When Seconds Count: Real-Time Tornado Alerts from DisasterAWARE

Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
June 19, 2025
When Seconds Count: Real-Time Tornado Alerts from DisasterAWARE

Tornadoes are some of the most destructive natural disasters, with over 1,000 tornadoes striking the U.S. annually, causing $1 billion in damages, 1,500 injuries, and 80 fatalities. DisasterAWARE provides cutting-edge tools for real-time monitoring, impact analysis, and actionable insights. By integrating authoritative data from agencies like the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS), DisasterAWARE ensures accurate, timely intelligence to help organizations protect lives and assets.

Situational Awareness Products

Situational Awareness Products

When tornado activity is detected, DisasterAWARE generates comprehensive Situational Awareness Reports, including:

  • Alert Summaries: Detailed information on the tornado's type, severity, and affected areas.
  • Issued Warnings: From trusted agencies such as the NWS, with time, location, and movement details.
  • Impacted Areas: Highlighting counties, towns, and critical infrastructure.
  • Visual Maps: Real-time overlays showing warning polygons and Doppler radar data.
  • Operational Context: Including urban areas and administrative boundaries for rapid planning.

These reports are continuously updated to reflect any changes in tornado activity.

Hazard Severity Classification

  • Tornado Watch: Indicates favorable conditions for tornado formation.
  • Tornado Warning: A tornado is confirmed or imminent, requiring immediate action.

Changes in severity automatically trigger updated alerts and reports, ensuring real-time situational awareness.

Notification and Exposure Areas

DisasterAWARE provides actionable insights through:

  • Notification Areas (SmartAlert): Alerts based on regional standards, such as SAME codes.
  • Exposure Areas: Risk zones classified as Moderate, Strong, or Severe for consistent intelligence.

By clustering related alerts across jurisdictions, DisasterAWARE reduces notification fatigue and ensures clarity.

Additional Data Layers

Precipitation Forecast

DisasterAWARE supports decision-making with additional data layers, such as:

  • Tornado Alerts and Risk Layers: Including Tornado Probability maps, Watches, and Warnings.
  • Meteorological Layers: Doppler radar, wind analysis, and precipitation forecasts.
  • Population & Infrastructure Layers: Identifying high-risk zones, hospitals, schools, and critical facilities.
  • Administrative Layers: Urban extents, land use, and jurisdictional boundaries.

Data as a Service (DaaS) API

DisasterAWARE's API allows seamless integration of hazard intelligence into your systems, enabling:

  • Access to severity levels, exposure areas, and geospatial overlays.
  • Automated exposure assessments for populations, infrastructure, and critical assets.
  • Integration of situational awareness products, including alert summaries and map layers.
  • Industry-specific applications, such as claims triage for insurers, rerouting for logistics, and enhanced command systems for emergency managers.

The API also delivers timestamps for alert issuance, expiration, and updates, ensuring operational-grade data.

DisasterAWARE transforms complex tornado hazard data into actionable intelligence, empowering organizations to make informed, timely decisions. Protect lives, assets, and operations with trusted, real-time insights.

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