Storm Prediction Center

Storm Prediction Center

The logo of the Storm Prediction Center.
Agency overview
Formed	October 1995 (1995-10)
Preceding agencies	National Severe Storms Forecast Center (1966–1995) SELS (1953–1966)
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	Norman, Oklahoma
Employees	43
Agency executive	Russell Schneider, Director
Parent agency	National Centers for Environmental Prediction
Website	www.spc.noaa.gov

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a US government agency that is part of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), operating under the control of the National Weather Service (NWS),^[1] which in turn is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States Department of Commerce (DoC).^[2]

Headquartered at the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma, the Storm Prediction Center is tasked with forecasting the risk of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in the contiguous United States. It issues convective outlooks, mesoscale discussions, and watches as a part of this process. Convective outlooks are issued for the following eight days (issued separately for Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Days 4–8), and detail the risk of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes during the given forecast period, although tornado, hail and wind details are only available for Days 1 and 2. Day 3, as well as 4–8 use a probabilistic scale, determining the probability for a severe weather event in percentage categories (15%/yellow and 30%/orange).

Mesoscale discussions are issued to provide information on certain individual regions where severe weather is becoming a threat and states whether a watch is likely and details thereof, particularly concerning conditions conducive for the development of severe thunderstorms in the short term, as well as situations of isolated severe weather when watches are not necessary. Watches are issued when forecasters are confident that severe weather will occur, and usually precede the onset of severe weather by one hour, although this sometimes varies depending on certain atmospheric conditions that may inhibit or accelerate convective development.

The agency is also responsible for forecasting fire weather (indicating conditions that are favorable for wildfires) in the contiguous U.S., issuing fire weather outlooks for Days 1, 2, and 3–8, which detail areas with various levels of risk for fire conditions (such as fire levels and fire alerts).