Extended Abstract (572K)P2.6
SVRGIS: Geographic Information System (GIS) Graphical Database of Tornado, Large Hail, and Damaging Wind Reports in the United States (1950-2005)
Bryan T. Smith, Ball State Univ., Muncie, IN
For many years meteorologists have used existing severe weather report databases to identify regions where higher reported documentation of tornadoes, large hail, and damaging wind reports exist. Recently developed user-friendly software programs such as SeverePlot ver. 2.0, developed by John Hart of the NOAA/Storm Prediction Center, allow users to query severe weather reports. SVRGIS builds on the idea of using queries by allowing users to use advanced queries to overlay the severe reports as recorded in Storm Data to other meteorological and non-meteorological data. Basic query examples may use geographical data, such as incorporated city areas and overlay user selected data with severe reports. More advanced queries may include using documented violent damage-rated tornadoes from 1950-2005 and applying line density analysis techniques to investigate regions of the U.S. where violent-rated tornadoes have occurred with a higher spatial density according to the database.
With the availability of GIS technology and Storm Data severe weather reports in text file format via the Storm Prediction Center's Severe Weather Database, a severe report database (1950-2005) was developed in order for users to investigate possible relationships with non-severe report data. This presentation will describe the data collection and post-processing techniques used to construct a GIS severe reports climatology, display queried meteorological and non-meteorological data, and consider relationships between the 1950-2005 Storm Data and non-meteorological databases.
Poster Session 2, Climatologies and Verification
Monday, 6 November 2006, 3:00 PM-4:30 PM, Pre-Convene Space
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