Baron Tornado Index (BTI): Revolutionary Tornado Detection

Baron Services continues to revolutionize weather detection tools and software by simplifying the communication of severe weather to viewers. The Baron Tornado Index, referred to as the BTI, is the newest capability to be released as a result of Baron Services' advanced data processing.

Mission-Minded Engineering

Founded 17 years ago with a mission to develop life-saving weather tools, Baron Services continues to build on that heritage with the debut of the Baron Tornado Index. The BTI is a ranking on a scale of 0-10 used to gauge the likelihood of a tornado in any given storm. As the BTI increases, the potential for a tornado within that storm goes up. Using proprietary algorithms combined with high-resolution radar data and the most advanced mesoscale models available, the Baron Tornado Index provides an easy, one-glance diagnosis for a storm’s tornadic potential. Interpretation of the BTI can be achieved by clicking on any Baron SCIT or by reading the color-coded Baron Shear Markers. Based on the BTI, the color of the shear marker will be filled in Yellow for a BTI between 2-3.9, Orange for a BTI between 4.0-6.9, Red for a BTI between 7.0-7.9, or flashing red for a BTI of 8.0 or higher.

Clearing the Clutter

The BTI improves situational awareness by enabling meteorologists to monitor the progression of a storms development and focus their viewer’s attention on areas that are at the highest risk of a tornado outbreak. During widespread severe weather outbreaks over a large DMA, the BTI will allow meteorologists to alert viewers of the storms posing the highest threat of tornadic potential.

The Baron Tornado Index is included in the VIPIR 5.0 release and is free to existing VIPIR customers until April 15, 2008. After that time, a subscription to the Advanced Data Service Package is required, or BTI data can be purchased separately. VIPIR 5.0 can be easily downloaded at: http://support.baronservices.com