February 28, 2013 Meeting

The fifth meeting of the 2012-13 year took place at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Jackson. During the meeting, NWS Jackson Lead Forecaster Chad Entremont gave a presentation on the recent dual-pol upgrades to area radar sites.

Meeting Minutes

Call to Order
The fifth NWA/AMS meeting of the 2012-2013 year took place on Thursday, February 28th at WFO Jackson, MS. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.

Rolls
The corresponding secretary, Alan Gerard, passed around a sign-in sheet for attendees. 13 people were present.

Minutes Approval
Recording Secretary Eric Carpenter summarized minutes from the previous meeting held at WFO Jackson, MS in January. The minutes were approved.

New Business
A treasury report was given by the treasurer, Jason Brand, at about 7:10 pm. The treasury had $303 as of 2/28/13. Joanne Culin, NWA Chapter President, then followed by introducing our guest speaker for the evening, Senior Forecaster Chad Entremont from WFO JAN. Chad’s primary topic was on the diagnosis of the tornadic debris signature (TDS) in dual-polarization (dual-pol) radar data. His presentation began with an overview of dual-pol radar principles and a description of the most popular dual-pol products.

Chad spent a considerable amount of time going over examples of how dual-pol technology can better detect heavy rain, hail, snow, and, of course, TDSs. But the majority of the presentation focused on dual-pol TDS analyses from three tornado events: one case in Georgia from last March, and two recent cases in Mississippi, including the devastating Hattiesburg EF-4 tornado. In each of these events, a TDS was evident, and Chad provided analysis and interpretation of them through the corresponding dual-pol products.

There was discussion among the group concerning the advantages of having TDS confirmation in severe weather warning operations, particularly in tornado emergency situations. There was also thoughtful discussion on the debris types that might be more noticeable in the dual-pol CC product. More information on dual-polarization radar principles and products can be found at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jan/?n=dualpolupgrade

Following the TDS examples, Chad provided an update on the new warning format that is scheduled to be implemented soon at WFO JAN. This new style will be easier to read, and it should facilitate faster response by emergency managers, media, and the general public during life-threatening situations. Chad discussed the reasoning for the changes and gave a thorough description of the new format. Examples and additional information on the new warning format can be found at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jan/?n=newwarningformat

Editors note: The change to the new warning format has since been postponed.

Adjournment
The meeting concluded at approximately 8:57 pm and it was adjourned.

Minutes submitted by Eric Carpenter, Recording Secretary.