Alva Review-Courier -

Researchers running highly detailed simulations using satellite images, radar and ground-based weather stations were able to predict a specific violent storm 90 minutes before it hit a western Oklahoma town and killed a man two months ago.

The National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma, said Friday the still-experimental forecast system could give emergency planners up to three hours' notice of upcoming bad weather, including tornadoes. Such notice is key for hospitals, schools and other places where large crowds gather.

"The theoretical groundwork was laid in the 1980s and 1990s,"...