By Dorothy Hoffmann
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As April 2010 was coming to a close, a massive multi-day tornado outbreak struck that ravaged the Southern United States. Whenever a disaster of this magnitude hits an area, it naturally leaves a question in its wake: Was it normal? Should one expect and fear that this kind of devastation might reoccur in that geographic area in the near future, or can this storm be dismissed as a "freak" accident? Should it be perceived in the context of global warming, and even worse, are storms of this size and violence expected to hit the region in the years to come?
Tornadoes have spawned many folkloric explanations. These explanations offer people a sense of comfort and safety in the face of their awe-inspiring power and destruction. In contrast, floods are limited to known zones along major river ways and coasts. Blizzards occur mostly in the winter and spring. Floods and blizzards have known and restricted scopes of action. What about tornadoes?
Thankfully, the United States started keeping track of these storms in the 1950s. We now have amassed the oldest, most comprehensive tornado data of any nation which is stored in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center. However, the data needed before forecasts become reliably accurate must span a century or more. From the data that has been collected we have learned:
- Tornadoes have occurred in every state of the U.S. and on every continent (with the possible exception of Antarctica);
- The U.S. has more tornadoes each year than any other country, with about ten times more than Canada, the distant second;
- Three regions of the U.S. are particularly prone to tornadoes: "Tornado Alley" in the central states and Midwest, Florida, and "Dixie Alley" in the Gulf Coast region;
- Tornadoes occur most often in the afternoon and evening and least often near dawn, but they can happen at any time of the day or night;
- Tornadoes are not hampered by hills or mountains, high altitude (they have occurred above 10,000 feet), rivers, or skyscrapers;
- "Tornado Season" is not set in stone—while different regions are more likely to get tornadoes at specific times in the year, a tornado can occur anywhere, at any time.
Tornadoes appear to be unique among natural disasters. If the conditions are right, they strike anyone, anywhere, anytime, with any intensity. With the data we have, there really does not seem to be any way to absolutely protect one's self from all tornado risks; at least not anywhere in the United States. Currently, even though you may know that tornadoes never hit where you live, next time you hear the sirens go off, take cover!
References
Edwards, R. (2011). The online tornado FAQ—Frequently asked questions about tornadoes. Retrieved from spc.noaa.gov
National Climatic Data Center (2011). U.S. tornado climatology. Retrieved from ncdc.noaa.gov
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By Ran Meng
In late April 2010, an estimated 266 tornadoes killed more than 340 people within a 24-hour period. Such an event triggered an urgency to issue more accurate tornado warnings. Hence, storm chasers, scientists who follow live tornadoes, earnestly run after these storms at great risk to themselves.
Akin to the action sequence of a Hollywood movie, storm chasers have about 45 seconds to drop "tornado pods" in the path of a storm and then run. These pods are protected mini-weather stations, which are designed to withstand contact with a tornado while they collect weather data. 
Doppler radars mounted on trucks, commonly referred to as Doppler on Wheels (DOW), get up close and personal as they follow tornadoes or "supercell thunderstorms" (ones with the potential to produce tornadoes). Scientists usually position them to collect data on the lowest levels of formation to understand how tornadoes are generated from supercell thunderstorms.
By positioning the DOWs at various points, 3D maps of the wind and debris can be constructed at a high resolution. Not only do the DOWs collect data, they are crucial as a navigation tool for teams of scientists to position vehicles and instruments; especially, when dropping off tornado pods.
Two large-scale projects, VORTEX and VORTEX2, were conducted under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Severe Storms Laboratory during 1994-1995 and 2009-2010. These projects sought to understand precisely just how a tornado forms; specifically, the exact conditions in a supercell storm that hinder or propel the genesis of a tornado.
For the first time in history, VORTEX was able to document the entire life cycle of a tornado; forming a solid basis upon which VORTEX2 was built. VORTEX2, which cost $13 million, employed up to 200 people and 70 instruments. VORTEX2 also made history in 2009 with the sheer dedication and effort of its teams. The focus of VORTEX2 delved even deeper into tornado formation by exploring duration and cessation to improve forecast systems.
Although firsthand data is vital for studying tornadoes, satellite imagery is useful to complement radar imagery. In addition, laboratory simulations and data mining analyses seek to compensate for physical limitations of radars. Tornado modeling, in combination with graphics, helps analyze tornado formation and flow. Apparatuses can be built in the lab to simulate rotation speed. However, data generated from these studies lack all environmental factors which, thus, limits their scope.
New approaches in data mining and data reanalysis have been developed to better interpret tornado data. The analyses of historical data, for example, can be used to reconstruct past atmospheric conditions contributing to heavier tornado periods. The knowledge gained can be used not only to analyze current weather data, but to understand factors, including the effect that climate variability has on storm patterns. Efforts, such as those made by IEDRO to rescue and digitize data on a global scale, are crucial to ongoing data reanalysis. Our goal is to provide the data needed to make accurate, lifesaving forecast warning systems.
By Teddy Allen
Have you ever wondered how these images are produced? Many global climate plots show information for every point on the planet even though observations were never made at every point. For example, one plot contains information for the poles and at extreme altitudes. These areas are interpolated or modeled from statistical or dynamical methods.
Please click here to see detailed grid.
Many climate datasets are in a gridded format where the area within each grid cell shares the same value. Imagine dividing a map of the world like a chessboard into equal sized rectangles evenly spaced between the Poles. The size of the grids, or squares on the chess board in this example, depends on the spatial resolution of the dataset. A coarse resolution may have few very large grids while a fine resolution will consist of many smaller grids. Finer resolution results in more detail, but may come at the expense of accuracy.
 Coarse resolution may cause blurring of regions because a large area has only one common value. Please click here to see this image in full detail.
Datasets also vary in terms of dimensions. One dimensional (1D) data reveals information at a single location. If a time series of 1D data is plotted on a graph it reveals a line or a curve. 2D data generally has information containing a longitude and latitude at a specific time. A specific-time 2D plot results in a contoured map. Datasets can come in many dimensions. For example, a 4D dataset can have information for longitude, latitude, height, and time.
Data visualization techniques allow the display of multiple environmental elements at once. For example, it is common to display a single image of sea surface temperatures along with winds. To distinguish the elements from each other, different colors, line styles, and symbols are used. For the image we are showing, upper atmosphere temperature is color-coded while relative humidity at the same level is represented through unfilled contour curves.
You don't need to belong to a government lab to access and visualize these types of data. The International Research Institute and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (IRI/LDEO) have created a very useful online climate library system that provides an endless supply of environmental-related data along with a built-in and intuitive data display portals. Both the data access and plotting tools can be found at Columbia.edu
NASA also provides a valuable and user-friendly data display system called Giovanni Nasa.gov that features many satellite-derived products. Both of these sites have information for each dataset and provide tools to produce your own plots! I strongly urge you to explore these features if you have any desire to learn more about data access and display. I also urge you to search online for other web access data portals.
Data from IEDRO is integrated into many of the interpolated gridded datasets and can even be accessed individually from the IRI/LDEO Climate Library. Just check out the NOAA Global Historical Climate Network to begin searching for historical data. It is our goal to contribute as much as possible to data availability for all to access.
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On May 26 Teddy Allen is presenting on behalf of IEDRO at the Climate Information for Managing Risks (CIMR) workshop in Orlando, Florida. 
The workshop addresses local to regional adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate-related decision-making. IEDRO's involvement could greatly facilitate by enabling the sharing of data available through data rescue and digitization. This information is directly linked to known improvements in hazard/risk identification. The workshop lasts for the entire week.
Toni Rosati plans to the Fourth Biannual Colloquium on Climate and Health in mid July 2011. She will be expanding her knowledge of GIS to integrate vector-borne disease concerns related to climate variability and change. The week-long workshop will include lectures on public health and human health, vulnerability studies as they are affected by climate and climate change. Of particular interest to Toni will be discussions on statistics, and special tools for analysis (e.g., GIS).
Additionally, IEDRO is sponsoring Toni's attendance at the American Meteorology Society Community Meeting in August.  The Nationwide Network of Networks (NNoN) initiative has laid out a path forward in the United States to harness the power of multiple observing systems. Key aspects of this initiative apply across the broad weather and climate spectrum, nationally and internationally. One of the challenges faced by the enterprise, however, is gauging the value and utility of various products and services to the user community. Toni will use this opportunity to build awareness of IEDRO's efforts, seek further collaborations with represented agencies and recruit volunteers.
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You are cordially invited to join the Sixteenth World Meteorological Congress to be held at the International Conference Centre of Geneva from 16 May to 3 June 2011! The World Meteorological Congress, the supreme body of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), assembles delegated members once every four years. You are welcome to participate in this year's captivating event!
The WMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). It is the UN system's authoritative voice on the state and behavior of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources.
WMO's vision is to provide world leadership, expertise and international cooperation in weather,climate, hydrology and water resources, as well as related environmental issues. The WMO thereby contributes to the safety and well-being of people throughout the world as well as to the economic benefit of all nations.
This year's Congress will:
- Determine general policies for the fulfillment its purposes;
- Consider its membership;
- Determine general, technical, financial and staff regulations;
- Establish and coordinate the activities of constituent bodies of the Organization;
- Approve long-term plans and the budget for the following financial period;
- Elect the President and Vice-Presidents of the Organization and members of the Executive Council;
- Appoint the Secretary-General.
Qualified and well-trained meteorological personnel are the backbone of national weather services. While weather services in developed countries can have a staff numbering in the hundreds, including specialists in various related fields (agro-meteorology, severe weather, transport etc), their counterparts in developing countries are often minimally staffed and lacking expertise in specialized areas. This situation compromises the developing nation's capacity to effectively service their communities with information to make informed decisions which may concern not only their daily lives, but often their economic survival and resilience to natural disasters.
The Fellowship Fund Appeal, which runs until 31 December 2011, encourages the wider meteorological community to advocate and support practitioners and young talent.
On 23 March 2011, World Meteorological Day, WMO launched a web-based appeal, "Building Capacity, One Fellow at a Time," to the wider meteorological community for contributions to the WMO Fellowship Fund. Contributions will support the education of undergraduate and post-graduate students from least-developed and developing countries, as well as small-island developing states in the fields of meteorology, hydrology and climatology.
For more details about the appeal and fellows as well as to make a donation, please visit the WMO's website at: WMO
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Love to shop online or need to do a search? Choose GoodSearch as your browser. In the WHO DO YOU GOODSEARCH FOR? below the Search field, type International Environmental Data Rescue Organization as your charity. Note: the search engine does not recognize the acronym for IEDRO.
Before doing a search, you can use the site to find coupons and special shopping deals. To do so, click on the GoodShop tab. The site offers great coupons and other opportunities to save. While you use the GoodSearch search engine or the GoodShop, a percentage of your traffic or purchases will go towards IEDRO at no extra cost to you!
Please welcome IEDRO's newest Board of Directors member, Dr. Elbert W. "Joe" Friday, Jr! Unanimously elected on April 14, 2011 to IEDRO's Board of Directors, Dr. Friday brings decades of executive experience and distinguished academic service in meteorology. 
Dr. Friday is Professor Emeritus of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma and a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), where he has served as President and as Commissioner of the AMS Commission on the Weather and Climate Enterprise. Among other distinguished posts, he has served as the Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Research, Director and Deputy Director of the National Weather Service, and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization.
While Dr. Friday has been working with IEDRO on its Advisory Council since fall 2008, his formal addition to IEDRO's Board of Directors will significantly expand his involvement. IEDRO's efforts to rescue and digitize historic weather data are certain to benefit from his years of dedicated meteorological service. IEDRO is delighted and honored to have Dr. Friday on its board
IEDRO proudly announces Dr. Sharon Kay Orndoff LeDuc has joined our staff as Chief Scientist! In this role, Dr. LeDuc will be a data rescue leader who helps to shape strategy, and guides the data rescue policies and practices of IEDRO. In collaboration with IEDRO's senior management staff, she will be responsible for raising annual financial support for current and expanding programs.
After nearly 36 years of service, Dr. LeDuc retired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Her final personnel assignment was with the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC, where she served as Deputy Director for nearly nine years. Her prior assignment was with NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory, where for 13 years she was on assignment to the Environmental Protection Agency. While there, she served as a physical scientist and as Chief of the Climate Branch. She also managed the technical transfer of third-generation air quality models, including model evaluation and graphic/visualization of model output.
Dr LeDuc received her Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Missouri in 1971. She has received awards for her outstanding work including a NOAA Administrator's Award, a Bronze and two Gold Medals from the Department of Commerce, and two Bronze Medals from the Environmental Protection Agency.
She has also taught or advised as an adjunct professor at a number of colleges and universities including University of Oklahoma, University of Missouri, William and Mary University, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and Duke University.
IEDRO's Executive Director, Dr. Crouthamel, is planning for a trip to Malawi in early July to discuss a number of items with the soon-to-retire Director Donald Kamdonyo. One item is to thank Dr. Kamdonyo for allowing his national meteorological service (NMS) employee, Martin Munkhondya, to be IEDRO's Africa Programs Manager. Another item will be to discuss the possibility of IEDRO collaborating with his NMS employee to set up a data keying operation in Blantyre, Malawi to digitize IEDRO's African data.
This trip, as everything we do, requires funding. When you order items from AMAZON.COM, please use IEDRO's Amazon Store Amazonshop.The items and prices are the same and IEDRO receives a 4% donation on what you buy.
We are delighted to announce the impending release by Cambridge University Press of Dryland Climatology by Dr. Sharon Nicholson of Florida State University. The book provides comprehensive review of dryland climates and their relationship to the physical environment, hydrology, and inhabitants. 
Chapters are divided into four major sections on background meteorology and climatology; the nature of dryland climates in relation to precipitation and hydrology; the climatology and climate dynamics of the major dryland regions on each continent; and an extensive review of long-term climate variability in the world's drylands. It includes key topics such as vegetation, geomorphology, desertification, micro-habitats, and adaptation to dryland environments.
This interdisciplinary volume provides an extensive review of the primary literature (covering over 2500 references) and the conventional and satellite datasets that form key research tools for dryland climatology. Illustrated with over 100 photographs, it presents a unique view of dryland climates for a broad spectrum of researchers, environmental professionals and advanced students in climatology, meteorology, geography, environment science, earth system science, ecology, hydrology and geomorphology.
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- A Public Relations deputy manager – an energetic, dedicated person desired.
- A developer to help us make foreign language versions of our website and newsletter. The site is in Dreamweaver.
- Graphic designers who know Photoshop
- Scientists who will write newsletter articles for us
- Persons to develop and maintain networking sites. We need a Plaxo developer, specifically.
- Mandarin, Italian and Russian interpreters.
- Coordinators for group projects.
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Managing Editors
Pennell Paugh
Ran Meng
Scientific Reviewer
Teddy Allen
Developers and Designers
Manager...............Silvana Gabriell
Lu Valmidiano
Jillian Chaney
Writers/Editors
Teddy Allen
Dorothy Hoffman
Ran Meng
Dale Elizabeth Corey
Pooja Virkud
Photographs/Graphics
Pennell Paugh
Translators
Spanish
Coordinator...............Darío Di Franco
Miriam Muñoz
Portuguese
Coordinator...............Tatiana Pinheiro
Arthur Assumpção
Talita Pinheiro
Vivi da Silva
Mandarin Simplified
Coordinator...............Pam Silva
Gang Fu
Lu Valmidiano
Lucy Xie
French
Barbara Joly
Magali Cicujano
Marielle Guirlet
Mark Roberts
Virginie Noel
Vivian Blanchard
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