🚀 go-pugleaf

"Evan.Bookbinder" <Evan.Bookbinder@noaa.gov> wrote in message
news:3B795FA2.2B95C68E@noaa.gov...
> Robert,
>
> >Why did you even bother to write?  Sounds like you've already
> >judged my project as impossible.  What good did your government
> >agency the NOAA system for Orlando Florida in Spring 97?
> >They did not have a warning system in place.  How many died?
>
> I think you're misunderstanding my point. I would be delighted to see some
> unique way other than Doppler radar to "detect" tornadoes and/or tornadic
> signatures. However, in my opinion, without placing remote sensing
equipment
> every few hundred feet (wind/pressure), I do not think that your proposal
can
> be achieved. More importantly, my writings are my opinions only, and not
> necessarily those of my colleagues or the NWS. The government and private
> sectors must work together, not separately, if we're to quickly advance
> tornado research. Regarding your case, I'm not in Florida, and have no
idea
> which event you're talking about...but keep in mind that "my" government
> agency is also "your" government agency. I'm also sure that you're
extremely
> qualified in what you do, but keep in mind that my opinions come from a
> meteorological perspective, not an electronics one.
>
> Now, regarding the changes in barometric pressure near a tornado, the most
> rapid change in pressure occurs very close to the core of the tornado
(much
> like a hurricane), resulting in the destructive winds caused by it.
Someone
> from Project VORTEX or other studies may have some real numerical data for
> you, and the only data I have on station follows in the next paragraph.
Keep
> in mind that a tornado's winds are directly related to the pressure
> gradient...so that a weaker tornado would have a much higher ambient
> barometric pressure. Therefore, doing some quick number crunching, it
would
> appear to me that one would have to be within several thousand feet
maximum of
> a tornado, to record enough of a pressure drop to signify the onset of a
> tornado. At that distance, a warning detection device would leave to no
time
> to react before the onset of damage.
>
> "On December 14, 1971, a tornado which began to the immediate southwest of
> Republic, cut a swath through the city of Republic, and moved directly
> northeast to pass over WSO SGF at 1125 PM CST. The entire terminal
building
> received considerable damage. The gust recorder reached past the maximum
of
> 100 knots. One cup was blown from the anemometer even though the
anemometer
> was about 1000 ft from the center of the tornado path. The barograph
dipped
> abruptly to a station pressure of 27.52 inches(sea level 28.83")."
>
> Sincerely,
> Evan
>
> P.S. With a college degree, I sure hope you'd spell it correctly.
>
> Robert Miller wrote:
>

Hello Evan!

    It was not a degree in English., and I used a spell checker extensively.
:-)

Basically my idea is for a device that will detect the tornado, but since it
can only
detect one as close as the back yard it is next to useless for the home that
has
the detector.  So it broadcasts a signal to every other device within range.
I
believe I can get the production costs down to about $40.00 each maybe less.
One detector in a city is useless.  So if I could seed a city with 1,000
detectors,
still rather sparse.  Every device purchased would increase the
effectiveness of
the network.

If I could install 2,000 detectors in St. Louis at $100.00 each, or
$200,000.00.
The price of a single moderately priced Life Insurance policy.  How much
does a
Doppler radar cost?  How effectively can they detect tornado's on the
ground?

It would still not detect every tornado, especially in rural areas.  However
it would
detect many as just one more tool.  Hopefully cheaply enough to become as
widespread in danger areas as a simple smoke detector.  In fact a smoke
detector
and or carbon monoxide detector could be incorporated into this device for
just a
few cents.

Even if I do not build this thing somebody should.  I didn't think it up to
make money,
but to save lives.  That's as much as I dare describe my detector in public.
The first
one will cost maybe $750,000 to produce, after that perhaps $40.00 each with
state
of the art technology.

If anybody wants to help me with this and willing to sign a non-disclosure
statement can send me an email at stargazr@alltel.net . I already have an
engineering and programming
staff, but short on backing.

Have a great day!
Robert Miller