STORM TRACK: March 31, 1985 (Volume 8 Issue 3)
(Please note that the Editor considers any written or phoned material to him to be eligible for inclusion in the newsletter, unless specifically identified by the author as private in nature. Naturally, he tries to use good judgement on what is included and how it is edited. Unless you indicate otherwise, he will continue in this respect.)
Once again, the mail bag is full to overflowing with good letters, inquiries and comments. I will include as many as possible here, considering their immediate interest to readers. Storm Track is going out a little early this month to give you timely information on the following two meetings.
Walter F. Kelley, the Emergency Management Coordinator for Potter and Randall Counties in the Texas Panhandle writes that Amarillo is planning a "Severe Weather Seminar' for Saturday, March 30. "I am planning to invite emergency personnel, local officials and interested parties from throughout the Texas Panhandle. We will have sessions throughout the day from local, State and Federal agencies, and intend to beef up our tornado preparedness and spotter procedures." For additional information, you should contact Mr. Kelley (806-378-3022).
Dr. Joseph H. Golden, from the National Weather Service headquarters, has provided information about a forthcoming NEXRAD Symposium (Next Generation Weather Radar) from April 1-3 at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Discussion subjects will include (1) Timely flood warnings; (2) Comprehensive aviation weather radar information; (3) Precise hurricane and coastal storm warnings; (4) Accurate thunderstorm tracking; (5) Water resources management; and (6) Improved tornado warnings. Sponsoring agencies are the Departments of Commerce, Defense and Transportation. Some of the sessions will address aviation concerns on windshear, microburst and downburst hazards; controllers display needs; military requirements; private meteorological uses; media applications; etc. Due to the lateness of this notice, the registration form has not been copied, but -if interested in attending- you may phone SES, Incorporated at 703-644-9472 (8AM to 5PM EST). Your Telex or computer can also be used by calling 910-350-4499 SESINC UD. Registration fee is $50 -- no refunds or any cancellations after March 29.
PRE-STORM
Another news item from Dr. Golden is information on the PRE-STORM field research program beginning this spring and continuing for the next two years. It is part of a multi-year study program to improve warnings and predictions of stormscale phenomena. PRE-STORM (Preliminary Regional Experiment for Storm Control) will investigate slow moving, mesoscale convective systems (MCSs). These are the large clusters of cells that occasionally develop, maybe covering half a state, in a complex, interacting and massive rain/storm shield. They are responsible for most of the beneficial rainfall and nearly all the severe weather that occurs in the spring and summer. Specifically, PRE-STORM will address field testing and evaluation of sensor systems and sensing strategies as well as collect preliminary data. These findings will contribute to the MCS study goals of STORM-Central, whose intensive phase will be during the spring/summer of 1988. That study will focus on developing fundamental understandings on the genesis, evolution and structure of MCSs and the techniques to forecast them. STORM-Central, in turn, will be just the first of three major phases of the National STORM Program. PRE-STORM sensors will include airborne Doppler radar and a dense surface network with (a) seven digitized WSR-57 radars; (b) two dual Doppler radar pairs (Norman/Cimarron and in south-central Kansas); (c) four NWS sounding sites (every three hours on active days); (d) twelve supplemental rawinsonde sites (some soundings up to 90-minute intervals); (e) three wind profiler systems; and (f) about 80 automated surface (Mesonet) measurement systems spaced at intervals of about 50 km and over about two-thirds of the experimental area (See illustration above). Additional information may be obtained from Mr. John Cunning, NOAA/WRP; Dr. William Hooke, NOAA/WRP; or Dr. Edwin Kessler, NOAA/NSSL, among others.
Pat Market writes from Pennsylvania that "I found a little equation in a book, which I believe was titled 'Experiments in Meteorology' by Leslie Trowbridge. It is used to find approximately the base-height of convective cumulus. The equation is 227 * (To - Do); where To is the true air temperature at the ground and Do is the dew point temperature at ground level" (The Editor assumes a Fahrenheit scale was intended). "I sent the same equation to Dr. Robert Ross at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. His reply was that it worked fairly well for convective cumulus."
