Reference notes

Storm Data, March, 2005 by Thomas R. Karl

Storm Data Disclosure

Storm Data is an official publication of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which documents the occurrence of storms and other significant weather phenomena having sufficient intensity to cause loss of life, injuries, significant property damage, and/or disruption to commerce. In addition, it is a partial record of other significant meteorological events, such as record maximum or minimum temperatures or precipitation that occurs in connection with another event.

Some of the information appearing in Storm Data may have been provided by or gathered from sources outside the National Weather Service (NWS), such as the media, law enforcement and/or other government agencies, private companies, individuals, etc. An effort is made to use the best available information, but because of time and resource constraints, information from these sources may be unverified by the NWS. Therefore, when using information from Storm Data, customers should be cautious as the NWS does not guarantee the accuracy or validity of the information. Further, when it is apparent information appearing in Storm Data originated from a source outside the National Weather Service (frequently credit is provided), Storm Data customers requiring additional information should contact that source directly. In most cases, NWS employees will not have the knowledge to respond to such requests. In cases of legal proceedings, under Department of Commerce regulations and/or rules of the court, NWS employees are not legally obligated to provide written or verbal testimony.

Fatality Codes: For events that include a fatality, there is a code containing the gender, age and fatality location at the end of the event narrative.

1st letter: Gender (M/F)--2nd numbers: Age--3rd letters Fatality location (see table below)

Example: M51IW--Male, 51 years of age, fatality occurred In Water.

Fatality Location Abbreviations:

BF   Ball Field
BO   Boating
BU   Business
CA   Camping
EQ   Heavy Equipment/Construction
GF   Golfing
IW   In Water
LS   Long Span Roof
MH   Mobile Home
OT   Other
OU   Outside/Open Areas
PH   Permanent Home
SC   School
TE   Telephone
UT   Under Tree
VE   Vehicle

List of Acronyms:

NWS--National Weather Service

NOAA--National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

WCM--Warning Coordination Meteorologist--The meteorologist at each NWS Office responsible for reporting severe weather events

LST--Local Standard Time Storm Data attempts to always use "Standard Time"

EST--Eastern Standard Time

EDT--Eastern Daylight Time

CST--Central Standard Time

CDT--Central Daylight Time

PST--Pacific Standard Time

PDT--Pacific Daylight Time

Other Notes:

An "Episode" is an entire storm system and can contain many different types of events.

An "Event" is an individual type of storm event.

When listing wind speed values under "Character of Storm", ex. High Wind (G81), the G indicates a "Gust" which is a peak 5-second averaged wind speed in Knots (kts). 1 kt. = 1.152 mph. This number can be either E (estimated) by damage caused, or M (measured) by known calibrated anemometers. Ex. (M61) = measured 61 knots or E(75) = estimated at 75 knots.

All wind speeds listed are estimated by NWS personnel by the amount and type of damage unless otherwise noted with an "M" which represents an actual wind speed as measured by official NWS approved anemometer.

When listing hail size under "Character of Storm", ex. Hail (2.25), the hail size is given in inches and hundredths of inches.

When listing property and crop damage, the figures indicated are the best guess made by the NWS from the available sources of information at the time of the printing.

The fatalities, injuries, and damage amounts appearing in tropical cyclone events are attributed only to wind damage experienced in the coastal counties/parishes listed. Other tropical cyclone related events such as tornadoes and flooding are listed within their separate event types.