The OU School of Meteorology is better equipped to deal with tornado season after the acquisition of a new radar system.

The school recently received a mobile radar system that combines both rapid-scanning and 3-D radars. The new radar could improve understanding of rapidly developing weather as well help as meteorologists create faster warnings, according to a press release.

The truck-mounted Doppler radar is the first OU Atmospheric Radar Research Center radar that can scan storm conditions in less than 30 seconds, meteorology professor Howard Bluestein said.

The system scans on 11 frequencies and will provide a more detailed view inside storms because the radar transmits radio waves that distinguish rain from hail and sleet, Bluestein said.

Bluestein said other mobile radars he has used have taken up to two minutes to scan an entire storm, but tornadoes can develop in 10 seconds.

“Tornadoes develop very quickly,” he said. “In one or two minutes a lot can happen that you miss.”

Bluestein said he received the radar after OU and the National Science Foundation authorized the purchase with a combined donation of about $1.25 million.

Using the radar will provide his graduate student assistants a unique opportunity for hands-on experience, he said.

“This is an important education process because my graduate students run these radars that are state-of-the-art, and then they go out with me and collect the data, and they process [and analyze] the data,” Bluestein said. “They get their hands dirty on all aspects.”

The OU School of Meteorology has technology that reads forecasts and weather patterns more clearly than the equipment he has used in the field, said Colt Forney, meteorology junior. Working out in the field is generally reserved for seniors and graduate student research assistants, he said.

Even though he and other students are still going over the basics in classes, many do forecasting or storm-chasing outside of class, Forney said.

“My GPA tends to drop a little bit during the spring because I tend to skip a few classes to go out and chase,” he said. “Tornadoes can form extremely fast ... and a lot of the times you won’t have much warning. I think a lot of people don’t realize how fast and destructive these storms can be.”

The average number of tornadoes in Oklahoma increases from 4 in March to 10.5 in April, according to a weather safety guide released by the OUPD on Tuesday.

It is important for all residents to be aware of necessary safety precautions and potentially dangerous weather conditions during tornado season, OU Housing and Food spokesman Aaron Lindley said in an email.

Residence Hall storm precautions
Once a warning is issued by the National Weather Service:
»Students in Walker, Couch and Adams Centers floors 2 through 6 can stay in their floor hallway with all doors shut or in their room’s restroom. Residents on floors 2 through 6 of Couch or Walker Centers may stay in their elevator lobbies.
»All other floors in Couch, Adams or Walker Centers may proceed to the basement or floors 2 through 6 to designated safe zones. Cate Center residents should proceed to the interior two houses of each quad to the hallways of floors 2 and 3.
— Source: Aaron Lindley, OU Housing and Food spokesman

Building-specific refuge areas
» Bizzell Memorial Library: Lower level 1 and 2 elevator lobbies, public corridors, public restrooms and library book storage
» Physical Sciences Center: Interior corridors and lobbies away from glass entrance areas, all classrooms, laboratories, offices and restrooms (floors 1 to 4); central classrooms, seminar spaces and supply rooms (floors 5 to 11)
» Lloyd Noble Center: Upper concourse level toilet rooms and concessions areas, floor-level tunnel and mid-concourse exit vomitory, away from arena floor and practice and administration wings
— Source: OUPD Tornado Safety Information