Societal Aspects of Weather

General Weather Resources General Weather Resources

This section aims to provide entertaining and informative resources useful to a wide audience.

Section 1. Information and General Resources

Section 2. Forecasts, Reports, and Warnings

Section 3. Weather-Related Organizations and Agencies

Section 4. Resources for the Media


Section 1. Information and General Resources

CBS News - Disaster Links
An extensive collection of links to numerous weather and disaster-related topics.

The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED)
CRED maintains one of the most extensive databases on disasters available on the Web.

Century's Top Weather, Water, and Climate Events
NOAA chose the top weather, water, and climate events of the 20th century, taking into consideration an event's magnitude, its meteorological uniqueness, and its economic impact and death toll. Events include the 1900 Galveston hurricane, the Dust Bowls of the 1930s, 1969 Hurricane Camille, the 1993 Midwest Floods, and the Oklahoma-Kansas 1999 tornadoes, among others. The site includes extensive background information, photos, satellite images, animation of the storms, links, and contact information.

Climate Diagnostics Center
The mission of the NOAA/CIRES Climate Diagnostics Center is to identify the nature and causes of climate variations on time scales ranging from a month to centuries. The goal of this work is to develop the ability to predict important climate variations on these time scales. The CDC provides several resources including its Map Room Weather Products, Map Room Climate Products, and Display and Analysis Web Pages for CDC Climate Data.

Climate Information Project
NOAA's Office of Global Programs offers this Web site which includes near-daily and weekly summaries of reported climate-weather impacts from around the globe.

COMET Web-based Case Study Library
The Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology Education and Training (COMET) provides educational materials for meteorologists and other hazards professionals. This Web site includes over 20 case studies of meteorological data for specific events including the May 3, 1999, Oklahoma/Kansas tornado outbreak; Hurricane Floyd; severe rain and flooding in Kansas in October 1999; and an outbreak of severe weather in the Northeast in June 1998.

FacsNet
A resource designed for editors and reporters searching for information and expert spokespersons.

Forces of Nature
This site introduces forces of nature such as drought, flooding, fog and mist, hurricanes, monsoons, severe storms, tornadoes, and windstorms. Included are descriptions of the physical phenomena, their impacts, recent occurrences, historical case studies, and interviews, as well as guidelines and tips for event prediction, preparation, and prevention.

Global Climate Change
Includes events, reports, publications, data, images and links to sites that deal with weather extremes.

Incident.com - Current Events
Disaster management Internet pioneer Art Botterell recently established this Web site, which includes a world map of recent (the last few days) disasters - click on the disaster and receive information about it. The site also includes a few of Art's insightful and provocative papers and musings on the Internet and disasters.

National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) sites
Extreme Temperatures Maps
A complete resource of extreme temperature maps in GIF format.
Extreme Weather and Climate Events
This site includes information about U.S. hurricanes, U.S. heavy rainfall, U.S. temperature extremes, U.S. tornados, 1991-2000 weather events, historical global extremes, satellite images, U.S. radar composites, climatic data, U.S. local storm reports, climate of 1999, El Nino/La Nina, global climate change, and billion dollar weather disasters.

National Geographic's Nature's Fury Page
National Geographic's Nature's Fury page covers tornadoes and hurricanes, among other disasters.

National Geophysical Data Center: Science Benefiting Society

National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) Resource Listing for Weather and Climate Instruction
NSSL provides this site to assist teachers of weather and climate by listing some of the available instructional resources. Included are sections such as "General Instruction," " Audiovisual," "Print," "Instruments/Equipment," "Software," "Data Sources," "Professional Organizations," and "Additional Resource Contacts," as well as a list of abbreviations and acronyms.

NaturalHazards.org
This site provides easy access to information about all types of natural hazards, including hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, El Nino/La Nina, and snow and ice. Information about the locations and seasons of greatest risk is provided. Links to carefully selected Web sites and educational products for purchase are also included.

NOAA Photo Collection
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains over 10,000 photos and other digitized images on line. This collection includes hundreds of images of natural hazards from the National Severe Storms Laboratory and the National Weather Service Historical Image Collection.

Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services
Includes latest weather and warnings, hurricane awareness, and other weather-related information.

Penn State University Weather Pages
"Some of the most unusual and uncommon types of weather information."

sci.geo.meteorology data sources FAQ
A comprehensive set of weather-related links, information, and pointers to resources (CD-ROMs, research data, and others).

Severe Weather Awareness
This NWS Office of Climate, Water, and Weather site provides information about actions you can take to protect yourself, family, pets, and property from severe weather such as thunderstorms (including high winds, hail, and lightning), tornadoes, and floods. Valuable information about how to respond to severe weather is also included.

Storm Data Publications
Storm Data contains a chronological listing, by state, of hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms, hail, floods, drought conditions, lightning, high winds, snow, temperature extremes and other weather phenomena. These National Weather Service reports contain statistics on personal injuries and damage estimates.

USA Today sites
USAToday Weather
General weather resources.
USAToday Weather Index
A great index of weather terms and definitions.

The Weather Channel Storm Encyclopedia
This Web site provides basic information about severe and extreme weather events, including flooding, heat waves, hurricanes and tropical storms, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and winter storms.

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Section 2. Forecasts, Reports, and Warnings

@griculture Online -- www.agriculture.com

Agricultural Weather Section/NWS
The section provides an advisory and information service on weather and climate for use by Department of Agriculture officials in assessing impacts of weather and climate on agricultural production throughout the world. It also produces the meteorological and climatic information for the jointly published Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin and assembles, prints, and disseminates the publication.

CNN - Weather

Economic Value of Weather and Climate Forecasts
This report examines how weather and climate forecasts can be used to mitigate the impact of weather on the economy. Contributions from economists, psychologists, meteorologists, and statisticians are included and encompass forecasts over a wide range of temporal scales. This book seeks to determine the economic benefits of existing weather forecasting systems, and the benefits of improving these systems.

Interactive Weather Information Network (IWIN)
The National Weather Service's Interactive Weather Information Network - IWIN - lists all the areas across the country that are currently under watch or warning for thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, flash flooding, and other extreme weather. It also provides local weather updates and outlooks, world weather, and in-depth information about short- and long-term weather conditions.

NOAA's U.S. Threats Assessments
U.S. Threats Assessment covers short-term (3-5 days), medium-range (6-10 days), and long-range forecasts. The site includes maps of North America showing projected temperature/wind, precipitation, and soil/wildfire anomalies. Other information--such as a table of rivers currently at or above flood stage--is also included.

Storm Prediction Center
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is part of the National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Its mission is to provide timely and accurate forecasts and watches for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes over the contiguous United States. The SPC also monitors heavy rain, heavy snow, and fire weather events across the U.S. and issues specific products for those hazards. It uses the most advanced technology and scientific methods available to achieve this goal.

Tropical Prediction Center
The mission of the National Hurricane Center's Tropical Prediction Center is "to save lives, mitigate property loss, and improve economic efficiency by issuing watches, warnings,forecasts, and analyses of hazardous tropical weather."

UCAR Weather Page

The Weather Underground
State Farm Insurance's Tropical Weather Web site. Includes maps, satellite imagery, weather reports, forecasts, news, FAQs, software, outlooks, and discussions.

Weekly Weather and Crop report
A weekly report (every Wednesday) on weather as it relates to the nation's agriculture.

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Section 3. Weather-Related Organizations and Agencies

American Meteorological Society

The American Red Cross
A humanitarian organization led by volunteers and guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

Climate Prediction Center
The mission of the Climate Prediction Center is "to maintain a continuous watch on short-term climate fluctuations and to diagnose and predict them. These efforts are designed to assist agencies both inside and outside the federal government in coping with such climate related problems as food supply, energy allocation, and water resources." This site includes forecasts, climate monitoring, data and indices, and El Nino information.

Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA), Colorado State University

Environmental & Societal Impacts Group (ESIG)
ESIG is a multidisciplinary research group focusing on the impacts of society on the environment and of the environment on society.

Federal Emergency Management Agency
"Advising on building codes and flood plain management...teaching people how to get through a disaster...helping equip local and state emergency preparedness... coordinating the federal response to a disaster...making disaster assistance available to states, communities, businesses and individuals...training emergency managers...supporting the nation's fire service...administering the national flood and crime insurance programs...the range of FEMA's activities is broad indeed."

Institute of Global Environment & Society

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

National Severe Storms Laboratory
The mission of the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) is to enhance the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's capabilities to provide accurate and timely forecasts and warnings of hazardous weather events (e.g., blizzards, ice storms, flash floods, tornadoes, lightning, etc.)

National Weather Service

Royal Meteorological Society

United States Department of Agriculture

United States Geological Survey

U.S. Weather Research Program
The USWRP is a partnership among NOAA, NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Navy, and the academic and commercial communities. The program's initial focus is on landfalling hurricanes; heavy precipitation and flooding, focusing on the optimal use of data and improved numerical precipitation guidance; and societal and economic impacts.

World Meteorological Organization

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Section 4. Resources for the Media

Public Information Units/Press Releases:
American Red Cross - Press Releases
Federal Emergency Management Agency Media Web site
Federal Emergency Management Agency News Room
NOAA/NWS Public Affairs Home Page
Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services Public Outreach
UCAR Press Pages
WMO Statements, Announcements and Press Releases
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