New lightning prediction tool developed at UAH provides critical weather forecasting support at Rock the South

On July 21, 2023, over 35,000 people were denied entry to Rock the South’s outdoor country music festival in Cullman, Ala., at 3 p.m. due to the threat of lightning in the area. New lightning prediction technology developed by researchers from The University of Alabama in Huntsville’s (UAH) Earth System Science Center was used for the first time to successfully forecast the threat at the event.

Using Overpasses as Shelter From Tornado?

Meteorologists and emergency workers continue to contest the popular thinking that waiting out a tornado under an overpass is safe. According to the National Weather Service, doing so could actually increase the risk of death, in part because the wind from a tornado is thought to accelerate as it flows under the overpass, in what’s known as the wind tunnel effect.