From Finley to NEXRAD : the evolution of tornado forecasting and warning capabilities in the United States, 1870-1996 /
The United States leads the world in the number of tornadoes, tornado fatalities, and property damage by tornadoes. Before 1938 the annual death rate regularly exceeded two hundred and often climbed to five hundred, but the United States Weather Bureau, fearing public panic and believing that torna...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1998.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=737690181&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | The United States leads the world in the number of tornadoes, tornado fatalities, and property damage by tornadoes. Before 1938 the annual death rate regularly exceeded two hundred and often climbed to five hundred, but the United States Weather Bureau, fearing public panic and believing that tornadoes were too fleeting for meteorologists to predict their appearance, forbade the use of the word "tornado" in any of its forecasts. Although no tornado forecasting program existed during World War 11, the needs of the military prompted the development of a severe weather warning system in tornado-prone areas. Technological advances such as radar and computers enabled the Air Force and the Weather Bureau to institute centralized tornado forecasting programs in the early 1950s, and improvements in communications, especially the spread of television, allowed the Bureau to expand its warning system. A successful tornado watch/warning system requires an adequate performance by its four integral components: (1) the issuance of a tornado forecast or watch, (2) the spotting of a tornado, (3) the dissemination of warnings to the public, and (4) the response of the public to the warnings. Since the 1950s the implementation of computerized data collection and processing systems, Doppler radar, state-of-the-art television weather centers, and an extensive public education program has improved each of these components. The result has been a drastic reduction in tornado fatalities during the last half of the twentieth century. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: History". |
| Physical Description: | xv, 262 leaves ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilms Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references: pages 240-261. |