Ambitious project our chase team is undertaking

A few weeks ago I made mention in a post that our chase team was working on an idea that we think would dramatically improve tornado warning information. Well this weekend or Monday that plan kicks into action and we would love your support. A member of our team had an idea that he shared with a couple of us and we tweaked it slightly to what I'm presenting now. Our idea is to place cameras on cell towers in places across the state with poor radar coverage with access granted to the NWS and local news agencies. These cameras will serve as remote tower cams allowing them to obtain real time storm information on whether or not a tornado has formed. In places with poor radar coverage a lower end tornado can be n the ground but radar is unable to see the debris signature. So while strong enough to flip a mobile home or bring a tree down on a house, not strong enough to loft debris high enough to get into the radar beam to be seen.

I have drafted a letter that will be sent to our governor, Lt. governor, and a handful of state senators asking them to consider legislation to fund 100 cameras to be placed in those parts of the state with poor radar coverage. Initial cost projections point to this being possible for $75,000 the first year and $45,000 in following years. This does not include the cost of installing the cameras as I had no idea what that would cost. Next week I am asking if you would contact your local senator and representatives to obtain a copy of this letter and to support legislation to make this a reality. Research has shown people are 75% more likely to take shelter if they know a tornado has actually formed. If we can get real-time info to those that issue warnings it could help save lives.

This is a great idea!!

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Originally Posted by starkvegasdawg

A few weeks ago I made mention in a post that our chase team was working on an idea that we think would dramatically improve tornado warning information. Well this weekend or Monday that plan kicks into action and we would love your support. A member of our team had an idea that he shared with a couple of us and we tweaked it slightly to what I'm presenting now. Our idea is to place cameras on cell towers in places across the state with poor radar coverage with access granted to the NWS and local news agencies. These cameras will serve as remote tower cams allowing them to obtain real time storm information on whether or not a tornado has formed. In places with poor radar coverage a lower end tornado can be n the ground but radar is unable to see the debris signature. So while strong enough to flip a mobile home or bring a tree down on a house, not strong enough to loft debris high enough to get into the radar beam to be seen.

I have drafted a letter that will be sent to our governor, Lt. governor, and a handful of state senators asking them to consider legislation to fund 100 cameras to be placed in those parts of the state with poor radar coverage. Initial cost projections point to this being possible for $75,000 the first year and $45,000 in following years. This does not include the cost of installing the cameras as I had no idea what that would cost. Next week I am asking if you would contact your local senator and representatives to obtain a copy of this letter and to support legislation to make this a reality. Research has shown people are 75% more likely to take shelter if they know a tornado has actually formed. If we can get real-time info to those that issue warnings it could help save lives.

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Yeah. Get the link and what we need to copy and paste into it

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Originally Posted by TheLostDawg

Yeah. Get the link and what we need to copy and paste into it

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Below is the letter I sent. You can copy and paste that to the emails of your Senator and representatives. And thanks for assisting. The graphics aren't copying over. I'm

My name is Stan Dorroh and I am a storm chaser with North Mississippi Storm Chasers and Spotters (NMSCAS). I would like to ask for a few moments of your time to read and consider this letter. I know the tornadoes that devastated part of Mississippi on the night of March 24 are still etched into your memories and mine. The tragic scenes with loss of life and injuries that occurred in Rolling Fork, Silver City, Winona, Amory, and other locations will never be forgotten. This is especially true for me as I was at Silver City shortly after the tornado passed and saw firsthand the devastation it caused to that small community. I was assisting in the unfortunate futile efforts to save the life of two year old Aubree Green. The scenes of that night will haunt me forever.
That is why I am writing to you in hopes of seeking legislation to implement an idea from another one of our members (Ashton Lemley) and fine-tuned by Ashton, team VP, James Bishop, and myself. It is an idea we believe could provide invaluable lifesaving information at the fingertips of the National Weather Service and local news agencies to better upgrade warning information. We have all watched tower cams on local news channels during times of severe weather as they watch the sky from an elevated vantage point trying to see if a tornado is, or has already, developed. What we propose is to install cameras like those on cell phone towers across the state with access being granted to the National Weather Service offices and local news agencies. This would allow those in charge of creating and disseminating warning information to have the means to see if a tornado is on the ground well before it threatens a population center giving people time to take shelter.
As storm chasers for NMSCAS, we do our best to position ourselves to be able to provide this information to the relevant entities, but, as you are all too aware, the heavily forested terrain of MS often times makes that difficult or impossible to do. We still do our best even when that involves putting ourselves in positions to try to gain a view that is not always the safest option because of our desire to try to be able to provide that bit of life saving information. You also may have seen while watching weather reports the meteorologists using an option on radar that tracks debris being lofted to help in determining whether or not a tornado has touched down. While that is a great benefit of the new dual-pol radar capabilities, it also has its limitations. The radar beam is set at an angle with the lowest angle usually being 0.5o in elevation. (Then, every pass it raises in elevation slightly to get as complete a view of the storm as possible.) However, even at that low of a starting angle when combined with the curvature of the earth, the radar beam quickly gains altitude so that by the time you are approximately 70 miles from the radar site, the beam is over 6,000 ft off the ground. The attached image at the bottom of this letter shows the parts of the state where the beam is at a minimum that height off the ground. In some places it is closer to 10,000 ft. EF-0 and EF-1 tornadoes usually will not loft debris above this 6,000 ft. threshold. That means a tornado could be on the ground causing damage, and radar is unable to confirm its existence. While not the devastating tornadoes like we saw on the night of March 24, those are still more than capable of knocking over trees onto houses and flipping mobile homes causing serious injuries or fatalities. Research has shown people are over 75% more likely to take shelter when they know a tornado is on the ground; therefore, being able to provide concrete evidence that a touchdown has occurred will save lives.
For these reasons I am requesting that legislation be drafted and submitted for consideration to implement placing these cameras on cellphone towers throughout the state, starting in the areas with the least reliable radar coverage outside the red circles in the attached image. With the cameras located on the towers, they would always have a reliable signal to broadcast their images. These cameras could be a monumental step forward in helping to make the citizens of this state as safe as possible during times of severe weather. While I do not have concrete numbers at the time of writing, a pilot program of 100 cameras located in the worst served areas of the state would cost approximately $75,000.00 for the first year broken down as follows below with an annual recurring cost of $50,000.00. This price does not include costs to install the cameras as I don?t have any way of knowing what that would be, but even with that cost added in, I believe this to be an extremely economical and cost effective way to help keep people safe. I have spoken to a member of our National Weather Service and this individual saw the benefit such a camera system would provide.

Governor, Lt. Governor, Senators ? I am not a lobbyist. I don?t even know how the process works. But I am a citizen of this great state with a passion for severe weather and a desire to try to keep my fellow citizens as safe as possible during severe weather events. What I saw that night in Silver City absolutely broke my heart. It was things I never hope I see again. But as hard as it was for me while I was there, I know my experiences don?t even begin to come up to the level of those that were affected. Those that losft all their belongings and in the worst of cases?loved ones from their family, I know are still suffering far more than I ever will and will continue to suffer for many months and years to come. That is why I am writing to you today in hopes that you will agree that this idea has merit, and you will use the power and influence to help take this from an idea to a reality not only from a legislation standpoint, but also convincing the cell phone companies to allow their towers to be used for such an endeavor, although I can?t imagine they would refuse at having their towers also used to help save lives. I sincerely thank you for your time and consideration of this proposal.

Great idea!

SVD, check your pm

Project Update...

Not one state Senator, our governor, or lt. governor responded. Discouraging to say the least, but not giving up. Ok the contrary, I'm upping the ante. Time to go big or go home. I saw tonight that Senator Wicker has sponsored the TORNADON Act. A summary is as follows:

"The TORNADO Act I introduced would direct NOAA to update their models and use the full resources of today?s technological capabilities to improve warning systems. It would also require NOAA to improve its post-storm assessments to increase our understanding of the signs that precede bad weather. These changes will help raise the quality and speed of our tornado alerts."

The bill has 10 cosponsors in the pic below. Tonight, I emailed Wicker and will be emailing the others tomorrow. If you would like to support this, Monday morning, email those 11 senators and ask them to include this in the bill...especially if you live in any of these senators' jurisdictions. Mention that they have received an email over the weekend from North MS Storm Chasers and you would like them to support this measure. I truly believe this could save lives which is why I am pushing for it so hard and not giving up.

Attachment 3376

ETA:

Didn't know pic size would be so small. (I know...that's what she said). Here are the other senators:

Ted Cruz
John Thune
Chuck Grassley
Cindy Hyde Smith
Todd Young
Marsha Blackburn
John Boozman
Jerry Moran
Raphael Warnock
Gary Peters