Citation
(2001), "Severe weather", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 10 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2001.07310eag.005
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2001, MCB UP Limited
Severe weather
Severe weather
National Weather Servicehttp://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hazstatss
Annually, the National Weather Service publishes natural hazards statistics for previous years. Recently the service posted numbers for 1999 as well as preliminary statistics for 2000 at the URL above. The statistics cover fatalities due to all hazards, as well those due to specific risks such as severe weather, lightning, tornadoes, tropical storms, heat, floods, cold, winter storms, and high winds. A few 1999 highlights include:
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Weather and flood-related hazards claimed 908 lives, injured 5,148 persons, and caused more than $12 billion in damage.
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Extreme heat was the No. 1 cause of fatalities (502).
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Tornadoes were the leading cause of injuries (1,842).
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Hurricanes and tropical storms caused the most destruction ($5.6 billion in property and crop losses).
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States suffering the most damage were Florida, North Carolina, and Oklahoma.
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Due to extreme heat, July was the deadliest month. Illinois suffered the highest number of deaths (147). Oklahoma had the most injuries (706) – primarily due to the Oklahoma City tornado outbreak.
US Weather Research Program (USWRP)uswrp.mnvn.ucar.edu/uswrp/
The US Weather Research Program (USWRP) is a cooperative effort of four federal agencies: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defence (DOD), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Together, these agencies support research into many aspects of weather, including meteorological hazards. Indeed, a priority goal is the improvement of forecasts of hurricane landfall and heavy (potentially flood-inducing) precipitation. This Web site provides an overview and details about program structure and ongoing research, as well as an index of upcoming meetings and program reports.
Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology Education and Training (COMET)http://www.comet.ucar.edu/resources/cases
The Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology Education and Training (COMET) provides materials, including numerous Web-based case studies, for the education of meteorologists and other hazards professionals. The program has recently added studies of several tornado outbreaks, a cold front that exacerbated forest fires in Montana, two snowstorms, two additional examples of severe weather, and an incident involving terrain-locked convection that caused flooding in New Jersey last August. Over 30 studies are now available. Interested persons can stay informed of the latest developments in the COMET case study project by subscribing to the COMET mailing list via http://www.joss.ucar.edu/cometCases/mailList.htm