Hurricane Tools we Use at News 5

This towercamera picture told the story of Katrina in Mobile. The News 5 SkyWatch cameras are our eyes to the outside in stormy weather. The First Alert Storm Team uses these tools along with unique weather data and display systems to give you more.

First Alert Live Doppler Radar is under our control to focus on danger areas from the city to the town to the neighborhood. With every movement of the sweep you see new information, especially for fast moving storms. It allows us to measure the height of thunderstorms to know which one might be worst. News 5 is the only TV station in the Mobile-Pensacola area with a Live Doppler radar.

First Alert Street Level Doppler also allows us to pinpoint streets and communities. It shows the arrival time of squall lines and rainbands. We can estimate how much rain has fallen. It also gives reports from Gulf buoys along with estimates of wave heights far offshore. This gives clues as to what is on the way. First Alert Street Level Doppler not only shows realtime lightning, but it shows spinning markers indicating dangerous windshear, for advance notice on tornadoes. It can estimate the strength of wind in hurricanes and in other storms.

First Alert VIPIR is a powerful display and forecasting tool that shows rain, lightning, satellite, as well as tracks of storms, and detailed street and community mapping. From anywhere in the country we can access realtime radar data on storms that may later affect us. Along with actual wind reports along the coast VIPIR’s strength is a forecast model that projects the track and size of an entire hurricane or tropical storm along with the wind around it. We can get an idea of how strong winds might be and how much rain may fall before a storm strikes. VIPIR also delivers flight data from the Hurricane Hunters. This information is critical when a storm is over open water.

Behind the scenes there are more tools we use to diagnose, follow, and predict the path and strength of storms so we can help you better prepare. Alan Sealls, News 5