Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 7 of 7 items for
- Author or Editor: Daniel Sutter x
- Refine by Access: All Content x
Abstract
The authors examine the cost of time spent under tornado warnings issued annually by the National Weather Service (NWS). County-based tornado warnings imposed substantial costs on the nation: an average of 234 million person-hours spent under warnings annually between 1996 and 2004, with a value of $2.7 billion (U.S. dollars) per year. Counties are large relative to tornado damage areas; therefore, county-based warnings overwarned for tornadoes, warning many persons a safe distance from the storm and not in immediate danger. In October 2007 the NWS introduced storm-based warnings (SBW) for tornadoes, which are expected to reduce the area warned by 70%–75%. SBW consequently will reduce the time spent under warnings by over 160 million person-hours per year, with a value of $1.9 billion. The time spent under warnings does not measure the full cost to society because many people do not respond to the warnings. Adjusting for warning response, this study estimates that SBW might save 66 million person-hours actually spent sheltering a year with a value of $750 million. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the value of time spent sheltering saved by SBW exceeds $100 million per year with a probability of 0.95.
Abstract
The authors examine the cost of time spent under tornado warnings issued annually by the National Weather Service (NWS). County-based tornado warnings imposed substantial costs on the nation: an average of 234 million person-hours spent under warnings annually between 1996 and 2004, with a value of $2.7 billion (U.S. dollars) per year. Counties are large relative to tornado damage areas; therefore, county-based warnings overwarned for tornadoes, warning many persons a safe distance from the storm and not in immediate danger. In October 2007 the NWS introduced storm-based warnings (SBW) for tornadoes, which are expected to reduce the area warned by 70%–75%. SBW consequently will reduce the time spent under warnings by over 160 million person-hours per year, with a value of $1.9 billion. The time spent under warnings does not measure the full cost to society because many people do not respond to the warnings. Adjusting for warning response, this study estimates that SBW might save 66 million person-hours actually spent sheltering a year with a value of $750 million. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the value of time spent sheltering saved by SBW exceeds $100 million per year with a probability of 0.95.
Abstract
Conventional wisdom holds that improved tornado warnings will reduce tornado casualties, because longer lead times on warnings provide extra opportunities to alert residents who can then take precautions. The relationship between warnings and casualties is examined using a dataset of tornadoes in the contiguous United States between 1986 and 2002. Two questions are examined: Does a warning issued on a tornado reduce the resulting number of fatalities and injuries? Do longer lead times reduce casualties? It is found that warnings have had a significant and consistent effect on tornado injuries, with a reduction of over 40% at some lead time intervals. The results for fatalities are mixed. An increase in lead time up to about 15 min reduces fatalities, while lead times longer than 15 min increase fatalities compared with no warning. The fatality results beyond 15 min, however, depend on five killer tornadoes and consequently are not robust.
Abstract
Conventional wisdom holds that improved tornado warnings will reduce tornado casualties, because longer lead times on warnings provide extra opportunities to alert residents who can then take precautions. The relationship between warnings and casualties is examined using a dataset of tornadoes in the contiguous United States between 1986 and 2002. Two questions are examined: Does a warning issued on a tornado reduce the resulting number of fatalities and injuries? Do longer lead times reduce casualties? It is found that warnings have had a significant and consistent effect on tornado injuries, with a reduction of over 40% at some lead time intervals. The results for fatalities are mixed. An increase in lead time up to about 15 min reduces fatalities, while lead times longer than 15 min increase fatalities compared with no warning. The fatality results beyond 15 min, however, depend on five killer tornadoes and consequently are not robust.
Abstract
This paper extends prior research on the societal value of tornado warnings to the impact of false alarms. Intuition and theory suggest that false alarms will reduce the response to warnings, yet little evidence of a “false alarm effect” has been unearthed. This paper exploits differences in the false-alarm ratio across the United States to test for a false-alarm effect in a regression model of tornado casualties from 1986 to 2004. A statistically significant and large false-alarm effect is found: tornadoes that occur in an area with a higher false-alarm ratio kill and injure more people, everything else being constant. The effect is consistent across false-alarm ratios defined over different geographies and time intervals. A one-standard-deviation increase in the false-alarm ratio increases expected fatalities by between 12% and 29% and increases expected injuries by between 14% and 32%. The reduction in the national tornado false-alarm ratio over the period reduced fatalities by 4%–11% and injuries by 4%–13%. The casualty effects of false alarms and warning lead times are approximately equal in magnitude, suggesting that the National Weather Service could not reduce casualties by trading off a higher probability of detection for a higher false-alarm ratio, or vice versa.
Abstract
This paper extends prior research on the societal value of tornado warnings to the impact of false alarms. Intuition and theory suggest that false alarms will reduce the response to warnings, yet little evidence of a “false alarm effect” has been unearthed. This paper exploits differences in the false-alarm ratio across the United States to test for a false-alarm effect in a regression model of tornado casualties from 1986 to 2004. A statistically significant and large false-alarm effect is found: tornadoes that occur in an area with a higher false-alarm ratio kill and injure more people, everything else being constant. The effect is consistent across false-alarm ratios defined over different geographies and time intervals. A one-standard-deviation increase in the false-alarm ratio increases expected fatalities by between 12% and 29% and increases expected injuries by between 14% and 32%. The reduction in the national tornado false-alarm ratio over the period reduced fatalities by 4%–11% and injuries by 4%–13%. The casualty effects of false alarms and warning lead times are approximately equal in magnitude, suggesting that the National Weather Service could not reduce casualties by trading off a higher probability of detection for a higher false-alarm ratio, or vice versa.
Abstract
The impact of the installation of Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) radars in the 1990s on the quality of tornado warnings and occurrence of tornado casualties is examined. This analysis employs a dataset of tornadoes in the contiguous United States between 1986 and 1999. The date of WSR-88D radar installation in each National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office is used to divide the sample. Tornado warnings improved after the installation of Doppler radar; the percentage of tornadoes warned for increased from 35% before WSR-88D installation to 60% after installation while the mean lead time on warnings increased from 5.3 to 9.5 min and the false alarm ratio fell slightly. A regression analysis of tornado casualties, which controls for the characteristics of a tornado and its path, reveals that expected fatalities and expected injuries were 45% and 40% lower for tornadoes occurring after WSR-88D radar was installed in the NWS Weather Forecast Office. This analysis also finds that expected casualties are significantly lower for tornadoes occurring during the day or evening than late at night throughout the sample, which provides indirect evidence of the life-saving effects of tornado warnings.
Abstract
The impact of the installation of Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) radars in the 1990s on the quality of tornado warnings and occurrence of tornado casualties is examined. This analysis employs a dataset of tornadoes in the contiguous United States between 1986 and 1999. The date of WSR-88D radar installation in each National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office is used to divide the sample. Tornado warnings improved after the installation of Doppler radar; the percentage of tornadoes warned for increased from 35% before WSR-88D installation to 60% after installation while the mean lead time on warnings increased from 5.3 to 9.5 min and the false alarm ratio fell slightly. A regression analysis of tornado casualties, which controls for the characteristics of a tornado and its path, reveals that expected fatalities and expected injuries were 45% and 40% lower for tornadoes occurring after WSR-88D radar was installed in the NWS Weather Forecast Office. This analysis also finds that expected casualties are significantly lower for tornadoes occurring during the day or evening than late at night throughout the sample, which provides indirect evidence of the life-saving effects of tornado warnings.
Abstract
Over the past several decades, engineers have made significant progress in the design and construction of structures able to withstand tornadic winds and debris. The aftermath of the 3 May 1999 F5 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, highlighted the modest market penetration of tornado shelters in metropolitan areas. The authors use historical data from Oklahoma to estimate the potential casualties that tornado shelters could prevent and calculate that the cost per fatality avoided in single-family homes is $29 million while the cost per fatality avoided for mobile homes is $2.6 million. The estimates are sensitive to the proportion of strong (F3 or stronger) tornadoes and the choice of an interest rate for present-value calculations. If the F-scale distribution of Oklahoma tornadoes resembled a reported national frequency distribution and fatalities per category storm are held constant, the permanent home cost per fatality avoided triples to $88 million.
Abstract
Over the past several decades, engineers have made significant progress in the design and construction of structures able to withstand tornadic winds and debris. The aftermath of the 3 May 1999 F5 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, highlighted the modest market penetration of tornado shelters in metropolitan areas. The authors use historical data from Oklahoma to estimate the potential casualties that tornado shelters could prevent and calculate that the cost per fatality avoided in single-family homes is $29 million while the cost per fatality avoided for mobile homes is $2.6 million. The estimates are sensitive to the proportion of strong (F3 or stronger) tornadoes and the choice of an interest rate for present-value calculations. If the F-scale distribution of Oklahoma tornadoes resembled a reported national frequency distribution and fatalities per category storm are held constant, the permanent home cost per fatality avoided triples to $88 million.
Abstract
Because of the sensitivity of agricultural production to both short-term weather and long-range climatic patterns, the availability of reliable and relevant meteorological data and climate products can potentially affect the entire production process. This study focuses on the use of information from a dense meteorological network—the Oklahoma Mesonet—and its AgWeather program in support of agricultural production decisions. Production decisions that are particularly dependent on information from the Mesonet are identified. Producers in Oklahoma are influenced by Mesonet data at several levels, including agricultural policy, production choices, and risk management. Additionally, producers use the Mesonet to attain their financial goals, through such measures as cost saving and maximization of quality and quantity, in addition to others. Potential savings from Mesonet data for the state’s agricultural sector are also estimated.
Abstract
Because of the sensitivity of agricultural production to both short-term weather and long-range climatic patterns, the availability of reliable and relevant meteorological data and climate products can potentially affect the entire production process. This study focuses on the use of information from a dense meteorological network—the Oklahoma Mesonet—and its AgWeather program in support of agricultural production decisions. Production decisions that are particularly dependent on information from the Mesonet are identified. Producers in Oklahoma are influenced by Mesonet data at several levels, including agricultural policy, production choices, and risk management. Additionally, producers use the Mesonet to attain their financial goals, through such measures as cost saving and maximization of quality and quantity, in addition to others. Potential savings from Mesonet data for the state’s agricultural sector are also estimated.
