How prepared is Southeast Michigan today for an F4 or F5 tornado?
Increased scientific understanding of the nature of tornadoes, coupled with technological advances have allowed the National Weather Service to dramatically improve tornado warning capabilities over the last 25 years. For example, the warning did not go out on the West Bloomfield tornado until it touched down. Today, the Weather Service aims to issue warnings before a tornado hits. National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac Meteorologist-in-Charge, Dick Wagenmaker points out, “Today we know quite a bit more about how tornadoes form than we did 25 years ago. For example, we now know of the critical importance that boundaries play in producing the severe thunderstorms that produce tornadoes. Here at the Detroit/Pontiac office we pay close attention to where these boundaries will develop during the course of the day. This in turn allows us to get a handle on the potential for tornadic development, the location of the development, and the intensity of the storms.” (Typical boundaries of inte
