How do meteroligist predict a tornado?
The warnings are prepared by the National Weather Service (NWS). Some private companies issue warnings as well but most TV stations and local governments rely on NWS warnings. A tornado warning is issued when forecasters have reason to believe that a tornado is occuring or is imminant. This most often is based on radar information but can be any combination of spotter reports (or ground truth), radar, satellite, surface observations, or reports of damage. The actual warning message is prepared using a computer which has a graphical text generator that takes the information directly off a computer screen where graphical radar, satellite, surface wind information can be overlayed on displays. The computer actually helps the forecaster by determining speed, direction of movement and many other parameters of the storm. A practiced forecaster who has a computer work station up and running with all the information being continously updated will generate the warning in 5 to 10 seconds after t
