It was great to have the Weather Channel crew in the weather center today. Make sure to look for the back of my head when the show, When Weather Changed History, airs this fall on the Weather Channel.

It was also very enlightening talking with Ken Rowland about the Super Outbreak of 1974. It certainly was a different time then, when Ken says, the chopper pilot Dick Gilbert was the only real way to track the storm, not the radar!

April 3rd, 1974 is day I can't remember. I wasn't around. However, for many the devastation was unimaginable. The tornadoes were not only destructive, but deadly around Kentuckiana. But, moments of desperation that day gave birth to inspiration. April 3rd not only inspired hundreds of students to become meteorologists, but inspired incredible technology that saves and has saved thousands of lives since 1974.

I am a member of a new generation of meteorologists with 3D Doppler Radar, high definition satellites, an internet filled with weather sites and weather models, automated weather stations, lightning detectors and predictors, and surrounded by a network of trained weather spotters. Still we find room to complain about our weather equipment. But, that's a good thing. The more we complain, the better the equipment gets, and potentially more lives our protected. Look at how far we have come since 1974, the largest kick in the butt in weather history!

Radar in 1974 could only detect blobs of rain, not the motion within the storms creating that rain like we can with doppler technology today. Radar technology is still getting better and better and you will see significant improvement in what we have today within the next five to ten years. The government spent 4.5 billion dollars after 1974 on a modernization program, according to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), "Prior to the modernization program, the National Weather Service (NWS) depended on 1950s and 1970s vintage radar technology to operate a combination of network and local-warning radars to monitor weather systems. The radar units in the national network were obsolete and difficult to service, and large areas were not served by any NWS radar. The radars were so old that some of the parts were no longer manufactured."

Satellites in 1974 could show large storm systems, but not indivudual thunderstorm features. The satellite program was really just getting started, and updates were few and far between. Now, the GOES Satellite program gives us updated high definition satellite images every 15 minutes or more when needed. The visible satellite images can detect detailed cloud features, and even shadows. This is an image from April 3rd, 1974.

Now look at one example of what we have today.

Television meteorologists were a rarity as well in the 1970s. Most of the weathercasters were trained in broadcasting, and simply gave out national weather service (bureau back then) forecasts. I would also have to say the weather folks back then not only looked goofier, but acted goofier at times too.

Today, the television weather game is much different. Not only must you be trained in broadcasting, you must also have the meteorology background. Many stations won't hire you if you don't have a degree in meteorology. Furthermore, many stations want proof not only that you can give an accurate forecast, but you can give it well.

That's why the National Weather Association and American Meteorology Society created Seals of Approval. The AMS started with the AMS Broadcast Seal of Approval. The NWA followed. The AMS later enhanced their seal with a meteorology test, and named it the CBM (Certified Broadcast Meteorologist) Seal. It is an honor, and something broadcast meteorologists strive for in the their careers. I am proud to have been awarded the AMS, CBM, and NWA seals of approval. The seals and education requirements became much more important after the 1970s, especially during the 1980s and 90s.

Weather Radio and Tornado Warnings were nearly non-existent in the early 70s. That changed after April 3rd. The need was apparent, "Our forecasters would issue a tornado warning for a certain location at a certain time. With so much severe weather happening at one time, it didn't take long for the queue of to get backed up. We simply couldn't transmit them quickly enough out of our offices. Commercial radio stations had their own problems re-transmitting those warnings. The situation demonstrated the Weather Service's need to be able to provide warnings directly to the public so people could take prompt action to protect themselves."

....and now, "Today, we proudly state that NOAA Weather Radio is the voice of the National Weather Service. We have more than 400 NOAA Weather Radio stations on the air. Through the public/private partnership, we're installing more new transmitters all the time. Manufacturers are producing new and more sophisticated Weather Radio receivers. More and more people are listening to NOAA Weather Radio all the time. Without that fatal and fateful day in 1974, it might not have been that way."

For much more information about 1974 check out all of our great information compiled about that day...

http://www.whas11.com/weather/tornado/

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