Daily Rover » National Weather Service http://www.dailyrover.com Roving the Net so you don't have to... Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:06:38 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Tweet Weather Observations to the National Weather Service http://www.dailyrover.com/tweet-weather-observations-to-the-national-weather-service.html http://www.dailyrover.com/tweet-weather-observations-to-the-national-weather-service.html#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:00:11 +0000 Mike http://www.dailyrover.com/?p=1190 Now you can submit significant weather observations via Twitter to the National Weather Service.

With this experimental program, the National Weather Service will be searching for Tweets that contain information about severe weather events like flooding, wind damage, hail, a tornado or funnel clouds, freezing rain, snowfall and dense fog.

The National Weather Service is taking advantage of the geotagging capability of Twitter, allowing the NWS to correlate each Tweet to its location when it was sent. They’re hoping this will help enhance and increase timely and accurate online weather reporting and communication between the public and their local weather forecast offices.

The NWS is asking Twitters to enable geotagging on their Twitter and 3rd party applications. Since geotagging is still controversial and not everyone is using it, the NWS is offering suggestions for users to Tweet either way.

With Geotagging on, submit your Tweet like this: #wxreport your significant weather report

Without Geotagging, submit your Tweet report in this format: #wxreport WW your location WW your significant weather report.

Some examples of weather report tweets without geotagging:
Ex. 1: #wxreport WW 1289 W Oakridge Circle, St Louis, MO WW 6.0″ new snow as of 1 pm
Ex. 2: #wxreport WW 44.115, -88.595 WW Hail 3/4 inch in diameter at 4:25 pm

  • Here’s some examples, starting with the most accurate:
  • Using a latitude and longitude, like this: WW 44.231, -88.485 WW
  • An address: WW 2485 S Point Rd, Green Bay, WI 54313 WW
  • A street intersection: WW intersection of Holly St and N 4th St, Perry, OK WW
  • A city name: WW Ft Lauderdale, FL WW
  • A zip code is the least accurate: WW 53221 WW

Your location can be just about anything, but the more specific the better.

Read more about this new program at weather.gov/stormreports

The NWS is working with the following sites to monitor #wxreport Tweets:
Wx411
Twitter search
nearbytweets.com
geochirp.com
Twitterfall

]]> http://www.dailyrover.com/tweet-weather-observations-to-the-national-weather-service.html/feed 0 NOAA Safety Tips for Severe Weather http://www.dailyrover.com/noaa-safety-tips-for-severe-weather.html http://www.dailyrover.com/noaa-safety-tips-for-severe-weather.html#comments Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:12:53 +0000 Mike http://www.dailyrover.com/noaa-safety-tips-for-severe-weather.html I just posted earlier about spring weather approaching, and that means spring storms. Well those storms came ripping right through Texas today. At 5:00 o’clock during evening rush hour, the Dallas Fort Worth area had the following watches and warnings from the NOAA National Weather Service:
Flash Flood Warning – Flash Flood Watch -
Flood Warning – Hazardous Weather Outlook

Local news stations reported a large number of traffic problems all over the Dallas Ft. Worth metroplex, and flooding concerns all over north Texas. Actually it’s the gulf moisture that’s coming from the south driving the rain north, creating flood conditions all through central Texas.

Over 1000 flights were cancelled at DFW Airport, which almost never happens, but that’s the hub for American Airlines, so you can just imagine the chaos that caused for spring break travelers. You can see on the radar images below that the watches and warnings were everywhere.

National Weather Service Radar for Dallas Ft. Worth 3-18-2008Do you and your family have an emergency plan and supplies in case of severe weather?

NOAA has an education site with many informative tips about weather safety at www.education.noaa.gov/csafety.html

]]> http://www.dailyrover.com/noaa-safety-tips-for-severe-weather.html/feed 1 Flood Safety Awareness Week http://www.dailyrover.com/flood-safety-awareness-week.html http://www.dailyrover.com/flood-safety-awareness-week.html#comments Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:39:24 +0000 Mike http://www.dailyrover.com/flood-safety-awareness-week.html With spring right around the corner, we need to be aware when conditions are right for severe weather. Spring storms can move in swiftly and bring dangerous wind, lightning and heavy rain. OK, I admit I’m a weather watcher, or a storm junkie. I’ve foolishly driven around during storms as a youth, in awe of nature’s awesome power.

I’m still fascinated with the power of severe weather, but now as I’ve grown older, hopefully I’m a little wiser, as I prefer to check my favorite weather website for severe weather conditions, which is the NOAA National Weather Service website at www.noaa.gov.

NOAA has announced that March 17th through the 22nd is Flood Safety Awareness Week. And you’ve probably heard their safety slogan before, but it bears repeating…

“Turn Around…Don’t Drown.”

For more information about flood watches and warnings in your area, visit the NOAAWatch Flood Warning Web site at www.noaawatch.gov/floods.php.

Turn Around, Don't Drown

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