Shouldn’t this be a tornado watch and not a tornado warning?
Jan 20, 2010
in
Tornado Pictures Video
In the video below, they said that a thunderstorm was CAPABLE of producing a tornado. Wouldn’t a tornado watch be iissued instead of a warning since a watch indicates possible storm formation and a warning indicates a storm is already present or has been picked up by Doppler Radar?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNIM4XSRo1M
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3 comments
rbniesennn on January 20, 2010 at 2:00 pm
A tornado watch is put out way in advance if the National Weather Service in Oklahoma believes that there are enough ingredients for tornadoes to form that day. A tornado warning is put out within 10 to 20 min depending on how quickly the storm moves and forms. Usually the see if there is a hook echo on radar or if someone reports a funnel touching the ground or if they see rotation on radar. Usually the tornado watch tells people to keep an eye on the sky and be prepared to seek shelter. The tornado warning tells people to seek shelter or you will be in trouble. The video you linked has "A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado" which means the storm is already going and a tornado is ready to come down or is already on the ground.
Todd on January 20, 2010 at 2:00 pm
No, a warning is justified. Rotation was likely detected with this storm. As a result, the warning was issued. Watches are issued when conditions are FAVORABLE for the formation of severe weather. In this case, there were doppler indications that this storm was capable of producing a tornado. If you wait until the tornado is on the ground or for visual confirmation to issue your warning, you are sorely behind the eight ball.
J-Dawn on January 20, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Even if nothing has touched down, they can still count it as a warning if there’s rotation.