NSSL fromA to Z

ALGORITHMS – Algorithms are a set of automated computer programs that are the foundation of severe weather analysis, forecasts, and warnings. NSSL works on many algorithms on different platforms, like WDSS-II.

ASSIMILATION – Learn how scientists at NSSL are examining data assimilation techniques and evaluating whether incorporating new data and non-standard data improves the forecast.

BALLOON LAUNCH – See science-in-action videos as NSSL researchers in the field launch free-flying instrumented balloons to measure the electirc field in thunderstorms.

BAMEX – The Bow Echo and MCV EXperiment studied damaging winds from thunderstorms that pose a significant hazard to life and property.

BASIN DELINEATION – NSSL took part in creating a national flash-flood-scale basin dataset to support the NWS Flash Flood Monitoring and Prediction (FFMP) system.

BILLY AND MARIA – This series of coloring books was designed for children who want to learn more about the weather, including thunderstorms, winter weather, and tornado safety.

CASA – Find out how NSSL is participating in CASA, a project that will revolutionize the way we detect, monitor and predict atmospheric phenomena by creating a distributed collaborative adaptive sensor network that samples the atmosphere where and when end user needs are greatest.

CI-FLOW – NSSL is a main player in the CI-FLOW demonstration program that will facilitate the evaluation and testing of new methods to produce accurate and timely identification of coastal, estuary and inland floods, flash floods and their impacts on the coastal ecosystem.

DEBRIS FLOW – NSSL is working with other agencies to develop and test a debris flow warning system in California. Check on their progress during the winter of 2006-2007.

DOPPLER RADAR – Read how NSSL recognized the potential of Doppler radar to improve detection and warning of severe weather and how NSSL built the first real-time displays of Doppler velocity data.

EXPERIMENTAL WARNING PROGRAM (EWP) – This program was established at NSSL to improve the nation’s hazardous weather warning services. Learn about current activities.

FIRST TORNADO FORECAST – Learn how two U.S. Air Force personnel correctly predicted that atmospheric conditions were ripe for tornadoes near central Oklahoma in 1948. This forecast was instrumental in advancing the nation’s commitment to protecting the American public and military resources from the dangers caused by natural hazards.

FORECASTING WEATHER – Explore how NSSL works to improve forecast services for hazardous and severe weather events within the National Weather Service.

GLIMPSES OF NSSL’S HISTORY – Read stories written in celebration of NSSL’s 40th Anniversary including the history of weather radar development, how the Twister movie put NSSL on the map, and more.

GOLD MEDAL – Laboratories can win awards too! NSSL was honored with the Department of Commerce Gold Medal for its contribution to the NEXRAD program.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER TESTBED – Shorter-timescale forecasting challenges are the focus of the Hazardous Weather Testbed at NSSL, which provides the framework for development and implementation of new technologies that will have practical benefits.

HISTORY OF WEATHER RADAR – Discover how radar technology designed to detect and locate hostile aircraft and missiles in WWII would serve as the basis for today’s advanced weather radar systems. 

HYDROMETEOROLOGY – See how improving debris flow and flash flood warnings are the target of NSSL’s hydrometeorology team.

IHOP – Not just pancakes! NSSL hosted the International H20 Project, one of the largest-ever field experiments in North American history. Part of the goal was to learn what types of data are needed to make forecasts of thunderstorms and rainfall amounts more specific.

IMPACTS AND EVALUATION – NSSL recognizes the importance of understanding how weather impacts the public and how forecasts can provide benefits.

JPOLE – Users of real-time data collected during the Joint Polarization Experiment (JPOLE) operational demonstration helped test the engineering design and data quality of the polarimetric KOUN WSR-88D radar. Results from JPOLE lead directly to plans for a future upgrade of the national WSR-88D system.

KOUN – See radar images transmitted by NSSL's research polarimetric WSR-88D radar using WDSS-II. The KOUN radar can transmit horizontal and vertical pulses simultaneously.

LIGHTNING EDUCATION – NSSL scientists are passionate about helping the public understand the dangers of lightning.

LIGHTNING FAQ’S – Does lightning strike from the sky down, or the ground up? Can lightning strike the same place twice? Do you know the answers? Find out on NSSL’s Lightning FAQ page.

LIGHTNING RESEARCH – Learn about the different ways NSSL is striving to understand the dangerous phenomenon of lightning.

MAP – The Mesoscale Alpine Project was one of the largest weather field research projects in Europe involved NSSL scientists. They studied how wind flowing over the mountains affects precipitation and flooding.

MOBILE BALLOONING LABORATORIES – NSSL developed them to give scientists the ability to launch weather balloons at any time at any location. These and other mobile observing systems are especially useful to collect data on how thunderstorms produce lightning.

MULTI-FUNCTION PHASED ARRAY RADAR (MPAR)- Find out how NSSL is involved in an ambitious plan to transistion from a number of radar systems, used for aircraft surveillance and weather observations, to a single, multi-function, phased array radar.

NAME – The North American Monsoon Experiment focused on storms in Mexico and the U.S. desert southwest to search for clues that would lead to better predictions of summer rainfall in the U.S.

NATIONAL RADAR MOSAIC – NSSL’s hydrometeorology research scientists seamlessly pieced together all 130 NWS and Department of Defense radars across the U.S. See how NSSL is working to use this valuable information to improve precipitation forecasts.

NATIONAL WEATHER RADAR TESTBED – Find out more about the NWRT, the official facility where phased array technology will be tested and evaluated.

NEXRAD – Learn how early Doppler research carried out at NSSL during the 1960's and 70's paved the way for the development of the NEXRAD radar system used by NWS forecasters today.

NSSL BRIEFINGS – Peruse the latest NSSL newsletter, providing federal managers, staff, and other colleagues in the meteorological community with timely information about NSSL activities and collaborations. Our NSSL Briefings archive contains all issues since the beginning of the publication in 1995…before the Internet!

NSSL FAQ’s – If you have a question about severe weather, see if it is answered here! This list represents a large portion of the correspondence NSSL receives about severe weather, weather data and careers in meteorology.

NSSL HOT ITEMS – Find fresh articles about the latest NSSL science.

OK-WARN – You can find info on OK-WARN, Weather Alert Remote Notification, a revolutionary program co-developed by an NSSL scientist to notify deaf and hard-of-hearing Oklahomans of hazardous weather via alphanumeric pagers and/or E-mail addresses.

OUTBREAK AT HOME – What happens when tornadoes strike close to home? May 3, 1999 a deadly tornado outbreak occurred within 10 miles of NSSL. Teams were out studying this event as it unfolded and obtained unprecedented data. Read the different accounts posted by NSSL researchers, about the data collected and personal photos. Don't miss the six articles in NSSL Briefings Fall 1999 issue – which illustrate this was not only a scientific event but a personal one as well.

OVERPASSES – Overpasses are not adequate tornado protection. In fact, they are dangerous! Read why and spread the news.

PACS-SONET Learn about NSSL’s work in tropical meteorology and how one scientist has worked to improve observing systems in Central and South America.

PHASED ARRAY RADAR – Read about the future of weather radar – phased array technology. PAR has the potential to provide revolutionary improvements in National Weather Service tornado, severe storm, and flash flood warnings.

POLARIMETRIC DOPPLER RADAR – Learn how polarimetric radars work, and what NSSL scientists are doing to implement this technology into a planned future upgrade for the WSR-88D radar network.

Q2 – The next generation of QPE uses a multi-sensor approach focused on high-resolution integration of radar, satellite, model, and surface observations to produce very high-resolution precipitation estimates for use in flood and flash flood watches and warnings, river forecasts and water management decisions.

RADAR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT – See what NSSL scientists are doing with promising new phased array and dual-polarization technology to continue the legacy of Doppler radar research and development begun in the 1960's.

SALLJEX – The South American Low Level Jet Experiment was a field experiment carried out in western-central South America during the 2002-2003 rainy season to understand how the south American low-level jet contributes to tropical weather during the summer over Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina.

SEVERE STORM RESEARCH – NSSL’s successful history as the only federal government laboratory focused on severe and hazardous weather is celebrated on this list of Major Accomplishments.

SEVERE WEATHER PRIMER – Do you have questions about tornadoes, thunderstorms, lightning, floods, winter weather and hail? NSSL’s Severe Weather Primer takes a close look at each of these weather phenomena and what NSSL is doing to contribute.

SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY – What you need to know NOW! Be informed and check these web pages that provide basic quick decision-making information about flash flood, lightning, tornado, and winter weather safety.

SMART-R – Mobile radars can be driven near storms to provide scientists with valuable data that supports their research, and NSSL has two! The Shared Mobile Atmospheric and Teaching Radars (SMART-R’s) have been used to study land-falling hurricanes, tornadic thunderstorms, squall lines, dust storms and heavy rain events. See photos of the SMART-R and other mobile observing systems used by scientists to study the weather.

STORM CHASING – Is it a career or can I ride along? NO! Find out why not.

TELEX – NSSL learned more about lightning and other electrical properties of thunderstorms through the Thunderstorm Electrification and Lightning Experiment. Especially important in the project is the OK-LMA, a network of ten stations in central Oklahoma that continuously mapped the structure of all types of lightning.

THUNDERSTORM FAQ’S – Why are some clouds darker than others? Are there winter thunderstorms? NSSL’s Thunderstorm FAQ page addresses these curiosities.

TORNADO FAQ’s – How fast can a tornado go? Has every state had a tornado? Can tornadoes be stopped? Find the answers to these questions and more that are sent in to NSSL from people around the world.

TWISTER – Hollywood comes to NSSL! Scientists made several positive contributions to the production of the film, and impressed the cast and crew with the serious tornado research carried out at NSSL. The flying cows were their idea.

UNION CITY – The Union City tornado provided researchers their first opportunity to see the entire life cycle of a tornado. Scientists learned Doppler radar could "see" the signature of a developing tornado before it occurred.

VORTEX STORYBOOK – Follow the story of the VORTEX Project (Verification of the Origins of Tornadoes EXperiment), a large field experiment designed to study rotation in tornadoes, from the idea to the conclusion of the project.

WDSS-II – Discover how researchers develop and evaluate experimental applications in an operational setting with the Warning Decision Support System – Integrated Information (WDSS-II) system designed by NSSL and tested at National Weather Service Forecast Offices.

WEATHER LESSONS – Get a basic introduction to weather maps, weather symbols and weather systems.

WEATHER RADAR – Check out the latest NSSL research in the development and testing of new radar technologies that are essential to improving predictions and warnings of high-impact weather.

WHEN WILL SEVERE WEATHER OCCUR AT MY HOUSE? NSSL’s Severe Weather Climatology page includes an interactive map to find the average risk of severe weather, or the time of year severe weather is most common in your area.

WINTER WEATHER HYDROMETEOR CLASSIFICATION GROUND TRUTH PROGRAM – The public was invited to report winter precipitation observations so scientists could compare the observations with an experimental dual-polarized Doppler radar. It was the first project involving the public and was a huge success!

WORKING AT NSSL – Find out who works at NSSL and what they do.

X-BAND RADAR – NSSL is working with the University of Oklahoma to develop and deploy a mobile dual-polarized X-band radar.

YAK – Here's lookin' at you, kid.

ZRNIC – Learn about the significant scientific achievements of one of our own scientists, Dusan Zrnic, whose outstanding contributions to meteorological Doppler radar signal processing theory and practice became benchmarks for conceptual designs of the national network of Doppler weather radars.