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.