Developing Georeferenced Representations of Tornado Tracks during the Spring 2008 Severe Weather Season

The late winter and spring 2008 severe weather season across Arkansas was one of the most active in recent history. Preliminary data indicate that over fifty tornadoes were reported during this period. A majority of these affected the NWS WFO Little Rock area of forecast responsibility.

A local program was developed by WFO Little Rock staff to provide high resolution data of the tornado tracks. By utilizing commonly used tools in the GIS community, WFO Little Rock staff members were able to provide timely, high resolution tornado track data to their customers. Staff members incorporated geospatial data of the tornado paths with a variety of sources, including ground and aerial surveys, and satellite imagery. Beneficial partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies were developed during the season as the tornado track data was exchanged .

An overview of the program will be provided, along with recommendations for best practices for future events. In particular, a description of the multi-agency field analysis of the 123 mile track of the 5 February 2008 tornado will be presented.