Understanding & predicting severe storms

According to the Department of Commerce, 42 percent of our gross domestic product is in sectors that are affected by severe weather and climate. Bad weather, or badly forecast weather, means far more than cancelled plans and personal inconvenience. The impact of the weather on our economy, safety, and environment can be severe both through extreme events (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, drought, etc.) and just day-to-day fluctuations. In the U.S., estimates of average annual damage ($16 billion) and loss of life (1,500) are significant and impact every state. According to the Department of Commerce, 42 percent of our gross domestic product is in sectors that are affected by severe weather and climate. Conversely, good information about weather and climate can be used effectively to enhance economic activities and improve quality of life.

Researchers in NCAR's Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Division of the Earth and Sun Systems Laboratory, and in the Research Applications Laboratory, strive to understand the physical processes and genesis of such extreme weather, in order to protect human lives and property.

Studying Severe Storms

  • Thunderstorms

    More than 1,000 thunderstorms rage across Earth's surface at any moment. They bring beneficial rains, but thunderstorms can also spawn lightning, tornadoes, hail, and flash floods. NCAR scientists and their collaborators pry into the heart of thunderstorms using aircraft, balloons, mobile radars, and computer models.

  • Hail

    The pelting chunks of ice known as hail can ruin vehicles and slice plants to ribbons in minutes. Only a few Americans have been killed by hail in recent decades, but a number are injured each year. NCAR researchers have analyzed some of the biggest hailstones on Earth and developed radar-based techniques for spotting hail.

  • Lightning

    Using sophisticated instruments that can track lightning bolts and the electric fields that trigger them, NCAR scientists have learned much about these spectacular, deadly products of thunderstorms.

  • Tornadoes

    More than 1,000 twisters touch down in the United States in a typical year. However, U.S. death and injury tolls have dropped considerably in recent decades due to better warnings. NCAR has joined colleagues to delve into the processes that drive tornado formation and evolution.

  • Floods

    The powerful and deadly force of flash floods is an underrated risk. Even though the U.S. population has nearly doubled since 1950, the death toll from most weather hazards has dropped by half or more, while the flooding toll has risen slightly. NCAR's precipitation research touches on many aspects of the flood threat.

  • Hurricanes and Typhoons

    Tropical cyclones with winds at or above 74 miles per hour (119 kilometers per hour) are called hurricanes in the Atlantic and northeast Pacific, and typhoons in the western Pacific. Sensors and computer models developed at NCAR help track and predict these tropical tempests more accurately than ever.

  • Winter Storms

    Large, complex weather systems can dump snow on one city, coat another with ice, and drench others in rain. These storms are shaped by weather elements that extend from the tropics to the poles and from ground level to the heights where aircraft cruise. NCAR is studying the mechanisms behind our worst winter storms.