Severe Storm Spotting

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Severe Storm Spotting

• Preparation, Safety, and Communications

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Severe Weather SpottingPreparation, Safety, and
Communications
Steve Hilberg, N9XDC Debbie Fligor, N9DN Amateur
Radio Emergency Service of Champaign County
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Attitude and Frame of Mind

• You are a storm SPOTTER, not a storm chaser!
• Your job is to provide factual, real-time
  information about weather conditions
• We all work together in the interest of public
  safety

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Attitude and Frame of Mind

• Severe thunderstorms can be deadly
• To be an effective storm spotter you must also
  pay attention to your own safety!

• Training
• Awareness

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Awareness

• Know Whats Going On

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Awareness
Some people are weatherwise but most are
otherwise. Benjamin Franklin
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Awareness

• Understand how the system operates
• Know the terminology
• Key to effective communication

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Awareness

• Daily Convective Outlooks are issued by the Storm
  Prediction Center in Norman, OK

www.spc.noaa.gov
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Four Levels of Risk

• APPROACHING
• Strong thunderstorms are possible but little or
  no severe weather is expected
• SLIGHT
• Well-organized severe thunderstorms are expected,
  but in small numbers and/or low coverage

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Four Levels of Risk

• MODERATE
• A greater concentration of severe thunderstorms,
  and often greater magnitude
• HIGH
• A major severe weather outbreak is expected
• Usually PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation)
  included in Public Severe Weather Outlooks (PWO)
  and watches

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Convective Outlooks

• Day 1 issued five times a day
• 0100, 0800, 1130, 1500, 2000 CDT
• Day 2 issued twice a day
• 0230 and 1230 CDT
• Day 3 issued once a day
• 0230 CDT

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Day 4-8 Outlook
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Mesoscale Convective Discussions (MCD)

• Issued one-half to several hours before storms
  are expected to develop or move into an area
• Information is intended for forecasters
• Provide additional information on what action may
  be taken (e.g. issuing a watch)

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Mesoscale Convective Discussions (MCD)
MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0403 NWS STORM PREDICTION
CENTER NORMAN OK 1134 AM CDT SUN APR 02
2006 AREAS AFFECTED...CNTRL THROUGH SW/S CNTRL
MO CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL
VALID 021634Z - 021830Z A TORNADO WW WILL
PROBABLY BE NEEDED BY AROUND 18Z...OR SHORTLY
THEREAFTER. MOISTENING/HEATING OF BOUNDARY LAYER
IS CONTRIBUTING TO INCREASING POTENTIAL
INSTABILITY IN WARM SECTOR...EAST OF DRY
LINE/COLD FRONT TRAILING FROM SLOWLY DEEPENING
SURFACE LOW WHICH IS NOW WEST/NORTHWEST OF ST.
JOSEPH MO.  LEADING EDGE OF STRONGER MID-LEVEL
COOLING ALREADY APPEARS TO BE OVERSPREADING
DEVELOPING INSTABILITY AXIS...AND INHIBITION IS
WEAKENING.  THIS MAY BECOME SUPPORTIVE OF NEW
BOUNDARY LAYER-BASED CONVECTIVE INITIATION AS
EARLY AS 18-20Z SOUTHEAST OF THE KANSAS CITY INTO
THE SPRINGFIELD AREA. BROKEN SQUALL LINE SEEMS
LIKELY TO QUICKLY EVOLVE...IN ENVIRONMENT WITH
MIXED LAYER INCREASING IN EXCESS OF 2000 J/KG. 
70 KT MID-LEVEL JET STREAK NOSING INTO THE OZARK
PLATEAU WILL CONTRIBUTE TO DEEP LAYER SHEAR
SUFFICIENT FOR SUPERCELLS. THOUGH LOW-LEVEL
HODOGRAPHS MAY NOT POSSESS STRONG CLOCKWISE
CURVATURE...SHEAR BENEATH 30 TO 40 TO WESTERLY
850 FLOW WILL STILL BE SUPPORTIVE OF TORNADIC
ACTIVITY ...PARTICULARLY IN STRONGER/MORE
ISOLATED CELLS WITHIN LINE. .KERR.. 04/02/2006
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Watch

• Means the conditions are favorable for severe
  thunderstorms or tornadoes to develop
• Issued for a period of 4 to 6 hours
• Area covered may be as much as 20,000 to 40,00
  square miles
• May be trimmed, canceled, replaced, or re-issued
  as required

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Watches
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Warnings

• Issued by local NWS office
• Issued when severe weather detected by radar,
  observed by spotters, or observed by public
  safety officials
• Typically for periods of 15 to 60 minutes
• Area covered is usually one to three counties or
  parts of counties (polygons)

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Preparing for the Season
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Preparing for the Season

• Attend training
• Be sure your vehicle is good operating order
• Assemble necessary equipment - ready kit

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Ready Kit

• Items to have with you for safe and effective
  spotting

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Required

• County or site map
• Radio or other communications equipment
• If using H-T, be sure to have extra batteries
  and/or auxiliary power cable
• Clipboard, paper and pen
• Identification ARES or ESDA ID, drivers
  license, vehicle placards

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Strongly Suggested

• Report forms or a micro cassette recorder to keep
  logs with
• Wind gage, ruler, compass or GPS
• Flashlight with extra batteries and bulbs

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Recommended

• Binoculars or small telescope
• Rain coat that is bright colored or worn with
  orange vest

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Optional

• Folding chair or lawn chair
• Snacks, non-alcoholic drinks
• Video or film camera, with extra tapes, batteries
  and film
• Fire extinguisher and first aid kit
• Spare fuses, paper towels, insect repellant

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Vehicle Preparation
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At the Beginning of Storm Season, and
Occasionally Thereafter

• Make sure the lights all work headlights,
  flashers, turn signal, break/backup
• Check your fluid levels oil, coolant, brake,
  battery and windshield cleaner
• Inspect your radios, coax, power connectors,
  antenna and antenna connector

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Every Time You Go Out

• Fill the gas tank
• Check your windshield wipers its going to rain
  on you
• Check your tires tread, pressure, and spare
• Put a fresh coat of Rain-X on the windshield if
  you have time

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On the Job

• Your Safety is Important!

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Spotter Safety

• Take a partner if possible
• Driver concentrates on the road
• Spotter concentrates on spotting and navigating
• Always let net control know where you are

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Spotter Safety
Survey Your Spotting Location

• Move completely out of traffic
• Be visible - parking lights (not hazard flashers)
  or yellow caution light
• Be sure you have a good field of view (at least
  180o)
• Important for spotting and safety
• Are there power lines overhead?

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Spotter Safety
Survey Your Spotting Location

• Too much mud?
• Tall dry grass - a potential fire hazard near
  your exhaust
• Avoid low spots or ditches that may flood quickly
  in heavy rain
• Know your escape routes!

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Spotter Safety
Driving Safely

• Rural intersections can have low visibility due
  to crops or weather
• Heavy rain and hailpoor visibility and may mean
  you are in wrong part of storm!
• Avoid water flowing over roads - six inches can
  float a moving car (hydroplaning)
• Lightning can strike miles away - stay in your
  vehicle

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Communications
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Communications

• Your job is to observe and communicate
• CREDIBILITY is key!
• Be objective in your reporting
• Report what you observe or experience, despite
  what you may hear on the radio
• Avoid subjective and personal descriptions
• Observation should be communicated in something
  measurable or comparative
• Distance, direction, and movement should be a
  part of every report where applicable

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Communications

• Give all reports with respect to your location
• Estimate wind speeds or describe damage being
  caused
• When in doubt, dont shout.
• If not sure of what you are seeing, take extra
  time to observe before you report
• Report only what you see

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Communications

• Avoid using the words tornado and funnel
  cloud unless you actually observe one!
• May cause unnecessary public panic
• May confuse other spotters
• Avoid mentioning specific towns or locations
  unless you are sure event is occurring there

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Communications

• Know WHAT to report
• A thunderstorm is classified as severe if one or
  more of the following are observed
• tornado or funnel cloud
• winds 58 mph or greater
• hail 3/4 inch or greater in diameter (penny)

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Communications
URGENT Priority

• Tornado
• Funnel cloud
• Rotating wall cloud
• Flash flooding

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Communications
HIGH Priority

• Hail 3/4 inch or greater in diameter
• Winds speeds greater than 58 mph (or damaging
  winds)
• Persistent non-rotating wall cloud
• Rainfall 1 inch or more per hour

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Communications
Lower Priority

• Hail 1/4 inch or larger
• Winds speeds greater than 40 mph
• Cloud features suggesting storm organization (if
  you are familiar with these)

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Communications

• Use break tags if necessary to break into
  existing net traffic
• PRIORITY used to report important but non-life
  threatening info (such as damage)
• EMERGENCY used only for life or property
  threatening or damaging incident

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Communications
Examples of reports we DONT want to hear...

• I have light rain at my location
• I can see lightning off in the distance!
• Its starting to brighten up here.
• The clouds are really dark to the west.

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Communications

• Log all of your reports
• Note time, location, and what you observed
• If you have something to report but cannot for
  some reason, LOG IT!

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Servere Weather Report Form
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Communications

• Keep your radio traffic...
• BRIEF
• CONCISE
• ACCURATE

THINK about what you are going to say before you
say it!
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Communications

• Use proper radio procedures
• Hey you, Its Me
• Net control, this is N9XDC
• Repeat message back so person you are
  communicating with knows you understand
• I copy you want me to relocate to the
  intersection of 1200N and 500E
• I copy your report of 1 inch hail at your
  location

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Communications

• Network Operations Procedures

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Network Operations Procedures

• Be sure to follow procedures for the particular
  net you participate in
• This is critical to effective and efficient flow
  of information
• Most nets are directed nets, i.e. all
  communications are directed to and through a net
  control station (NCS)

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Network Operations Procedures
Recommended General Procedures

• Participating operators must check in with NCS by
  giving call sign and current location.
• If you are not available, do NOT check in!
• If you check in to the net, be sure to check out
  when you must leave
• Remain at check-in location until dispatched or
  directed by NCS

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Network Operations Procedures
Recommended General Procedures

• Notify NCS prior to any change in location,
  except in case of emergency or dangerous
  conditions
• Get to safety. Report new location to NCS as soon
  as possible once situation is secure
• Report significant events only!

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Champaign County ARESNet Operations

• A Champaign County severe weather net will be
  activated on request from Champaign County EMA,
  the National Weather Service, or may be activated
  by ARES when severe weather threatens without a
  formal request from EMA.
• Two levels of nets
• Resource/Information Net
• Severe Weather Net

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Champaign County ARESNet Operations

• A Resource/Information Net can activate at any
  time during the day with the potential for severe
  weather, and will always activate when a Tornado
  Watch is issued (if it has not already been
  activated).
• Provide periodic updates of the current weather
  status
• Take check-ins for ARES members available for
  spotting duty that day

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Champaign County ARESNet Operations

• The Severe Weather Net is the tactical operations
  net
• Will commence operation with activation of the
  EOC
• May be initiated at the discretion of the EC if
  EC deems additional lead time may be needed.

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Champaign County ARESNet Operations

• All CCARES spotters should be familiar with the
  Weather Net procedures and have a copy of the
  procedures with your spotting gear
• Download from www.wa9res.org in the
  Activities/Storm Spotting page

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April 2, 2006
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April 2, 2006 657 pm CDT
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April 2, 2006 652 pm CDT Base Velocity
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Your Reports Are Important!
K9LMM
KB9NJW
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Thanks!

• Good luck with your spotting this season!

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