Thursday, February 23, 2012 – Forecasters at the National Weather Service use a variety of tools to help in forecasting severe weather.
AWIPS – the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System – is the name of the new computer system being utilized by the NWS. It enables forecasters to add several layers of information on one screen, allowing for faster and more accurate weather predictions.
“Warngen” is a tool that allows the meteorologist to create a warning right from the AWIPS radar screen. The meteorologist can “box in” the area he or she feels will be affected by the storm, and a warning is automatically created to cover a county or range of counties.
The Houston-Galveston National Weather Service office, which is co-located with the Galveston County Office of Emergency Management on FM 646 in League City, had one of the first Doppler radar systems deployed in the country. Doppler differs from traditional radar in that it can detect not only precipitation intensity but also velocities of specific particles such as dust, insects and birds in the atmosphere.
At least two meteorologists are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the NWS office. During times of severe weather, additional meteorologists will be on duty to help with the increased workload. Severe weather duties include radar monitoring, issuing warnings, statements and short-term forecasts, compiling reports of severe weather, and disseminating warning information via NOAA weather radio, text alerts and other means. To stay on top of the local weather at all times, bookmark the NWS web site at www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/.
FRIDAY: NOAA Weather Radio.

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