European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 31, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse The Totalo Tornado Observatory helps scientists who Chase thunderstorms and Toma Doos stalking storms to help the Weatherman by Donald National geographic in dauntless who Chase tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in Colorado love Church parking Lols they re usually on High ground and offer a panoramic View of the surrounding area explains Richard keen eyeing the sky from one of his favorite Vantage Points. Keen and h s partner David m. Sweel make up one of the teams in Boulder. Colo., thai stalked severe storms this summer As part of a major Effort to improve Erma Bombeck the accuracy of Short Rango weather forecasts the iwo have had their share o harrowing experiences once Tho dark funnel of a Tornado touched Down Only Lour blocks from keen in a Small Lown. A crossed in front of us Skalt Lully. Like some weirdly shaped Black cat he recalls. Another Limo a lightening Boll exploded about go Yards from Sweet. You could see the Sparks and Dusl Fly he remembers. Bolh scientists say they Felt exhilaration rather than ear. It s thrilling for meteorologists to experience such weather firs land and besides we were too Busy reporting Back to base of be frightened says keen the primary duly for Chase teams is to make on the spol verifications of Iho severe weather pc diced by their colleagues in Boulder who Monitor and interpret streams of Rojala generated by profs the program for regional observing and Foro calling services. Initiated by Iho National oceanic and atmospheric administration profs employs meteorologists Ong Monifi mathematicians programmers and technicians who gather in Omahon from radars. Symco satellites and a no work of 22 automated stations every Dvo minutes Tho stations produce now readings of wind flow temperature Dew Point ail pressure precipitation and solar radiation. The computers plot Iho reports and show multicoloured images of weather related data Suft As wind pal Lorns and moisture count concent Raigon a 20,000 Square male area around Boulder Iho prots exports Hope to perfect the Arl of loot , so that Iofi Onset and movement of severe storms can be pinpointed with unprecedented accuracy a computer display Dpi cling moisture patterns a he surrounding area glows irom Ono of the screens in a darkened profs work station. A so nil. Blue Green a Tolan in Iho display s Center draws Noaa meteorologist Rich Gesuraga s attention. That spot Leni Esons a Small rainstorm about �0 Miles Sou thoas of Denver he says. Hit were moving toward the City we could Tell people the time the rain was expected to hit even which part of own might gel Gray overcast skies Don l alter Jesuroga s sunny 11 am. Forecast. Instead of the usual 50-Percenl-Chance-Oi ran Type forecast you d get from the Normal forecasting techniques now in use in most of the country i can give you a 90 percent probability of Sunshine by 1 this afro noon he says. Jesuroga has plenty of leeway in turns out. The skies Clear a half hour idler. Such accurate Loie cases use becoming commonplace in the Denver area where the National weather sen ice recently began using a profs work station Lor its summer forecasts. We be become comfortable issuing warnings 45 minutes to an hour in Advance and estimating where severe thunderstorms will hit says weather service forecaster Larry Dunn. For instance last week we predicted thai within 45 minutes thunderstorms would Darken the Clear sunny skies Over the Easley part of Iho City. Almost on Cue. The area got pelted with an Inch and a half of accuracy of the thunderstorm forecasts has been sharpened by advanced radars that show forecasters where streams of air meet in the lower atmosphere. We used to think thai thunderstorms popped up without any says Walher expert Jim Wilson of Boulder s National Center for atmospheric research but our recent studies show there s nothing random about fiem they usually form where two wind flows converge Wilson say the severity of a thunderstorm is determined by Tho amount of moisture in Tho atmosphere and the temperature changes involved. Chances Are you la get a whopper if you be got a lot of moisture around and the temperature drops quickly with Altitude when these winds get together he says. Although the Denver Aiea is already benefiting from profs and the atmospheric research Center s efforts budget constraints probably will prevent the weather service irom making nationwide use of the technology before the 1990s. Editor note e rna comte car is on vacation. She left behind some other favorite columns from Tho Pas t some say our National pastime is baseball not anymore it s gossip in Ever supermarket chock out counter arc Linos of 1 inquiring minds who annl to know Why Shelley Winters and on her a Eddie a Nighti room service Lastlo Al j a t not for literature lovers Ponder How Jao of ame Ica s sweethearts Joan cat lord or planes on her Bosl lond Ehab oth to Lor r or. A her y " try a. Ii Loi the of ply Clorn i Texil Nurte up gossip i1 a i i a know when the snarl us Sukmi Dius. In their affair began when she consoled him at his wife s funeral. We want to know it they had their faces lifted and when they discovered they were trussing we want to know to much Money they take Homo Afler Lases and who is homosexual and choir illegitimate child tools about being maid of Honor at their overdue wedding we want to know what would rive a civilian Arr Cotch for if he intruded into our Loyc a random poll revealed thai 83 pc cent of the inquiring minds who read supermarket do not believe a single Woid of what they read a total of 83 percent of inquiring minds who i and Iho super Piikoi Dre in re in to lie thin Polt a a funnel of mine is your ave race closet Gassi Monger Sho 13 53 years old a High school Dpi Orrum no Nolly believes in Fri j by run in rare hero a Closheim m dells of St Mary i she does not know what kind of car her neighbors own refuses to spread Rumps that Johnny Carson is moving into her Condo and closes her ears to gossip about other people s children. Bui every Friday As she is putting away her groceries she gushes gossip like a new Oil yield guess who had a vase Lomy alter death she asked the other Day. I know you Don t believe his Lulf. But they anally nabbed the Guy who went All the Way with Linda e vans he was a cabdriver who went All the Way to Oakland with her not Only that but there s a Ince parter Starling on the Irue Story of Why Burl Reynolds lost his hair it s All tied up with nuclear in a mrs where fee was making a mov Al " i miss baseball you would sit Oul Suje and the air was fresh and you could eat a hot dog and talk to people cd Ciao orally someone would Chew tobacco and spit near your fool but thai if. Is Barf Cison inquisitive mind got1 Page 16 the stars and stripes saturday. October 31. 1937
