CIMMS, a NOAA/OU Cooperative Institute
The Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies is a research organization created in 1978 by a cooperative agreement between the University of Oklahoma and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. CIMMS promotes collaborative research between NOAA and OU scientists on problems of mutual interest to improve basic understanding of mesoscale meteorological phenomena, weather radar, and regional climate to help produce better forecasts and warnings that save lives and property. CIMMS research contributes to the NOAA mission through improvement of the observation, analysis, understanding, and prediction of weather elements and systems and climate anomalies ranging in size from cloud nuclei to multi-state areas.
Latest Composite Radar Reflectivity
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
CIMMS researchers David Priegnitz, Kevin Manross, Travis Smith and Ric Adams along with NSSL researcher Pamela Heinselman were awarded the prestigious Professor Dr. Vilho Vaisala Award on September 1 in Helsinki, Finland.
The award was established in 1986 to encourage and stimulate interest in research in the field of environmental measurement instruments and methods of observation. It is administrated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which selects the winners on a biennial basis. The award is granted in conjunction with the CIMO/TECO/Meteorex event, this year hosted in Helsinki.
The awarded research paper in 2010 is titled "Rapid Sampling of Severe Storms by the National Weather Radar Testbed Phased Array Radar". It describes a study that demonstrated the National Weather Radar Testbed Phased Array Radar's capability for adaptable, high temporal resolution scanning of quickly developing features in deep convective storms.
National Mosaic and QPE (NMQ)
The NMQ project is a joint initiative between the National Severe Storms Laboratory, Federal Aviation Administration, National Weather Service/Office of Hydrologic Development, the Office of Climate, Water and Weather Services and the University of Oklahoma Cooperative Institute in Mesoscale Meteorolgical Studies.
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CIMMS concentrates its research and outreach efforts and resources on five principal themes that are linked to the goals and cross-cutting priorities in NOAA's Strategic Plan:
- Weather Radar Research and Development
- Stormscale and Mesoscale Modeling Research and Development
- Forecast Improvements Research and Development
- Impacts of Climate Change Related to Extreme Weather Events
- Social and Socioeconomic Impacts of High Impact Weather Systems