The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (NWSSPC or SPC) operates under the control of the National Weather Service (NWS), and is assigned with forecasting the risk of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in the contiguous United States. NWSSPC issues convective outlooks, mesoscale discussions.
NWSSPC headquarters is at the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma, the Storm Prediction Center.
Convective Outlooks
Division of Responsibilities at NWS
The NWS splits tornado management between two main levels:
1. Storm Prediction Center (SPC): Issues Tornado Watches when conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form over a large area.
2. Local Weather Forecast Offices (WFO) issue Tornado Warnings when a tornado is sighted or indicated by radar:
These 122 offices issue Tornado Warnings when a tornado has been sighted or indicated by radar in a specific community (the number of NWS offices is subject to change without immediate update by CARDINAL NEWS).
How Tornadoes are Managed
Forecasting: Meteorologists at the SPC use satellite and radar data to create daily “convective outlooks”.
Warning: Local meteorologists issue immediate alerts that trigger phone notifications and social media posts.
Confirmation: After a storm, NWS teams conduct ground surveys to confirm if a tornado occurred and determine its EF-scale rating.
