Enhanced Historical Tornado Sample

This page provides a complete sample response for an enhanced historical tornado hazard with full NWS enhancement pipeline data. Enhanced historical tornado hazards include post-event analysis aggregated from multiple NWS data sources: Damage Assessment Toolkit (DAT) surveys with EF-scale ratings and tornado path geometries, Storm Prediction Center (SPC) storm reports, and Local Storm Reports (LSR) from NWS field offices.

This sample represents the March 15, 2025 Jackson, MS tornado outbreak (Tornado Watch 44) — a multi-state EF4 outbreak with 21 matched NWS tornado warning events, 23 LSRs, 12 SPC reports, 987 DAT survey points, 28 DAT tornado paths, 166 injuries, and 13 fatalities.

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Tornado Assessment (Enhanced Summary)

The tornadoAssessment object provides a high-level summary of the NWS enhancement pipeline results for this tornado watch event. It aggregates totals across all matched tornado warning events and indicates the confirmation status.

Properties:

Property
Type
Description

match_status

string

How this hazard was matched to NWS warnings: EXACT, WATCH_MATCH, PROBABLE, UNMATCHED, or GAP_FILL

touchdown_status

string

Confirmation status: CONFIRMED_TOUCHDOWN, WARNING_ONLY, or ENHANCED_WARNING

source

string

Attribution string for the enhancement source

nws_event_key

array

NWS event keys matched to this hazard (format: {WFO}_{date}_{ETN})

max_ef_rating

string

Maximum EF-scale rating across all matched events (e.g., EF0EF5, or null)

total_injuries

integer

Total injuries across all matched events

total_fatalities

integer

Total fatalities across all matched events

total_warnings

integer

Number of tornado warnings matched

total_lsr

integer

Total unique Local Storm Reports collected

total_dat_points

integer

Total unique NWS DAT survey points

total_dat_paths

integer

Total unique NWS DAT tornado paths

Match Status Values

Value
Meaning

EXACT

Warning-level DAE hazard matched 1:1 to a single NWS tornado warning by WFO, year, and ETN

WATCH_MATCH

Watch-level DAE hazard matched to multiple NWS warnings by WFO + spatial/temporal correlation

PROBABLE

Match made but with lower confidence (manual review may be appropriate)

UNMATCHED

No NWS warning correlated to this hazard

GAP_FILL

Backfill record created from NWS data for a tornado not originally tracked in DisasterAWARE

Touchdown Status Values

Value
Meaning

CONFIRMED_TOUCHDOWN

NWS post-event survey (DAT points/paths or LSRs) confirms a tornado touched down

WARNING_ONLY

A warning was issued but no tornado touchdown was subsequently confirmed

ENHANCED_WARNING

Warning included enhanced wording (e.g., "confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado")

Tornado Details (Enhanced Detail Data)

The tornadoDetails object uses a deduplicated layout: unique NWS records are stored once in top-level arrays, and each pipeline_events[*] entry references them by id or index. This avoids duplicating survey points or LSRs across events in large outbreaks where many warnings share the same storm reports.

Top-level keys:

Key
Type
Description

match_details

object

How the original hazard was matched to NWS tornado warning events

pipeline_events

array

One entry per matched tornado warning; references the shared arrays below

local_storm_reports

array

Unique NWS Local Storm Reports across all matched events

spc_reports

array

Unique Storm Prediction Center reports across all matched events

dat_points

array

Unique NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit survey points

dat_paths

array

Unique NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit tornado paths

Match Details

The match_details object documents how the original tornado hazard was correlated to individual NWS tornado warning events.

Property
Type
Description

parsed_entries

array

Parsed watch or warning metadata: WFO code, year, plus etn (for warning matches) or watch_etn (for watch matches)

matched_keys

array

NWS event keys that matched this hazard

confidence

string

Match confidence level (e.g., EXACT, PROBABLE)

reason

string

Human-readable explanation of the matching method (present for non-EXACT matches)

Pipeline Events

Each entry in the pipeline_events array represents one matched NWS tornado warning event. Instead of embedding the LSRs, SPC reports, and DAT records inline, the event references them by id (for DAT records) or array index (for LSRs and SPC reports) into the top-level arrays.

Property
Type
Description

event_key

string

Unique event identifier: {WFO}_{date}_{ETN}

wfo

string

NWS Weather Forecast Office code

event_date

string

Date of the event (ISO date)

max_ef_rating

string

Maximum EF-scale rating for this specific event

first_seen_utc

string

When this event was first ingested (ISO 8601)

last_updated_utc

string

When this event was last updated (ISO 8601)

pipeline_version

string

Version of the enhancement pipeline

warnings

array

NWS tornado warnings for this event (embedded)

match_notes

string

Additional notes on the match (nullable)

dat_point_ids

array of integers

DAT point objectid values that apply to this event (look up in top-level dat_points)

dat_path_ids

array of integers

DAT path objectid values that apply to this event (look up in top-level dat_paths)

lsr_indices

array of integers

Array indices into top-level local_storm_reports

spc_indices

array of integers

Array indices into top-level spc_reports

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Resolving references: To get the DAT points for a given pipeline event, look up each objectid in dat_point_ids against tornadoDetails.dat_points[*].objectid. LSRs and SPC reports are referenced by array index rather than id.

Warnings

Each entry in a pipeline event's warnings array represents an NWS tornado (or associated severe thunderstorm) warning.

Property
Type
Description

source

string

Data source (e.g., IEM Archive)

warning_type

string

Warning type (e.g., Tornado Warning, Severe Thunderstorm Warning)

alert_id

string

Alert identifier

wfo

string

Issuing Weather Forecast Office

vtec

string

VTEC (Valid Time Event Code) string

etn

string

Event Tracking Number

issued_utc

string

Warning issue time (ISO 8601)

onset_utc

string

Warning onset time (ISO 8601)

expires_utc

string

Warning expiration time (ISO 8601)

tornado_detection

string

Detection method (nullable)

storm_motion

string

Storm motion vector (nullable)

area_desc

string

Affected area description (counties/parishes by state)

polygon

object

GeoJSON MultiPolygon of the warning area

Local Storm Reports (LSR)

Each entry in the top-level local_storm_reports array represents an NWS field report. For the sample outbreak, report_source values include NWS Storm Survey, Emergency Mngr, Trained Spotter, Storm Chaser, Public, Law Enforcement, Local Official, NWS Employee, Official NWS Obs, and Broadcast Media.

Property
Type
Description

source

string

Data source (e.g., IEM LSR)

event_time_utc

string

Time of the reported event (ISO 8601)

filed_utc

string

Time the report was filed (ISO 8601)

lat

number

Latitude of the report

lon

number

Longitude of the report

wfo

string

Reporting Weather Forecast Office

city

string

Nearest city or landmark

county

string

County name

state

string

State abbreviation

report_source

string

Source of the report (e.g., NWS Storm Survey, Emergency Mngr, Trained Spotter)

magnitude

number

Magnitude value (nullable for tornadoes)

remark

string

Free-text description of observed damage or event — may be multi-paragraph NWS survey findings

SPC Storm Reports

Each entry in the top-level spc_reports array represents a Storm Prediction Center report.

Property
Type
Description

source

string

Data source (e.g., SPC Storm Reports)

time_str

string

Report time as 4-digit UTC string (e.g., 1517)

f_scale

string

Fujita/EF-scale rating (e.g., EF2, UNK)

lat

number

Latitude of the report

lon

number

Longitude of the report

location

string

Location description

county

string

County name

state

string

State abbreviation

comments

string

Report comments, often including injury/fatality counts and NWS survey results

DAT Points

Each entry in the top-level dat_points array represents an individual NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit survey point.

Property
Type
Description

source

string

Data source (always NWS DAT)

layer

string

DAT layer type (always points)

objectid

integer

DAT object identifier — referenced by pipeline_events[*].dat_point_ids

ef_scale

string

EF-scale rating at this point (e.g., EF0EF5, or TSTM/Wind for straight-line wind damage)

lat

number

Latitude of the survey point

lon

number

Longitude of the survey point

wfo

string

Surveying Weather Forecast Office

storm_date

string

Date/time of the storm (UTC)

survey_date

string

Date/time of the damage survey (UTC)

comments

string

Survey comments (nullable; present on a subset of points)

DAT Paths

Each entry in the top-level dat_paths array represents an NWS DAT tornado path with geometry, dimensions, EF-scale, and casualty data.

Property
Type
Description

source

string

Data source (always NWS DAT)

layer

string

DAT layer type (always line)

objectid

integer

DAT object identifier — referenced by pipeline_events[*].dat_path_ids

ef_scale

string

EF-scale rating for this path segment

path_length_mi

number

Tornado path length in miles

path_width_yd

number

Maximum tornado path width in yards

injuries

integer

Injuries along this path

fatalities

integer

Fatalities along this path

wfo

string

Surveying Weather Forecast Office

storm_date

string

Date/time of the storm (UTC)

published_utc

string

Date/time the path was published (UTC)

path_guid

string

Unique path identifier (nullable)

geometry

object

GeoJSON LineString geometry of the tornado path

Legacy Hazard Field Reference

Top-level hazard fields:

Field
Type
Description

hazard_ID

integer

Unique hazard identifier

uuid

string

UUID for the hazard

hazard_Name

string

Full hazard title including location

type_ID

string

Hazard type (e.g., TORNADO)

category_ID

string

Category classification (e.g., EVENT)

severity_ID

string

Severity level (e.g., WATCH, WARNING)

status

string

Active status (A = active)

latitude / longitude

number

Event coordinates

start_Date

string

Event start time in epoch milliseconds

end_Date

string

Event end time in epoch milliseconds

create_Date

string

Record creation time in epoch milliseconds

last_Update

string

Last update time in epoch milliseconds

update_Date

string

Record update time in epoch milliseconds

eaTimestamp

string

Exposure assessment computation timestamp (epoch seconds, fractional)

creator

string

System or user that created the record

update_User

string

System or user that last updated the record

comment_Text

string

Internal comment (e.g., NWS watch identifier)

description

string

Human-readable event description

autoexpire

string

Whether the hazard auto-expires (Y/N)

snc_url

string

URL to the Hazard Brief page

message_ID

string

Internal message identifier

product_total

integer

Number of associated products

tier

string

Access tier (e.g., Enterprise)

tier_tag

string

Short tier code (e.g., ent)

master_Incident_ID

string

Internal incident tracking ID

org_ID

integer

Organization ID (-1 for system-generated)

app_ID

integer

Application ID

in_Dashboard

string

Dashboard visibility flag

locationDetails

object

Structured location metadata (country, state, county, FIPS)

activeGeography

object

Smart alert area geometry with WKT polygon

exposureAssessment

object

Structured exposure data with nested value objects

tornadoAssessment

object

NWS enhancement pipeline summary

tornadoDetails

object

Full NWS enhancement pipeline detail data

Sample Response

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This sample shows one complete pipeline_event (event key JAN_2025-03-15_0084) with reference arrays truncated to show only the first 5 ids/indices. The full response for this hazard contains 21 pipeline events. One representative record is shown for each of the top-level shared arrays; the full response contains 23 LSRs, 12 SPC reports, 987 DAT points, and 28 DAT paths. Coordinate arrays and the activeGeography.wkt.text polygon string have been truncated with [...] and ...truncated....

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