CIWRO

08/05/2025

WoFS-Smoke predicts how fires might spread over the next few hours. This fire-focused version tracks changing winds, humidity and temperature to give emergency managers advanced notice of dangerous fire behavior.

Read more about our severe weather innovation and other research highlights: bit.ly/4eGiVef

08/04/2025

"Consider the significance of NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma. The lab, working with The University of Oklahoma and (CIWRO), developed the Flooded Locations and Simulated Hydrographs Project (FLASH), which improves the accuracy, timing and specificity of flash-flood warnings. FLASH doubled accuracy for the National Weather Service, improved spatial resolution by 500 percent, provided up to six hours of forecast lead time and improved forecasters’ ability to identify rare, severe flash floods."

A final budget aligned with the president’s proposal would devastate NOAA research, including precipitation research, rendering the agency unable to update and innovate weather and climate models.…

07/31/2025

All three in-depth videos on the radar revolution are now online! Many thanks to the scientists from The University of Oklahoma ARRC, OU College of Atmospheric & Geographic Sciences and our federal partners who shared insights on how far we've come and where we're going. Also, watch for a special guest appearance by our UAS team. Thank you, Elyse Smith and Houston. Visit Norman any time!

Part 1: https://abc13.com/post/new-radar-horus-is-being-developed-national-weather-center-norman-oklahoma/17337673/

Part 2: https://abc13.com/post/13-how-history-shaped-generation-weather-radar-being-developed-tornado-alley-horus/17350138/

Part 3: https://abc13.com/post/13-timeline-future-phased-array-radar-technology/17362859/

The 13 Alert Radar network is today's most powerful radar technology. But this summer, the next generation of weather radars is being developed and field-tested in Tornado Alley.

07/30/2025

We are proud to be a part of the National Weather Center, where synergy with our partners all in one location accelerates innovation in severe weather research and operations.

What is the National Weather Center?

It’s more than just a building. It’s a one-of-a-kind collaboration where academic excellence meets public service.

Located on The University of Oklahoma Norman campus, the NWC unites federal agencies like National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and research partners like CIWRO with faculty, students, and scientists from the University of Oklahoma, all working toward one goal: protecting lives.

The National Weather Center is home to life-saving innovations in forecasting, advanced weather modeling, and emergency communication. It is a launchpad for the next generation of scientists and meteorologists, offering immersive student experiences, public tours, and career pathways in one of the most critical fields of our time.

📍 And it all happens here in Oklahoma.

07/29/2025

Unlike traditional radar like NEXRAD, which produces data every 5 minutes, phased array radar (PAR) can deliver updates every minute during rapidly evolving storms.

In collaboration with NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, our researchers are leading the way in testing and evaluating PAR advanced radar capabilities to understand how this technology can be transferred to U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) operations to improve forecasts and help protect lives and property.

Read more about our severe weather innovation and other research highlights: bit.ly/4eGiVef

07/29/2025

Great look at current radar vs radar advancements being developed by our friends at The University of Oklahoma's Advanced Radar Research Center. OU weather research, including what we do at CIWRO, is constantly being developed, transitioned and put into operations at U.S. National Weather Service (NWS). Go OU Research.

07/28/2025

Scientists from CIWRO and NOAA NWS Storm Prediction Center hold weekly science discussions to further their collaborative research. A recent presentation covered new results from a long-term CIWRO-SPC collaboration to improve forecasts of derechos.

Derechos are widespread, unusually severe straight-line windstorms caused by long-lived lines of thunderstorms, and they are often difficult to forecast. The best-known older research on squall line environments suggested that wind shear — the change in wind speed and direction with height — in layers close to the ground controlled the intensity of such storms. But a new 22-year dataset shows that only much deeper layers of wind shear discriminate well between derechos and weaker linear storms. This may change how forecasters evaluate environments for potential derechos.

Read more about our collaboration with SPC and other severe weather research highlights: bit.ly/4eGiVef

Photo taken by Doug Berry of the shelf cloud on the leading edge of the "People Chaser" derecho on May 27, 2001, near Fort Supply, Oklahoma.

07/25/2025

As wind energy expands across the nation, spinning turbines
can interfere with weather radar signals, creating contamination
called wind turbine clutter. This makes it harder for U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters to detect storms accurately and for
automated systems to estimate rain or spot tornadoes.

CIWRO's advanced signal-processing techniques filter out wind turbine clutter while preserving weather signals. Unlike basic methods that discard bad data, the approach cleans the signal without losing important weather information. CIWRO's work helps wind farms and radar coexist so the NEXRAD radar network can continue to be a trusted source for timely, reliable weather warnings.

07/24/2025

By working together on specialized research teams and sharing workspace within the National Weather Center, CIWRO and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) accelerate research outcomes without duplicating resources. The intentional use of shared facilities, instrumentation and expertise ensure the most efficient use of federal funding.

This special partnership between The University of Oklahoma and the U.S. government has thrived since 1978. It fuses academic and federal strengths to enhance NOAA’s competitiveness and rapidly transitions research into operational tools that save lives and reduce economic losses when severe weather strikes.

07/23/2025

Ever wonder how forecasters can make life-saving decisions at a moment's notice? It's careful training, experience and having cutting-edge technology at their fingertips. CIWRO is continuously inventing new severe weather prediction and detection technology, and adding features to existing tools that U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters say they need most.

Since 2021, 55 of our innovative products have been transitioned into NWS operations, and forecasters across the country use them every day. Here are some highlights of the forecasting tools we're designing, are in transition to operations, or are being used right now to preserve life and property.

Read more about our severe weather innovation and other research highlights: bit.ly/4eGiVef

07/22/2025

Tornadoes, flash floods and wildfires happen every year – and the greatest impact is to people. Understanding how people receive warnings and respond to these weather dangers helps ensure the success of new meteorological tools, technologies and communication strategies developed at CIWRO. The Social Science Research Team conducts research that helps to reduce the impact of dangerous weather on society.

Read more about our severe weather innovation and other research highlights: bit.ly/4eGiVef

07/21/2025

Artificial intelligence and machine learning have enhanced weather prediction modeling at an incredibly rapid rate. Rather than relying on physics alone to predict severe weather conditions, AI learns from historical data to give forecasters a glimpse into what storms may form. AI data is a valuable tool that human forecasters use along with traditional weather models.

Read more about our severe weather innovation and other research highlights: bit.ly/4eGiVef