Development of an integrated local storm reports database

As National Weather Service officials receive reports of severe or hazardous weather conditions within their county warning areas, they often release this information to the public in the form of Local Storm Reports. After parsing through these reports to extract important information such as an event's date and time, location and description, I created a Local Storm Reports Database for the State Climate Office of North Carolina. This database links storm reports with observed daily weather data from COOP weather stations around the country, along with archived radar and satellite imagery from the time of an event. Users can search the database by date and by location, and also have the ability to sort and narrow results using a number of search filters. Officials from the Raleigh, NC, National Weather Service office reviewed the database and considered it a useful summary tool for themselves and local media. In addition, the State Climate Office often directs clients looking for storm-related data, such as lightning and high wind reports, to this product.