Saving Lives & Property…
NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory serves the nation by working to improve the lead time and accuracy of severe weather warnings and forecasts in order to save lives and reduce property damage. NSSL scientists are committed to their mission to understand the causes of severe weather and explore new ways to use weather information to assist National Weather Service forecasters and federal, university and private sector partners.
At NSSL, our basic and applied research focuses on understanding severe weather processes, developing weather observation technology, and improving forecast tools, with emphasis on:
NSSL News
The Tornado That Didn’t Surprise: A Story of Preparedness and Partnership
The Warn-on-Forecast System, a revolutionary new forecasting tool being developed by NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory, seeks to equip forecasters with critical information between watches and warnings to allow them to offer longer lead times…
Experimental Phased Array Radar captures wildfire data
For more than 60 years, the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) has been at the forefront of developing weather radar. Currently NSSL is working on Phased Array Radar (PAR) as the next generation of…
NSSL using tornado tools to study post-wildfire flash floods and debris flows
You likely know the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) for its tornado research or radar developments, and its support of the National Weather Service (NWS) mission. However, you may not know the lab has…
Where Have All the EF5 Tornadoes Gone?
The way violent tornadoes in the United States are rated has changed over time, resulting in no EF5-rated tornadoes since 2013, according to researchers from the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory in a paper published…
Warn-On-Forecast Hits Milestone: Runs Three Domains at Once
For the first time, the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory’s Warn-on-Forecast System (WoFS) has successfully run short-term forecasts for three geographic areas at once—predicting severe weather, winter weather, and fire weather. The historic milestone demonstrates…
A CLEAR VISION: Phased Array Radar innovating for the future
For more than 30 years, the nation’s weather forecasting has relied heavily on the NEXRAD radar network. This network has been the global gold standard in weather radar, however the system is reaching the end of its designed lifespan. Phased array radar stands as a potential paradigm-shift solution for the future of weather radar in the United States.
NSSL Video
Warn-on-Forecast
The Warn-on-Forecast System, a revolutionary new forecasting tool being developed by NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory, seeks to equip forecasters with critical information between watches and warnings to allow them to offer longer lead times in the face of severe weather and tornadoes. Learn more →
Phased Array: The Weather Radar of the Future
NEXRAD, the main radar system for weather forecasting, is nearing the end of its lifespan, prompting the need for a replacement. The Radar Next program aims to enhance radar technology with rapid updates and flexible scanning. Phased array technology enables quicker atmospheric scans, improving storm monitoring and warning capabilities. Learn more →
