BY ANY OTHER NAME...

As I write this blog on this Monday February 18, I'm running on about 3 hours of sleep following a night of severe weather. Our viewing area was spared from any widespread damage, but we certainly came close.

A total of three tornado warnings were issued across Robeson, Sampson, and Bladen counties between the hours of 2 AM and 4 AM. For those of you unaccustomed to severe weather terminology, a tornado warning can be issued for one of two reasons. If a tornado is actually seen by trained spotters, a "ground truth" warning is issued. Around here, such warnings are rare. Most of our warnings are "Dopper-indicated".

Doppler-indicated warnings are issued whenever radar imagery suggests the possible presence of a tornado. A trained NWS meteorologist makes the decision to issue these warnings based on an analysis of radar images. Analysis may include the use of algorithmic software to compute estimated probabilities of hail formation, mesocyclonic structure, and a host of other technical parameters.

As you may deduce, not all "Dopper-indicated" tornado warnings receive verification. In other words, there are times when a tornado warning may be issued without a tornado ever being confirmed. After all, weather forecasting is an inexact science. But even the "false positive" tornado warnings are beneficial. These warnings allow people to gain experience in tornado preparation- a skill that can save lives.