SUMMARY
The Site Assessment of Tornado Threat, Third Edition, SATT 3.0, is the most current version of the software. SATT 3.0 provides the user with a means of quickly and accurately displaying and analyzing tornado data for any portion of the United States, excluding Alaska. The program contains all National Weather Service (NWS) data from 1950 to 2011. By means of this software we have calculated and tabulated the probability of tornadoes for the twenty most tornado prone states (excluding Alaska) on both an annual and a month-by-month basis and also for the twenty most tornado prone cities on both an annual and a month-by-month basis. We also have developed color-coded contour maps of tornado probability for various states including Alabama and Georgia, as well as a color-coded map of tornado probability for the United States. A number of technical papers have been published dealing with our work in this area. For a listing of customers we have a table available.
Two versions of the SATT 3.0 software are available:
· Regional Version -
primary state plus all neighboring states
· National Version -
the 48 contiguous states plus Hawaii
In either version of SATT 3.0 the user could obtain
an analysis of all tornadoes passing within a specified radius of any given
location, within the state(s) included in that particular version. The analysis
provides both tabular and graphical output and includes a tabulation of
tornadoes by year, month, time of day, and intensity. The annual coverage
fraction (ACF), which is the average annual fraction of land area covered by
tornadoes within the reference area, is employed as a measure of tornado
probability. This technique is consistent with the FEMA approved
model for tornado probability. A
plot of tornado tracks, color-coded by intensity, with state boundaries
indicated, is presented along with the most frequent direction from which
tornadoes have approached the region of interest.
The user can restrict the analysis to any combination of times of day, months, years, and intensities. For example, the user can set up the program to satisfy the question: "How many tornadoes of intensity four or five passed within 20 miles of Little Rock, Arkansas, between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m., for the months of June and July, during the years 1980 to 1989?" By means of the user-friendly SATT 3.0 software, the user can quickly obtain both an accurate tabulation and a clear display of the characteristics of all tornadoes which have passed through a specified region.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
To ensure the widest possible utilization of the
software, the hardware requirements have been kept to a minimum, as follows:
· IBM PC or compatible
· Hard disk drive
· Color monitor and
graphics card
· DOS 3.2 or later
· 322K RAM
SATT
3.0 supports both printer and plotter output, and is compatible with Windows
XP.
INPUTS
The user specifies the case by entering the following about the location in question:
· Radius in statute
miles about that point
· Reference area for
ACF
· State(s) of interest
· Time convention
The user then has the option to restrict the program's
analysis to any combination of:
· Specific period of
years
· Specific sequence of
months
· Specific time of day
interval
· Specific range of
intensities
OUTPUTS
Both versions of SATT 3.0 are capable of
providing both tabular and graphical outputs as follows:
· Tabular output
o Listing of the NWS data
within the region of interest
o Annual coverage fraction
(ACF)
o Analysis of direction of
approach of tornadoes in terms of threat sectors
o Summary of the annual number
of tornadoes by:
§ Hour
§ Month
§ Year
§ Intensity
§ Color-coded by intensity
§ Identified by month and year
§ State boundaries displayed
o Threat sector plots (color-coded
by frequency)
o Annual
tornado distribution by hour
o Annual
tornado distribution by month
o Annual
tornado distribution by intensity
o Tornado
distribution by year
· APPLICATIONS
o Weather reviewing/reporting
§ Clear tornado representation
§ Accurate display of pertinent
characteristics
o Risk Analysis
§ Quick evaluation of regional
tornado behavior
§ Flexible investigation of
previous tornadoes
o Public education
§ Simple explanation of NWS
tornado data
§ Raised awareness of tornado
threat
o NWS data check
§ Review of tornado data
§ Correction of discrepancies
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