Rachel Reeves

Jennifer Tate

Aaron Treadway

Harold Brooks, NSSL

Kim Klockow, OU

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SEVERE WEATHER WARNINGS IN THE CONTINENTAL

UNITED STATEShttp://weather.ou.edu/~warnstats/warnstatscapstone@gmail.com

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT TOPIC

• Do different Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) warn storms differently?

• Did the switch from county-based warnings to polygon-based warnings change forecast quality?

GOALS

• Primary Goals:o Quantify size, shape, length of warning &

lead times of warningso Compute statistics to determine forecast

qualityo Analyze warning text for various selected

storms

• End Goal:o Compare the above results for different

WFOs

PLAN OF ATTACK• Use IEM Cow to collect data on all

warnings and local storm reports (LSRs) from 2005-2012

• Analyze collected data and compare by WFO and year

• Compare warning text of storms that crossed WFO boundaries

MAP OF WFOS

MOTIVATION

KSGF (Springfield) and KLZK (Little Rock) issue different warning types on the same stormPhoto from 1/29/13 22:33Z Courtesy of David Goines

IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT• Forecasters in adjacent WFOs should

have an idea of how WFOs around them warn

• Consistency between WFOs is important for the public's understanding of warnings

• Discrepancies between WFOs may warrant further research

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REFERENCES