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The NWS Warning Decision Simulator
Requires Java version 1.4.2 or higher.

Scoring  |||  Tips and Tricks  |||  PDD Document  |||  Comments / Suggestions   


NEW! Scenario    Easy | Hard | REALLY Hard
(Resolution 1024x768)
An outbreak of Large Hail and Tornadoes across the Atlanta metropolitan area
Game play time = 8 to 14 min		 NWS Director Jack Hayes and NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco check out the HotSeat during the 2010 AMS Annual Meeting
HotSeat in Action at the 2006 AMS WeatherFest in Atlanta, GA

NEW! Scenario    Easy | Hard | REALLY Hard
(Resolution 800x600)
Severe weather across central Georgia
Game play time = 8 to 14 min

Scenario    (Resolution 1024x768)
Tornadoes and Severe Thunderstorms sweep across Alabama (Easy)
Game play time = 15 min

Scenario    (Resolution 800x600)
Tropical storm and associated severe weather move through the Southeast (Not so easy)
Game play time = 25 min

Scenario    (Resolution 800x600)
Springlike supercells move through Georgia the day after New Year's Day (Not so easy)
Game play time = 15 min

Scenario    (Resolution 800x600)
Severe storms strike Chicago in August 2008
Game play time = 10 min

Scenario    (Resolution 800x600)
Quad Cities severe storms
Game play time = 13 min

Scenario    (Resolution 800x600)
Rare November severe weather event in central Iowa
Game play time = 20 min



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Scoring
Severe Thunderstorm Warning (SVR) Tornado Warning (TOR)
  • Issuing a SVR costs 2000 points plus 50 points for every minute the warning is in effect
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  • Issuing a TOR costs 4000 points plus 50 points for every minute the warning is in effect
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  • A SVR verified by hail damage earns 10,000 points plus 100 points per minute of leadtime
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  • A TOR verified by hail damage earns 10,000 points plus 100 points per minute of leadtime
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  • A SVR verified by wind damage earns 10,000 points plus 100 points per minute of leadtime
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  • A TOR verified by wind damage earns 10,000 points plus 100 points per minute of leadtime
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  • A SVR verified by a tornado earns 2,000 points plus 50 points per minute of leadtime
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  • A TOR verified by a tornado earns 20,000 points plus 200 points per minute of leadtime
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  • Wind damage or hail where no warning was issued is a miss and costs 10,000 points
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  • A tornado where no warning was issued is a miss and costs 20,000 points
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    HotSeat Tips and Tricks
    HotSeat requires Java Version 1.4.2 or later. Go to www.java.com/en for more information regarding Java. You can verify which version of Java your browser is using by going to javatester.org.
    Scenarios 1 and 2 require a screen resolution of at least 1024x768. All other scenarios require a screen resolotion of at least 800x600. You can set your browser to full screen mode (F11) to get as much screen real estate as possible.
    When the scenario begins, there will be no warnings in effect. Get all your warnings out as quickly as possible BEFORE worrying about the path of the storms.
    Once you have the initial warnings issued and reports start coming in, place warnings out in front of the storms for leadtime bonus points.
    Because warnings do cost you 50 points per minute, be sure to cancel them after the storm has passed. The key word here is "AFTER."
    Make sure that you're looking at the most recent radar scan when you are about to issue a warning.
    You can overlap warnings. The earliest warning you placed will be the one that verifies, thus giving you the largest possible leadtime bonus.
    The NWS frowns upon false alarms, but when you're issuing warnings that only cover several square miles, a few false alarms are inevitable. Remember that a missed event will cost you way more than a couple false alarms.
    After the scenario is over, you can cursor through the entire event to see which cells actually led to damage reports.
    Just because there were no damage reports for a certain cell doesn't mean there was no damage. It could mean that no one lives in that part of the state.
    After you've played a HotSeat scenario a few times, you may notice that things become rather... predictable. The good news is that we'll be providing more scenarios in the future. Stay tuned.

     

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