Heavy Snow for the North-Central U.S.; Bitter Cold and a Second Storm to Follow

Heavy snow will develop overnight in the Dakotas and move into northern Minnesota on Thursday. Light sleet and freezing rain accumulations will be possible south of the area of heavy snow from South Dakota into central Minnesota. Bitter cold temperatures will follow this weekend along with another storm impacting the Pacific Northwest starting Friday then moving down the Rockies through Monday. Read More >

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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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