Recent News from 2009

(11/16/2009) NWS Norman Website Changes On November 23, 2009, the NWS Norman website will transfer to a new content management system. More information is available here.

(11/10/2009) Oklahoma Winter Weather Preparedness Day - November 10, 2009. As temperatures continue to make their way toward or fall below the freezing mark, now is a good time for Oklahomans to become winter weather prepared. Toward that effort, Gov. Brad Henry has proclaimed Tuesday, November 10, 2009 as Winter Weather Preparedness Day. The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM), Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the National Weather Service (NWS) have teamed together to share information designed to assist the public in being better prepared for the season.

More information is available at the following websites:

NWS Norman Winter Weather Safety Page
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management - Winter Weather Preparedness Day

(10/24/2009) National Weather Festival - November 7, 2009. You're invited to attend the National Weather Festival on Saturday, November 8th, 2008 from 9AM until 1PM. Learn more about your National Weather Service in Norman by touring the Norman Forecast Office, which is located in the National Weather Center. Other organizations which are also located at the National Weather Center include the Storm Prediction Center, the Warning Decision Training Branch, the National Severe Storms Laboratory, the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, and the University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology. There will be interactive exhibits and hourly weather balloon launches. The festival is free and open to everyone! More information pertaining to the National Weather Festival can be found here.

(9/4/2009) New Weather Newsletter. A new issue of the Southern Plains Cyclone, a quarterly weather newsletter, has been published by WFO Norman. The Adobe PDF version of the Spring-Summer 2009 newsletter is now available on this website.

(8/13/2009) New Storm Data Files. New storm data files for the months of April 2009 and May 2009 are available through the Storm Data page.

(6/17/2009) New Storm Data File. A new storm data file for the month of March 2009 is available through the Storm Data page.

(6/16/2009) Lightning Safety Awareness Week - June 21-27, 2009 Lightning kills or injures hundreds each year. The National Weather Service urges American citizens to learn more about lightning risks, and how to protect themselves, their loved ones and their belongings. See a new 30-second video about a teenager struck by lightning, download a new safety brochure, and explore the wealth of resources on the NWS lightning safety website. More information is available at:

http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov

(6/1/2009) New Storm Data Files. New storm data files for the months of January 2009 and February 2009 are available through the Storm Data page.

(4/12/2009) April 9, 2009 Wildfires On April 9, 2009, wildfires affected parts of Oklahoma and western north Texas   A summary of the event is available here.

(4/8/2009) May 3, 1999 Tenth Anniversary Event Weather experts and those affected by the May 3, 1999 tornado outbreak including emergency managers, first responders, and city officials will speak at the "May 3 Tornado Outbreak 10th Anniversary Event," sponsored by NOAA. Th event will take place on Friday, May 1, 2009 at the National Weather Center in Norman, OK.  More information is available here.

(4/8/2009) Terrible Tuesday The Red River Tornado Outbreak of April 10, 1979 is one of the most significant tornado outbreaks to have ever occurred in western north Texas and southern Oklahoma. To commemorate this event, the NWS Norman forecast office has compiled a large amount of data pertaining to this outbreak.  More information is available here.

(3/27/2009) Late March Winter Storm. A powerful winter storm has dropped heavy snowfall amounts over the Great Plains region including the states of Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. Check back during the next few days for updates regarding this weather system. More information is available here.

(3/23/2009) Air Quality Awareness Week The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Weather Service urge Americans to "Be Air Aware" during Air Quality Awareness Week, April 27-May 1, 2009. More information on air quality is available at:

http://www.weather.gov/airquality/

(3/23/2009) Hail Observation Research Project If you live within 90 miles of Norman, Oklahoma, you are invited to participate in a National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) research project. The project is called the Hail Size Discrimination Experiment.  More information about the project is available at the following link:

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/projects/hasdex/

(3/13/2009) New Quarterly Weather Newsletter. A new issue of the Southern Plains Cyclone, a quarterly weather newsletter, has been published by WFO Norman. The Adobe PDF version of the Winter 2009 newsletter is now available on this website.

(3/3/2009) National Flood Safety Awareness Week - March 16-20, 2009 Flooding is a widespread threat to the United States during all months of the year. National Flood Safety Awareness Week is intended to highlight some of the many ways floods can occur, the hazards associated with floods, and what you can do to save life and property. More information on floods and flood safety is available at:

http://www.weather.gov/floodsafety/

(3/3/2009) CoCoRaHS March Madness 2009 CoCoRaHS is a volunteer network of weather observers of all ages and backgrounds that work together to measure and map precpitation (rain, hail and snow) in their local communities. Each year, during the month of March, the coordinators for each state are challenged to increase the number of CoCoRaHS observers. Sign up today to provide useful precipitation information to your local communities and the National Weather Service in Oklahoma and western north Texas.  More information is available at:

http://www.cocorahs.org/

(2/22/2009) February 22-28, 2009 has been designated as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Oklahoma. The week of February 22-28, 2009 has been proclaimed as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Oklahoma. During this week, NWS Norman will feature severe weather information and safety rules through the issuance of Public Information Statements. More information on severe weather is available at:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/swam/

(2/22/2009) February 22-28, 2009 has been designated as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Texas. The week of February 22-28, 2009 has been proclaimed as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Texas. During this week, National Weather Service offices throughout Texas will feature severe weather information and safety rules through the issuance of Public Information Statements. More information on severe weather is available at:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lub/safety/swaw/

(2/11/2009) February 10, 2009 Tornadoes. During the afternoon and evening hours of February 10, 2009, tornadoes occurred over parts of the central third of Oklahoma and north Texas. Portions of the Oklahoma City metro area were hit, and a killer tornado struck the the town of Lone Grove, OK. More information is available here.

(2/10/2009) New Storm Data Files. New storm data files for the months of October 2008 and November 2008 are available through the Storm Data page.

(2/1/2009) Drought Information Drought conditions are occurring in the NWS Norman forecast area. Information pertaining to the drought can be found in the latest Drought Outlook.  Links to more drought information are available through the Drought web page.

(1/7/2009) National Severe Weather Workshop - March 5-7, 2009 Emergency managers, weather enthusiasts, teachers, students, meteorologists, broadcasters, and vendors in weather data will gather, present, and discuss important interrelated topics over a three-day period in early March.  More information is available at:

http://www.norman.noaa.gov/nsww2009/

(1/1/2009) NWS Norman Spotter Training Schedule for 2009. NWS Norman now has a schedule for storm spotter training available via the SKYWARN page. The schedule comes in the form of a Google Map.

(1/1/2009) Winter Weather Research Project If you live within 90 miles of Norman, Oklahoma, you are invited to participate in a National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) research project. The project is called the Winter Precipitation Identification Near the Ground (W-PING) Project.  More information about the project is available at the following link:

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/projects/winter/