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Weather App that alerts you when a Tornado is tracking towards you -does it exist?

Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:12 am
Posted by NATidefan
Two hours North of Birmingham
Member since Dec 2008
36787 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:12 am
Not one that alerts you when severe weather is "in your area".

But one that actually takes the storm cell track "cone" and compares it to your GPS location.

Would be handy to me. An alert you're in the path and estimated time of cell arrival.
This post was edited on 1/12/23 at 10:14 am
Posted by LSUGrrrl
Frisco, TX
Member since Jul 2007
46345 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:18 am to
I use AccuWeather weather alerts.
Posted by msutiger
Houston
Member since Jul 2008
71995 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:23 am to
(no message)
This post was edited on 4/15/23 at 8:14 am
Posted by NATidefan
Two hours North of Birmingham
Member since Dec 2008
36787 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:30 am to
No more liability than the cone itself displayed in weather apps.

If it shifts, it would alert you when it shifted and you are in the path. Just like if it shifted while you were looking at the radar.


Besides, I'm not sure anyone can be held liable for weather. Thst would be like holding the national weather service liable for the cone being wrong.
This post was edited on 1/12/23 at 10:32 am
Posted by kywildcatfanone
Wildcat Country!
Member since Oct 2012
139287 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:31 am to
Every weather app should do this. Those updates are pretty accurate.
Posted by NATidefan
Two hours North of Birmingham
Member since Dec 2008
36787 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:35 am to
Agree, I don't want to have to be watching radar constantly on days like today. Would be nice to get an alert when I need to actually look at it.
Posted by trussthetruzz
Member since Sep 2020
9340 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:36 am to
Sounds like an app I could create. Would you baws use this?
Posted by NATidefan
Two hours North of Birmingham
Member since Dec 2008
36787 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:38 am to
Obviously I would if it was a quality app.


Would want the option to choose what type of storm tracks I was alerted for. I.E. Thunderstorm, tornado, etc.
This post was edited on 1/12/23 at 10:40 am
Posted by Roll Tide Ravens
Birmingham, AL
Member since Nov 2015
51685 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:40 am to
Turn on the WEA alerts built into your phone. They use GPS location.

I recommend using the app of one of your local stations, then tend to work decently. There is another one called Storm Shield that works okay.

There used to be a really good one called Weather Radio by WDT. It was made by the same people who made RadarScope. However, it doesn’t exist anymore.
This post was edited on 1/12/23 at 10:44 am
Posted by NATidefan
Two hours North of Birmingham
Member since Dec 2008
36787 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:43 am to
quote:


Turn on the WEA alerts built into your phone. They use GPS location.


Yeah, but they are really broad. If there is a storm cell that is gonna track 80 miles south of me, I'll get an alert.
Posted by tss22h8
30.4 N 90.9 W
Member since Jan 2007
18793 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:44 am to
Tornadoes are one of the most (if not the most) unpredictable aspects of weather. By the time a tornado is detected and the app gets that information out, the tornado is probably on top of you.
Posted by frequent flyer
USA
Member since Jul 2021
3411 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:45 am to
quote:

Weather App that alerts you when a Tornado is tracking towards you -does it exist?



In my area....the cones are extremely wide and there are a lot of false alarms because the low level radar coverage is dogshit. They warn everything with mid level rotation without being able to see lower elevations. So no app can really give me solid, reliable warnings that are unlikely to be false alarms, because the doppler radars the NWS uses aren't serving my area well.

Storm Shield is my go to. They are excellent and they warn in the cone within a reasonable degree of accuracy, but the limitations match the limits of the radar coverage.

One thing they have that's weird is that sometimes I get duplicate alerts right after each other. Not sure if that's a bug or some kind of setting that I need to fix. But if I'm tornado warned, I get a notification....then I'm opening their radar and looking for hook echoes.
This post was edited on 1/12/23 at 10:49 am
Posted by jcaz
Laffy
Member since Aug 2014
19276 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:47 am to
Your best bet is learn how to read radar
Posted by Pedro
Geaux Hawks
Member since Jul 2008
39111 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 10:53 am to
The issue with that would be the liability the app would be lending itself to possibly. (maybe not legal liability but in terms of the liablity of being a trusted source).

For example: I live in wichita, ks. The town of Andover borders us to the east. There was a tornado in Andover in april this last year. By the time the warning was out it had already hit a neighborhood hard. My wife and I were at a move on that side of town at that time (we were about 3/4 miles west of the storm). By the time peoples phones were going off and they started scrambling I had been watching it on RadarScope for 2/3 minutes (it was a shite movie). A person/computer can only react to things so fast. Not to mention the ability of tornados to change direction on a dime with little to no warning.
Posted by NATidefan
Two hours North of Birmingham
Member since Dec 2008
36787 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 11:06 am to
quote:

Your best bet is learn how to read radar



I know how to read radar, I don't want to have to read radar all day on bad weather days.
Posted by NATidefan
Two hours North of Birmingham
Member since Dec 2008
36787 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 11:11 am to
quote:

Not to mention the ability of tornados to change direction on a dime with little to no warning.


They really don't change directions wildly. They may change a little, but they almost always stay in their cone prediction.

They aren't going to be heading northwest and suddenly turn and go 20 miles south.


Here is the 2011 tornado tracks across alabama.




quote:

Tornadoes are spawn out of thunderstorms, and they typically move in the direction of the thunderstorm they are within. They can make turns too, but sharp turns are not as common. Most tornadoes will travel along the same general path and any changes are usually slight.
This post was edited on 1/12/23 at 11:29 am
Posted by jcaz
Laffy
Member since Aug 2014
19276 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 12:39 pm to
quote:

I know how to read radar, I don't want to have to read radar all day on bad weather days.

Then turn on weather notifications on your phone. If NWS issues a warning it will tell you.
Posted by NATidefan
Two hours North of Birmingham
Member since Dec 2008
36787 posts
Posted on 1/12/23 at 12:47 pm to
quote:

Then turn on weather notifications on your phone. If NWS issues a warning it will tell you.


I have that turned on.

As I've already stated, those alerts are really broad. If there is bad weather pretty much between Birmingham and Nashville I'll get an alert. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

I don't need to be concerned about a tornado passing through Cullman Al and is going track 30 miles south of me when I'm in Huntsville, Al.

This post was edited on 1/12/23 at 12:48 pm
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