An Online Tool for Computing Historical Tornado Threat
Assessments (27)
John Hart, NOAA/NWS
Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK
Abstract:
The National Weather Service
has maintained a relatively robust database of tornado occurrences since 1950.
This database allows a user to examine the distribution of tornadoes across the
United States and calculate local climatologies and statistics. A new
interactive tool is available on the Storm Prediction Center website that
allows a user to enter their location, and visualize details of the tornado
climatology within a specified radius. This allows the user to quickly
determine the most common time of year and time of day that tornadoes typically
occur. Summary statistics are also computed, showing the number of tornado days
per year, and killer tornado days per year for the selected area. This tool can
be quite helpful for municipalities, schools, businesses, or other entities to
know when the climatological risk of tornadoes is greatest.