processes and develop tools to help National Weather Service forecasters, and federal, university and private sector partners use weather information more effectively.
To learn more about the National Severe Storms Lab visit: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/
March 2008
NOAA's StormReady Program: “When Seconds Count, StormReady Communities are Prepared!”
Is your community Storm Ready? StormReady is a nationwide community preparedness program that uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle all types of severe weatherfrom tornadoes to tsunamis. The program encourages communities to take a new, proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations by providing emergency managers with clear-cut guidelines on how to improve their hazardous weather operations.
To be officially StormReady, a community must:
* Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center.
* Have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and to alert the public.
* Create a system that monitors weather conditions locally Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars.
* Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.
For more information on what is required for your community see the National Weather Service's "How to Become StormReady" page at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/stormready/
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