Looking to the skies -Gail Hartfield, NWA President, August 2017 By the time you read this, our nation will have experienced a once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse. The buzz surrounding this event has been astounding. It began well over a year ago when hotels along the path of totality began selling out, and plans for comprehensive…
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Fire-effective Low-level Thermal Ridges on the Southern Great Plains
Low-level thermal ridges (LLTRs) have been identified as common meteorological features associated with wildfires in grass-dominated fuelscapes on the southern Great Plains. Analogous to the well-documented fire-effectiveness of West Coast thermal troughs, LLTRs on the Plains have a dramatic influence on wildland fire. Identification of these features in proximity to midlevel wind maxima has proven…
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Lightning Decision Support Using VHF Total Lightning Mapping and NLDN Cloud-to-Ground Data in North Alabama
This study focuses on lightning safety applications at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in preparation for the use of new Geostationary Lightning Mapper data once operational in 2017 from GOES-16. A total of 13 years of North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array and National Lightning Detection data are analyzed for lightning safety applications. Data are analyzed…
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Potential Tornado Warning Improvement Resulting from Utilization of the TDS in the Warning Decision Process
Polarimetric tornadic debris signatures (TDSs) provide a means of confirming that a strong wind field has lofted debris to the altitude of the radar beam. They can increase confidence in an ongoing tornado, which may be noted in tornado warning text to increase the sense of urgency. They may also serve as indicators of weak…
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