Severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings at Raleigh, North Carolina

Debra K Holum,* Allen J. Riordan,* John Monahan,+ and Kermit K Keeter#

ABSTRACT

The National Weather Service issues public warnings for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes when these storms appear imminent. A study of the warning process was conducted at the National Weather Service Forecast Office at Raleigh, North Carolina, from 1994 through 1996. The purpose of the study was to examine the decision process by documenting the types of information leading to decisions to warn or not to warn and by describing the sequence and timing of events in the development of warnings. It was found that the evolution of warnings followed a logical sequence beginning with storm …