Severe Weather Awareness 2018: SKYWARN Spotters and Social Media Reporting

Though severe weather often occurs within a defined "season" in the spring to early summer (plus a secondary "season" in the fall), as we saw on February 24, 2018, severe storms can strike during any month of the year at any time of the day or night. When severe thunderstorms threaten, the National Weather Service calls SKYWARN volunteers into action. SKYWARN volunteers are the eyes and ears of the National Weather Service, providing instant reports of severe weather, including hail, high winds, and dangerous cloud formations.

SKYWARN spotters keep a close eye on the sky anytime severe thunderstorms approach. Many communities deploy spotters around the edge of the city and use their early reports of impending hazardous weather to warn the community. Some spotters relay reports from their home or business while other more adventurous volunteers brave the elements and try to get as close to the storm as possible.

Ham radio operators collecting storm reports from SKYWARN storm spotters in the field. Picture courtesy NWS.

Who are these SKYWARN volunteers? A large number of SKYWARN storm spotters in the Mid-South are Amateur Radio Operators, commonly known as HAMs. These public service minded individuals make ideal storm spotters since they have the ability to communicate their reports. They are willing to be trained and they have a real interest in helping the National Weather Service, and their local communities prepare for severe weather. Amateur Radio operators are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even thought they receive no compensation of any kind for their hard work.

Many other groups participate in the SKYWARN program, including law enforcement agencies, fire departments, utility companies, rescue squads, and the news media. Individual citizens are also trained as spotters, and are asked to relay their reports to the National Weather Service. Spotters are a vital link in the warning process, and it is important to have as many trained spotters in each county as possible.

How can you get involved?  You can attend a storm spotter training class in person or online to become a trained spotter. Each session is free, lasts about 90 minutes and covers basics of thunderstorm development, fundamentals of storm structure, identifying potential severe weather features and (more importantly perhaps) severe weather look-a-likes, what and how to report, and basic severe weather safety. Online options include watching a training session that was conducted by the National Weather Service in Memphis or an online spotter training course that is available with a free registration.

Want to attend in person? We highly recommend it! A schedule of upcoming classes in the Mid-South can be found here. In the Memphis area, a class taught by NWS-Memphis will take place on Tuesday, March 27, at 7:00pm at Lord of Life Lutheran Church on Poplar Pike in East Memphis. All current SKYWARN volunteers should attend as a refresher, while new volunteers are strongly encouraged to attend and learn how to be a spotter, what to look for, and how to report. The classes are free and open to the public, including teens and older elementary children who enjoy attending with their parents. You can learn more about the SKYWARN program from the NWS here.

In addition to being a trained spotter, Memphians can use their social media accounts to report severe weather to the National Weather Service (@NWSMemphis) or to us (@memphisweather1)! We make sure that any and all severe weather reports we receive are sent on to the NWS. The best reports include a geo-tagged tweet and picture of the severe weather event (storm damage, hail, funnel/tornado, or even winter weather), as well as short description.

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The MWN Lightning Round debuts!

Today marks the debut of a new feature of the MWN Blog we're calling "The MWN Lightning Round."  We hope to publish The Lightning Round a few times a week (that maybe optimistic, but hopefully at least a couple times), though it will not be on a set schedule.  The nature of The Lightning Round won't necessarily lend itself to a set schedule.

Nearly every day, we come across an item or two that we think you'd enjoy, but which we don't have a good way to share with you for whatever reason.  So in this feature, we'll touch briefly on a number of subjects, which could include quick forecast updates or commentary, vignettes, a cool pic, a weather-related article or story, a little Weather 101, a mythbuster, or just something we want you to know about.  Most will have a Memphis or Mid-South connection, but some will be just be cool weather-related stuff that we think you'll like!

The number of items in each lightning round will vary, but we'll aim for 3-4 to keep it from getting too long, while allowing you to explore deeper into each topic via links to other sources, if applicable.  The goal is to provide a little more information than we have been covering on the blog in the past, but are more than we would typically get into on Facebook or Twitter.  We'll still provide the usual blog fare - including forecast discussions leading up to weather events of significance separately, recaps of said events, in-depth commentary, climate recaps, etc., but this will hopefully keep your appetite for MWN content satiated between these other posts!

Since it's new, we want your feedback!  If you have an idea for a topic that would go well in The Lightning Round, send it to us on social media or leave a comment in any blog post.  If you hate the whole concept, let us know.  If you enjoy it, let us know that too!

Without further adieu, The FIRST MWN Lightning Round......

Spring forward!

Tonight at 2am CST, we spring forward and it magically becomes 3am CDT.  Most people set their clocks before going to bed, but some stay up until 2am just to see an hour pass by in a second (as if an hour doesn't seemingly pass by in that amount of time nearly every day at some point).  A few places in the U.S. (Arizona and Hawaii most notably) still don't change their clocks twice a year like we do, and I think they're onto something.  For me, year-round DST would be just fine.

The only major drawback for meteorologists (who use Greenwich Mean Time, aka Zulu time, aka military time, aka UTC time) is that the major computer models come in an hour later, as they are run on UTC time.  It's also easier in the Central timezone to convert UTC to Standard Time than Daylight Time, but I'll get over it to get an extra hour of daylight in the evenings.  Also remember that clock-changing time should also be battery-changing time for your smoke detectors and weather radios, both of which we highly recommend.  For more on the history of Daylight Saving (not Savings) Time, see this article.

Congrats to an MWN team member

Earlier this week, MWN Social Media Intern William Churchill was offered a graduate level teaching assistantship position for the 2014-2015 school year by the Atmospheric Sciences Department at Mississippi State University.  William has interned for MWN since last April and is finishing up his undergraduate studies in Professional Meteorology at MSU this May.  He will then pursue an M.S. degree in Meteorology starting this fall.  (Mississippi State University, for those who don't know, has become one of the leading meteorology programs in the region, especially noted for turning out well-prepared broadcast meteorologists, but also now boasts a full atmospheric sciences program, including doctoral studies.)

William hails from the Memphis area, having graduated from Arlington High School in 2009 and has been a fabulous addition to the MWN team the past year.  I know you appreciate his hard work on our social media channels, as well as frequent blog posts, as much as I do. Congrats William on this well-deserved appointment!

SKYWARN Storm Spotter Class next week

Next Thursday, March 13, from 6:00pm-8:00pm, MemphisWeather.net and Mid-South Storm Chasers will jointly host one of two storm spotter classes scheduled for the Memphis area this spring.  The class, which is free and open to the public and does not require pre-registration, will be held at Bartlett United Methodist Church, 5676 Stage Road in Bartlett, west of Bartlett Blvd and in front of Bartlett High School.

Taught by the National Weather Service, the class will cover the basics of storm development and features of severe weather, how to spot and what to look for, common "look-alikes" to severe weather, and most importantly, how and what to report.  The class is for all ages, but especially for pre-teens and up.  At the end of the NWS-led class, yours truly will lead a short session on using Twitter and the #mSpotter hashtag to report severe weather via social media, with reports relayed immediately to the NWS.  The #mSpotter program has been very successful in the past couple of years with the rise of social media use and I'll provide details on how you can participate.  If you have an interest in weather or it has been a couple of years since your last spotter class, plan to join us Thursday night!  A list of other classes scheduled across the Mid-South can be found here.

That's it for this edition of The MWN Lightning Round!  Let us know what you think or if you have ideas for topics to explore by commenting below.

Erik Proseus
MWN Meteorologist

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Severe Weather Awareness 2013: SKYWARN Storm Spotters & #mSpotter

SKYWARN IS A PROGRAM DEVELOPED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TO RECRUIT AND TRAIN STORM SPOTTERS. SKYWARN SPOTTERS ENHANCE THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM DETECTION CAPABILITIES BY IDENTIFYING AND REPORTING POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS WEATHER CONDITIONS. THE SKYWARN PROGRAM HAS BECOME AN INVALUABLE LINK IN THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WARNING PROCESS.

DESPITE ALL THE SOPHISTICATED TECHNOLOGY USED IN A MODERN NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE... FORECASTERS STILL RELY ON STORM SPOTTERS. DOPPLER RADAR MAY INDICATE THAT A STORM MAY BE PRODUCING LARGE HAIL... DAMAGING WINDS... OR EVEN A TORNADO... BUT IT CANNOT TELL EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE GROUND UNDERNEATH THE STORM. STORM SPOTTERS... TRAINED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS... ACT AS THE EYES AND EARS OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. THEIR REPORTS... RADAR DATA... AND OTHER INFORMATION RESULT IN THE MOST TIMELY AND ACCURATE WARNINGS POSSIBLE.

SKYWARN SPOTTERS COME FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE - LAW ENFORCEMENT... FIRE OR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES... AND CITIZENS INTERESTED IN HELPING THEIR COMMUNITIES. A LARGE NUMBER OF STORM SPOTTERS ARE AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS WHO VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME AND EQUIPMENT TO HELP THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETECT AND TRACK SEVERE STORMS.

AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS WILL FREQUENTLY OPERATE RADIO EQUIPMENT AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE... GATHERING REPORTS FROM SPOTTERS IN THE FIELD AND RELAYING THE DATA DIRECTLY TO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECASTERS. SKYWARN SPOTTERS ARE VOLUNTEERS... THEY RECEIVE NO COMPENSATION FOR THEIR HARD WORK. THEY DO... HOWEVER... HAVE THE SATISFACTION OF KNOWING THAT THEIR REPORTS RESULT IN BETTER WARNINGS WHICH SAVE LIVES.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO BE A SPOTTER? THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ENCOURAGES ANYONE WITH AN INTEREST IN PUBLIC SERVICE AND ACCESS TO COMMUNICATION... SUCH AS AMATEUR RADIO... TO JOIN THE SKYWARN PROGRAM. VOLUNTEERS INCLUDE POLICE AND FIRE PERSONNEL... DISPATCHERS... EMS... PUBLIC UTILITY WORKERS... AND OTHER CONCERNED PRIVATE CITIZENS. INDIVIDUALS AFFILIATED WITH HOSPITALS... SCHOOLS... CHURCHES... NURSING HOMES... OR WHO HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROTECTING OTHERS ARE ALSO ENCOURAGED TO BECOME A SPOTTER.

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED? YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE SKYWARN PROGRAM  BY ATTENDING A STORM SPOTTER TRAINING CLASS TO BECOME A TRAINED SPOTTER. EACH OF THE TRAINING SESSIONS IS FREE... LAST AROUND TWO HOURS... AND COVERS THE FOLLOWING CONCEPTS: BASICS OF THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT... FUNDAMENTALS OF STORM STRUCTURE... IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER FEATURES... WHAT INFORMATION TO REPORT... HOW TO REPORT... AND BASIC SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY.

In addition to SKYWARN, Memphians can use the power and immediacy of Twitter to report severe weather.  Just send a tweet of what you see with the #mSpotter hashtag and the report will be passed directly on to NWS-Memphis meteorologists. The best reports include a geo-tagged tweet and picture of the severe weather (storm damage, hail, funnel/tornado, or even winter weather). For more information on this valuable program, visit the MWN #mSpotter page (mobile link) or join our Google+ Hangout for a training session on Tuesday night at 8:30pm.

The annual Memphis SKYWARN spotter training class, which is free and open to the public, will be taught by the National Weather Service on Tuesday, March 26, at 6:30pm at Lord of Life Lutheran on Poplar Pike near Kirby Parkway.  All current SKYWARN volunteers should attend as a refresher, while new volunteers are strongly encouraged to attend and learn how to be a spotter, what to look for, and how to report.

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Visit MemphisWeather.net on the web or m.memphisweather.net on your mobile phone.
Download our iPhone or Android apps, featuring a fresh new interface and StormWatch+ severe weather alerts!
MWN's Severe Weather Awareness Week Page has details on all of our SWAW activities

#mSpotter program allows Mid-South residents to submit storm reports via Twitter

On Monday night, March 19, at the Agricenter in East Memphis, about 150 people turned out to learn how to be volunteer storm spotters for the National Weather Service.  Following the two-hour training session, during which NWS personnel described what to look for in a severe storm and how to report it back to the NWS office, MemphisWeather.net meteorologist Erik Proseus invited those who had Twitter accounts to stay for a "bonus" training session on the brand-new #mSpotter storm reporting program.  About 40 individuals listened as Erik described how social media can be used to further the mission of the NWS, that is to "protect life and property."  While conventional methods of submitting storm reports to the NWS consist primarily of a phone call to the local office or submitting the report via a web form, #mSpotter allows those with Twitter accounts to send in their reports using their social media accounts.

The new program was designed to mirror a similar program (#tSpotter) in middle TN that has been highly-successful in the few months since it commenced under the oversight of Nashville attorney David Drobny, himself an avid weather enthusiast.  The program works by having a "middle man" - in the case of #mSpotter that role is filled by MemphisWeather.net - monitor incoming storm reports from the Twitter-sphere around Memphis that are tagged with the #mSpotter hashtag and then pass them on to NWS-Memphis via a chat function utilized by all NWS offices across the country.  #mSpotter encourages reports that are geo-tagged by the submitter's smartphone to allow for exact location information, as well as a picture of the event (i.e., hail, wind damage, flooding). This allows the "tweeted report" to contain exact information on the location and type of severe event that sometimes can be subjective or unclear (for instance an intersection that is not well-known).

#mSpotter reports will use primarily the same severe weather reporting criteria as traditional storm reporting: tornado/funnel clouds, 1/2" of larger hail, 50 mph wind or stronger, very heavy rain or flooding, weather-related structural damage, downed trees or power lines, and winter precipitation. In addition to the type of event, location, and time, as well as a geo-tag and picture if available, tweets should include the #mSpotter hashtag so that they are easily retrieved by MWN and can be relayed quickly to the NWS.  The goal of #mSpotter is to provide the National Weather Service with reliable reports of severe weather more quickly than conventional means, thereby allowing meteorologists to more efficiently and quickly warn those ahead of the storm what severe weather threats the storm contains.

Anyone with a Twitter account in the 8-county Memphis metro area is welcome to submit storm reports via #mSpotter.  We encourage you to read over the #mSpotter page on MemphisWeather.net prior to submitting any reports so that you are comfortable with how and what to send.  Thanks for being a part of this community-based public service!

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For weather information for Memphis and the Mid-South, where and when you need it, visit MemphisWeather.net on the web, m.memphisweather.net on your mobile phone, download our iPhone or Android apps, or visit us on Facebook or Twitter.

Severe Weather Awareness Week: SKYWARN storm spotters

SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK CONCLUDES WITH A LOOK AT SKYWARN.

SEVERE WEATHER CAN STRIKE DURING ANY MONTH OF THE YEAR AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY OR NIGHT. WHEN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THREATEN... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CALLS SKYWARN VOLUNTEERS INTO ACTION. SKYWARN VOLUNTEERS ARE THE EYES AND EARS OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE... PROVIDING INSTANT REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER... INCLUDING HAIL... HIGH WINDS... AND DANGEROUS CLOUD FORMATIONS.

SKYWARN SPOTTERS KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THE SKY ANYTIME SEVERE  THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH. MANY COMMUNITIES DEPLOY SPOTTERS AROUND THE EDGE OF THE CITY AND USE THEIR EARLY REPORTS OF IMPENDING HAZARDOUS WEATHER TO WARN THE COMMUNITY. SOME SPOTTERS RELAY REPORTS FROM THEIR HOME OR BUSINESS WHILE OTHER MORE ADVENTUROUS VOLUNTEERS BRAVE THE ELEMENTS AND TRY TO GET AS CLOSE TO THE STORM AS POSSIBLE.

WHO ARE THESE SKYWARN VOLUNTEERS? A LARGE NUMBER OF SKYWARN STORM SPOTTERS IN THE MID-SOUTH ARE AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS... OR HAMS. THESE PUBLIC-SERVICE MINDED INDIVIDUALS MAKE IDEAL STORM SPOTTERS SINCE THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE THEIR REPORTS. THEY ARE WILLING TO BE TRAINED AND THEY HAVE A REAL INTEREST IN HELPING THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES PREPARE FOR SEVERE WEATHER. AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS ARE ON CALL 24 HOURS A DAY... 365 DAYS A YEAR... EVEN THOUGH THEY RECEIVE NO COMPENSATION OF ANY KIND FOR THEIR HARD WORK.

MANY OTHER GROUPS PARTICIPATE IN THE SKYWARN PROGRAM... INCLUDING LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES... FIRE DEPARTMENTS... UTILITY COMPANIES... RESCUE SQUADS... AND THE NEWS MEDIA. IN SOME AREAS... INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS ARE TRAINED AS SPOTTERS... AND ARE ASKED TO RELAY THEIR REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. SPOTTERS ARE A VITAL LINK  IN THE WARNING PROCESS... AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE AS MANY TRAINED SPOTTERS IN EACH COUNTY AS POSSIBLE.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CAN HELP YOUR COMMUNITY SET UP A SKYWARN SPOTTER NETWORK. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SKYWARN AND HOW YOU CAN HELP... CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN MEMPHIS TENNESSEE.

The annual Memphis SKYWARN spotter training class, which is free and open to the public, will be taught by the National Weather Service on Monday, March 19, from 7-9pm at Agricenter International, Walnut Grove at Germantown Parkway.  The class has been revamped and now includes elements of both basic and advanced training.  All current SKYWARN volunteers should attend as a refresher, while new volunteers are strongly encouraged to attend and learn how to be a spotter, what to look for, and how to report. Hope to see you there!

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For weather information for Memphis and the Mid-South, where and when you need it, visit MemphisWeather.net on the web, m.memphisweather.net on your mobile phone, download our iPhone or Android apps, or visit us on Facebook or Twitter.

SKYWARN Storm Spotters - the eyes and ears of the NWS

SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK CONCLUDES WITH A LOOK AT SKYWARN.

SEVERE WEATHER CAN STRIKE DURING ANY MONTH OF THE YEAR AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY OR NIGHT. WHEN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THREATEN... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CALLS SKYWARN VOLUNTEERS INTO ACTION.

SKYWARN VOLUNTEERS ARE THE EYES AND EARS OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE... PROVIDING INSTANT REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER... INCLUDING HAIL... HIGH WINDS... AND DANGEROUS CLOUD FORMATIONS.

SKYWARN SPOTTERS KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THE SKY ANYTIME SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH. MANY COMMUNITIES DEPLOY SPOTTERS AROUND THE EDGE OF THE CITY AND USE THEIR EARLY REPORTS OF IMPENDING HAZARDOUS WEATHER TO WARN THE COMMUNITY. SOME SPOTTERS RELAY REPORTS FROM THEIR HOME OR BUSINESS WHILE OTHER MORE ADVENTUROUS VOLUNTEERS BRAVE THE ELEMENTS AND TRY TO GET AS CLOSE TO THE STORM AS POSSIBLE.

WHO ARE THESE SKYWARN VOLUNTEERS? A LARGE NUMBER OF SKYWARN STORM SPOTTERS IN THE MID-SOUTH ARE AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS... OR HAMS. THESE PUBLIC-SERVICE MINDED INDIVIDUALS MAKE IDEAL STORM SPOTTERS... SINCE THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE THEIR REPORTS. THEY ARE WILLING TO BE TRAINED AND THEY HAVE A REAL INTEREST IN HELPING THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES PREPARE FOR SEVERE WEATHER. AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS ARE ON CALL 24 HOURS A DAY... 365 DAYS A YEAR... EVEN THOUGH THEY RECEIVE NO COMPENSATION OF ANY KIND FOR THEIR HARD WORK.

MANY OTHER GROUPS PARTICIPATE IN THE SKYWARN PROGRAM... INCLUDING LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES... FIRE DEPARTMENTS... UTILITY COMPANIES... RESCUE SQUADS... AND THE NEWS MEDIA. IN SOME AREAS... INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS ARE TRAINED AS SPOTTERS AND ARE ASKED TO RELAY THEIR REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. SPOTTERS ARE A VITAL LINK IN THE WARNING PROCESS. IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE AS MANY TRAINED SPOTTERS IN EACH COUNTY AS POSSIBLE.

NOTE: The National Weather Service will be conducting basic SKYWARN spotter training on Saturday, February 26, 2011 at the Agricenter in Cordova at 10:00am.  The class is free with no reservations required and will last a little over two hours. Teens are welcome to attend with their parents. For more information, contact the National Weather Service at (901) 544-0401.

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Severe Weather Awareness Week 2010 - Skywarn

This is the last post (#7) in a series published for Severe Weather Awareness Week 2010. Today's post focuses on Skywarn... the NWS-trained storm spotter network.

Severe weather can strike during any month of the year at any time of the day or night. When severe thunderstorms threaten... the National Weather Service calls Skywarn volunteers into action. Skywarn volunteers are the eyes and ears of the National Weather Service... providing instant reports of severe weather including hail... high winds... and dangerous cloud formations.

Skywarn spotters keep a close eye on the sky anytime severe thunderstorms approach. Many communities deploy spotters around the edge of the city and use their early reports of impending hazardous weather to warn the community. Some spotters relay reports from their home or business while other more adventurous volunteers brave the elements and try to get as close to the storm as possible.

Who are these Skywarn volunteers? A large number of sky warn storm spotters in the Mid-South are amateur radio operators... or hams. These public-service minded individuals make ideal storm spotters... since they have the ability to communicate their reports. They are willing to be trained and they have a real interest in helping the National Weather Service and their local communities prepare for severe weather. Amateur radio operators are on call 24 hours a day... 365 days a year... even though they receive no compensation of any kind for their hard work.

Many other groups participate in the Skywarn program... including law enforcement agencies... fire departments... utility companies... rescue squads... and the news media. In some areas... individual citizens are trained as spotters and are asked to relay their reports to the National Weather Service. Spotters are a vital link in the warning process and it is important to have as many trained spotters in each county as possible.

The National Weather Service can help your community set up a Skywarn spotter network. For more information on Skywarn and how you can help... contact the National Weather Service office in Memphis Tennessee.

MemphisWeather.net provides the latest severe weather information, including flood and flash flood warnings, for the Memphis metropolitan area. This includes all watches and warnings, an interactive severe weather map of the Mid-South, and free delivery of severe weather alerts for the metro area via e-mail and Twitter. Find these services under the "Severe Weather" menu on MemphisWeather.net.

We hope you have enjoyed reading this week's series of posts for Severe Weather Awareness Week.

Most of this post's content courtesy of the National Weather Service.