Frequently Asked Questions

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Here is a collection of frequently asked questions, and their answers, on a wide variety of topics - from climate, to employment, to severe weather, to website issues. If you have a question that isn't addressed here, email our webmaster.

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Climate and Weather History
Education (Learning about Weather)
Employment in Meteorology (and education for employment)
Forecasts
Inquiries by E-mail
Miscellaneous
All Hazards Radio (a.k.a. NOAA Weather Radio)
Photographs
Severe Weather: Warnings, Reporting, Spotting and Chasing
Storm Safety
Tornadoes
Weather Information (General)
Website Issues
Winter Weather

Climate and Weather History

Basic climate data: Where can I find basic, recent climate data for Oklahoma and north Texas?
Specific climate data: I need specific, recent weather information. How can I get that?
Court cases: I need weather information for a court case. How do I get it?
Major storm: Where can I get information on a specific major storm?
Information sources: What sources of climate information are available?
Lightning data: How can I find out how many lightning storms affect various parts of the country?
Cycles in climate: Does climate change in cycles?

Education (Learning about Weather)

Weather information: Where can I find educational information on weather?
Summer camps: Are there any weather-themed summer camps in the Oklahoma/north Texas area?
Homework: Will you do my homework for me?

Employment in Meteorology (and education for employment)

Studying meteorology: I want to study meteorology. What career opportunities are available to meteorologists, and what schools offer meteorology programs?
High school courses: What courses should I take to prepare for a meteorology major in college?
Best college: I want to study meteorology in college. Which college is best?
Volunteering and internships: Can I volunteer or do an internship at your office?
NWS Job: How do I get a job in the National Weather Service?

CWA: What counties are in the NWS Norman forecast and warning area?
Forecast: Can I get a forecast for...?
Long range forecast: I'd like a forecast for more than a week in the future. Can I get that?
Abbrevs: Some forecast discussions include unfamiliar abbreviations and terms. What do they mean?
Chance of precipitation: What do the precipitation chances mean, and how are they determined?

Inquiries by E-mail

Outside the forecast area: I live outside WFO Norman's area of responsibility. Can I still request information from your office?
Fast response: I need my request answered fast. Can you get it to me by the end of the week?
No response: I sent an e-mail requesting some information, and never got a reply. Why not?

Tours: How do I arrange for a tour of your office?
NSSL: Is your office the same as the National Severe Storms Laboratory?
SPC: Is your office the same as the Storm Prediction Center?
Glossary: I tried to look up a term in your weather glossary, but it wasn't listed. What does it mean?
Sunrise and sunset: Where can I find sunrise/sunset information?

All Hazards Radio (also known as NOAA Weather Radio)

Radio programming: How do I program my radio?
Counties to program: Which counties should I program my radio to alarm for?
FIPS and SAME codes: My new NOAA Weather Radio needs FIPS (SAME) codes programmed into it. What are they?
Alarms too often: This stupid radio alarms for every warning issued for the whole state! Why is that?!
Special-needs radios: Where can I find information on special needs NOAA weather radios?
Live NWR: Do you have live NWR broadcasts on your site?

Copyright: Can I use the photos on your website for my own purposes?
Storm photos: Where can I get pictures of tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, etc.?
Submissions: I have a really cool photo of a weather event in your area. Do you want to post it on your site?

Severe Weather: Warnings, Reporting, Spotting and Chasing

Reporting: I'd like to report a severe weather event. How do I do that?
Spotting: How do I become a storm spotter?
Chasing: I want to be a storm chaser! How do I get a job doing that?
Chasing tours: Who offers storm chasing tours?
E-mailed warnings: Can I have warnings e-mailed to me?
Pager warnings: Can I receive a text message or similar alert when a warning is issued?
Daily storm reports: Where can I find daily severe weather reports? Can they be e-mailed to me every day?
County maps: Are county maps available to help identify which locations are in warnings?
Scanner frequencies: Do you have a list of scanner frequencies that spotters use?
Supercell information: Where can I find information on wall clouds, or other supercell features?

Shelters: Do you have information on storm shelters?
Safety information: Where can I find information on flood/hurricane/lightning/tornado safety?
Pamphlets: Can I get pamphlets on storm safety? ...for children?

Myths: What are some common tornado myths?
Additional tornado information: Where can I find lots of tornado information?
F-scale: Where is a chart of the F-scale" for tornadoes?
F5s in Oklahoma: How many (E)F5 tornadoes have occurred in Oklahoma?
F6 on May 3 1999: Was the May 3, 1999 Moore tornado an F6?
318 mph: Were the winds in the May 3, 1999 Moore tornado really 318 mph?
Tornado Alley: Where is Tornado Alley?
Sound: What does a tornado sound like?

Weather Information (General)

Weather info: Where on the Internet can I find weather information about...?
Lightning: Where can I find lightning information?

Graphicast/Enhanced Page: Where is the Graphicast/Enhanced page?
Broken link: A link doesn't work. Should I send you an e-mail about that?
Missing observation: The current weather observation, given on the forecast page, shows "NULL" instead of the weather conditions. Why?
Error: There is an error on this site. Should I e-mail you to let you know?

School closings: Do you publish school closings during winter storms?
Wind Chill Index: Does the "Wind Chill Index" correctly indicate how cold it feels?
Old WCI: What is the difference between the old and the new Wind Chill Indices?
Freezing WCI: Does water freeze if the Wind Chill Index is below freezing?
Plants and wind chill: What is the effect of wind chill on plants and animals?
Wind chill now: Where can I find the current wind chill temperature?

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