Predicting Tornadoes Is A Science
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
December 26th, 2015 -- the day after Christmas. Mother Nature gives us something that we will never forget.
Tornadoes kill 13 people and cause one-point-two-billion dollars in damage.
And despite the fact that a tornado watch was in effect for much of the day that day, it caught a lot of people by surprise.
"We talked to a lot of people that had damage at their house," says Mark Fox, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, "every single one of them said the same thing -- 'Never thought it would happen to me.'"
Fox says forecasters check for the possibility of tornadoes every day.
"The first thing that we do every day is send up weather balloons, at about 5:00, 6:00 in the morning (and) 5:00, 6:00 in the afternoon. And on the big severe weather days, we'll put up another one at around noon or so," says Fox. That is to give us a good snapshot of what the atmosphere is doing, how warm the air is, how moist the air is and where the winds are blowing in from."
If that data indicates that a tornado could form, the National Weather Service will issue a tornado watch. And KRLD Chief Meteorologist Bob Goosmann says that could end up being upgraded depending on what ensues.
"A storm has been spotted; a tornado has been spotted, or a funnel cloud. Or Doppler radar indicates that a tornado is developing. If you see one of those two things, then a warning will be issued."
And Goosmann says if that happens, you need to take cover immediately.
"Even if you get that five-minute warning, people say, 'Oh my gosh, it came witbhout warning,' when most of the time, there is ample warning for tornadoes," Goosmann says.
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)