NORMAN -- Imagine the day when fierce weather phenomena are predicated so precisely and accurately that families are given more protection from severe flooding like those that took numerous lives and displaced more than 36,000 Iowans earlier this month. The day when heartbreaking stories, like those in early 2008 where more than 55 people were killed by tornadoes in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas, are nonexistent.
University of Oklahoma meteorologists and engineers are working to develop systems for better predictions and warnings of such storms through a new collaboration between the University and Enterprise Electronics Corporation.
Three start-up projects are the first in a series designed to advance radar technology and the detection and prediction of severe weather under a multi-year, $1.5 million collaboration between OU and Weather Services International, EEC'S parent company. As part of this collaboration, OU is purchasing a new C-band, high-resolution, dual-polarized radar from EEC to serve as a unique engineering test bed and research tool for exploring the dynamics of tornadoes and heavy rain, among other high-impact phenomena. WSI/EEC will sponsor research and development projects with the OU Advanced Radar Research Center and the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms on effective use of advanced radar technologies, including radar-processing solutions to mathematical problems, weather modeling and severe storm prediction.
Robert Palmer, ARRC director and meteorology professor, and Guifu Zhang, associate professor of meteorology, will lead research on advanced mathematical solutions for use with the EEC radar.
Ming Xue, meteorology professor and CAPS director, and Keith Brewster, CAPS senior research scientist and adjunct associate professor, will lead efforts to analyze atmospheric conditions and create numerical weather prediction models.
Tian-You Yu, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and ARRC associate director, will lead a project that will produce an advanced tornado detection system suitable for the NEXRAD National Weather Service radar network as well as other uses. The advanced detection system is designed to provide forecasters the opportunity to issue earlier tornado warnings with a higher level of reliability than current systems.
About EEC
Enterprise Electronics Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of WSI, is the world's largest manufacturer of weather radars and is recognized as a world leader in the meteorological radar field. Since its inception in 1971, the company has designed, manufactured and installed more than 900 radar systems worldwide. EEC developed the world's first commercial Doppler weather radar system in 1981. The corporation's range of radar systems is the product of years of experience, superior engineering and a top-ranked quality control process. EEC's 53,000-square-foot facility is located in Enterprise, Ala.
About WSI Corp.
WSI Corp. is a leading provider of weather-driven business solutions for professionals in the media, aviation and energy markets. For more than 30 years, WSI has focused on predicting, detecting and visualizing disruptive weather – from the severe weather that makes headlines a few weeks each year to the more subtle weather changes that affect the business operations and profits of its clients each day. WSI is headquartered in Andover, Mass., and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Landmark Communications.