Tag Archives: severe weather

Updated: Seminars offer deeper dive for SKYWARN storm spotters

Seminars around Indiana provide opporutnities for advanced training for SKYWARN storm spottersJan. 5, I wrote about annual SKYWARN storm spotter training beginning in less than a month in some parts of Indiana. Today, I’d like to share other educational opportunities for spotters and others who’d like to take a deeper dive into severe weather meteorology.

Central Indiana Severe Weather Symposium, Indianapolis

2016 Central Indiana Severe Weather Symposium logoThis day-long event, hosted by the central Indiana chapter of the American Meteorology Society and the National Weather Service Indianapolis weather forecast office, always provides lots of fascinating information of value to storm spotters. If you want to attend, register early, because it often “sells out” well before the day of the event.

Saturday, March 5, 2016, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Reilly Room, Atherton Union, Butler University, 704 West Hampton Drive. Information and registration: http://www.weather.gov/ind/2016CISWS. Twitter tweets about this event carry the hash tag #CISWS.

DuPage County Advanced Severe Weather Seminar, Wheaton, Ill.

2016 DuPage County Advanced Severe Weather Seminar infographicThis all-day event in one of is one of the best advanced spotter training opportunities in the Midwest. I’ve attended at least twice. It’s in a western suburb of Chicago, so it’s a bit of a drive for many Hoosiers! DuPage College’s meteorology professors usually speak and they’re both great presenters.

Saturday, March 12, 2016, Wheaton College. Information and registration are now available at https://www.dupageco.org/weatherseminar/. See also: #DuPageWxSeminar and https://www.facebook.com/groups/dupagesevereweather/.

Ohio State Meteorology Club Severe Weather Symposium, Columbus, Ohio

I’ve attended at least three of these annual, all-day events. They usually contain interesting information and speakers but they are geared more toward meteorology students than to spotters.

Friday, March 4, 2016, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Information and registration are now available at http://u.osu.edu/metclub/symposium/2016-symposium/.

Severe Weather Awareness Day, Nashville, Tenn.

This annual event might be of interest to storm spotters who live in southern Indiana and points south. I’ve never attended, but a friend has been impressed with it. As you can see in the flyer image above, one of this year’s speakers is well-known broadcast meteorologist James Spann.

Saturday, Feb. 27, Trevecca Nazarene University, Nashville, Tenn. Information (with registration beginning Feb. 1) at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ohx/?n=swad2016. See also  https://twitter.com/hashtag/swad2016?f=tweets&vertical=default.

Others?

If you know of other good, advanced training opportunities for storm spotters, leave a note in the comments section of this blog post.

What’s the #1 source for national weather?

Amateur-run Facebook pages should not mislead readers into believing that their information is better than that of the National Weather ServiceShould a Facebook page run by amateur storm chasers promote itself as the best source for weather information? I can’t help but wonder how many (if any) naïve Facebook users foolishly rely on such pages for time-critical safety information, in lieu of the National Weather Service (NWS).

Recently, a Facebook page distributed the graphic above. I’ve blurred out identifying information, because who it was doesn’t matter to the point of this article. But the headline, “The #1 Source for National Weather” certainly caught my eye.

I’ve tried multiple times to contact the owners of the Facebook page that published that graphic. I sent a Facebook message and sent an email message to the email address on their website. I’ve received no response. So, all I know about them is what I see online.

From what I see, both the Facebook page and associated website are published by a group of amateur storm chasers, none of whom appear to have a meteorology degree.

In the U.S., only one source of weather information has the authority to issue the official watches and warnings that trigger weather radios, etc.

Don’t read what I’m not writing! There’s nothing wrong with an amateur-run Facebook page or website distributing interesting or important weather information. I do it all the time on Facebook, this blog, Twitter, etc. What I don’t do, however, is claim that my information is any better than others’.

Why? Because I don’t want anyone to assume that my blog, Facebook page or Twitter feed (or anyone’s for that matter) is a safe and reliable way to get timely, live-saving weather alerts, especially NWS warnings. Not even the NWS’ own Facebook and Twitter feeds are timely enough for that (yet).

That’s also why I consistently encourage readers – for their safety – to maintain timely access to NWS products (e.g. via NOAA Weather Radio, smartphone apps triggered by NWS products, Wireless Emergency Alerts, etc.).

All of us who publish weather information on social media and other Internet channels have a responsibility to inform and remind readers that in the U.S., only one source of weather information has the authority to issue the official watches and warnings that trigger weather radios, etc.: The National Weather Service. Likewise, we must not publish anything that could potentially mislead readers into believing that our social media feeds can keep them as safe as do directly received NWS warnings.

Our readers’ lives could depend on it!

What do you think? Use this blog’s comment function to let us know.

Bill in Congress would expand NWS research to improve severe weather forecasts

Photo of tornado with words superimposed: H.R. 1561: "... zero death from severe weather events ..."

“… an important step toward moving to a day when we have zero deaths from severe weather events…”

Some members of Congress want the National Weather Service (NWS) to devote a larger portion of its research budget to improving forecasts of tornadoes and hurricanes and increasing warning lead times. H.R. 1561, the “Weather Research and Forecast Innovation Act of 2015″ would Impose that requirement on the NWS, if it becomes law. The Science, Space, and Technology Committee passed the bill late last month.

Bill co-sponsor Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) said in his blog, “The Weather Forecasting Innovation and Research Act is an important step toward moving to a day when we have zero deaths from severe weather events, such as tornadoes which can be devastating in my home state of Oklahoma. By prioritizing funding within NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, we can advance critical technologies and capabilities to vastly improve weather forecasting in the United States and save lives and property.”

Bill author Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) said, “The United States needs a world-class weather prediction system that helps protect the American people and their property. Unfortunately, for the last few years, our leadership in weather forecasting has slipped and we now play second fiddle to the European forecasting offices, who often predict America’s weather better than we can. The bill before us today will help us reclaim superior weather prediction and forecasting capabilities. Our citizens deserve this.”

if you agree, as I do, that the NWS, while doing a good job now, needs the ability to better forecast and warn us about severe weather, contact your own congressman and ask him to support H.R. 1561. The Open Conress website makes this easy.

A weather safety tip you might not have thought of: Footwear

Photo of feet wearing flip-flops with red X superimposed. Flip-flops are poor footwear for severe weather days. Indiana Severe Weather Preparedness Week. #INWxReady #WRNSandals, especially flip-flops, which are so popular when the weather is warm, are poor choices for severe weather days.

My feet get warm easily. I have a pair of Chacos brand sandals that I wear almost every day during warm weather. But not on days that I might need to serve as a storm spotter.

If severe weather is coming our way, I usually change into a sturdy pair of ankle-supporting hunting boots I bought on sale at Cabela’s, even if I’ll be staying home during the storm.

Why? On word: debris.

National Weather Service photo

After a storm passes, I might have to walk through storm debris, which can include pieces of trees and pieces of buildings. The walking surface might be uneven. Some of the debris might have sharp edges.

I choose to protect my feet from all that, a practice I learned back in the 90s when I served as an emergency medical technician and communications technician on a Disaster Medical Assistance Team. It’s how I dressed my feet every day, even in tropical weather when assisting the victims of Hurricanes Andrew and Marilyn.

My advice: If you’re a storm spotter or storm chaser, get yourself a good pair of boots to wear anytime you’re in the field, even on hot, humid days. And no matter who you are, if you ever have to take shelter in your house from a coming storm, take the most protective footwear you have with you to the basement, interior room, etc. Put them on after the storm, before you step outside to survey the damage. Your feet will be much safer.

Tweet responsibly during severe weather

Tornado clip art with Twitter bird logoDuring periods of severe weather, the micro-blogging service, Twitter often explodes with information. Some tweets are helpful, others are less so.

The “Virtual Operations Support Group” blog posted an excellent article last year, “How to Tweet Responsibly in Severe Weather” that every Twitter user should read before the next severe weather event happens.

Highlights include:

  • Include the Twitter handle of your local NWS office when reporting weather.
  • Include a time stamp with on any tweet about an NWS warning and any tweet that contains a severe weather report.
  • In weather reports, also include:
    • What you saw.
    • Where it happened.
    • A photo, if possible.
  • Even if you normally prohibit Twitter from knowing your location (for privacy), enable location services while tweeting about severe weather.

Learn about severe weather with NWS storm spotter training

The National Weather Service (NWS) will conduct live, in-person SKYWARN storm spotter training in Fort Wayne Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Public Safety Academy/Ivy Tech South Campus, 7602 Patriot Crossing (off Lafayette St. south of Tillman Rd.).

The NWS relies heavily on trained, volunteer storm spotters. Ham radio operators have strongly supported the SKYWARN program for decades and recently more and more other volunteers, who are not ham radio operators, have joined in. An important part of supporting the program is to receive NWS training and to keep that knowledge up to date.

I want to be as helpful as possible to the NWS and, thereby my community. That’s why I attend SKYWARN training every year, even though the NWS only expects spotters to attend at least once every three years. I find it helpful to refresh my memory from the previous year and to make sure I’m aware of any new information.

If you’ve never attended the training, and you live in the Fort Wayne area, this is your chance to do so without traveling out of town. If you have attended in previous years, this month’s training will be a good refresher. If you don’t live in the Fort Wayne area, you can find a list of other classes taught by the northern Indiana NWS office here.

If you know anyone who is curious about what storm spotting is, invite them to attend. Remember that while a ham license is helpful to spotters, it’s not at all necessary, especially in these days of smartphones and mobile Internet.

The NWS considers the in-person training to be supplemental to online spotter training available on the MetEd website (https://www.meted.ucar.edu/). It recommends that all spotters complete the online training in addition to the in-person training and ideally, before the in-person session.

Finally, the NWS sincerely requests that all individuals register in advance for in-person training sessions. I have already honored that request, by registering for the Feb. 17 session. You can register online for the Fort Wayne class at http://allen-in-spotter.eventzilla.net/ or you can register by phone by calling the Allen County Office of Homeland Security at 260-449-4663.

Slight risk of severe storms tomorrow

Day 2 convective outlook map
Yellow area: Slight risk (15% probability) of severe storms between 8 a.m. EDT Sat. (July 12) and 8 a.m. EDT Sun. Green: Non-severe thunderstorms. Unshaded: No thunder. Highlighted counties: Northern Indiana NWS county warning area. Source: SPC “Day 2 Convective Outlook” issued at 2:10 a.m. EDT July 11.

The northern third of Indiana, including Fort Wayne, has a slight risk of severe storms between 8 a.m. EDT tomorrow (July 12) and 8 a.m. EDT Sunday, according to a “Day 2 Convective Outlook” that the National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued at 2:10 a.m.

People planning to attend outdoor events of the Fort Wayne Three Rivers Festival tomorrow should assure that they have a way to know about any weather warnings the NWS might issue tomorrow.  Possibilities include carrying a portable weather alert radio, installing a weather alert app on a smartphone and listening to a local radio station.

The timing of storms remains uncertain but the current outlook seems to indicate they are most likely Saturday night into early Sunday.

In addition to Fort Wayne, the slight risk area includes all of IMO SKYWARN quadrant two, except for the Ohio counties of Allen and Putnam and the southeastern half of Jay County, Indiana.

The SPC will issue an updated outlook for tomorrow by 1:30 p.m. EDT today. By 2 a.m. EDT tomorrow, an outlook for tomorrow will include probabilities of tornadoes, damaging thunderstorm winds and large hail.

Lessons in Emergency Social Media Communications from the National Weather Service

Screen shot of NWS tweet: The worst decision you could make today is to ignore a severe/tornado warning. These storms will be nasty

47 of the top 50 tweets sent by federal government Twitter accounts yesterday (Nov. 18) were warnings from various National Weather Service (NWS) offices on the severe weather impacting the Midwest. …
There are two quick lessons we can take from NWS’s tweets yesterday.

Read more on the Measured Voice blog.

Decatur, Indiana: Severe thunderstorm leads to … gas main break?

Scene photo from WANE TV
WANE-TV photo

“If it’s not one thing, it’s another.”

Reports indicate that electric utility crews in Decatur, Indiana were digging a hole to plant a pole to replace one broken by Sunday’s storm when … they hit a 4-inch gas main.

According to this report from WANE-TV, the gas leak forced Decatur officials to close U.S. 27 (the city’s main thoroughfare) and evacuate about 50 homes.

As if storm damage and power outages weren’t enough!

Tornadoes confirmed in White, Cass, Miami and Kosciusko Counties of Indiana

From the northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
915 PM EST MON NOV 18 2013 /815 PM CST MON NOV 18 2013/

...EF1 TORNADO CONFIRMED IN WHITE COUNTY IN...
...2 EF0 TORNADOES CONFIRMED IN CASS COUNTY IN...
...EF1 TORNADO CONFIRMED IN MIAMI COUNTY IN...
...EF2 TORNADO CONFIRMED IN KOSIUSKO IN...

ALL INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS TRACKED EAST ACROSS NORTHERN INDIANA SUNDAY
AFTERNOON NOVEMBER 17. WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE WAS REPORTED ACROSS
MUCH OF THE AREA. NWS DAMAGE SURVEY TEAMS TRAVELED ACROSS THE REGION
TO SURVEY AREAS OF EXTENSIVE DAMAGE. THE RESULTS OF SOME OF THE
SURVEYS ARE BELOW.

...TORNADO /WHITE COUNTY IN/...

RATING: EF-1
MAXIMUM ESTIMATED WIND SPEED: 90 MPH
MAXIMUM ESTIMATED PATH WIDTH: 75 YARDS
PATH LENGTH: 0.6 MILES
START TIME: ESTIMATED AROUND 307PM EST
END TIME: ESTIMATED AROUND 308PM EST
LOCATION: NE PORTION OF WHITE COUNTY. 1400N BETWEEN 400N AND 500N
DESCRIPTION: THE TORNADO PATH WILL BE POSTED TO OUR
WEBPAGE...FACEBOOK PAGE...AND TWITTER PROFILE SOMETIME TOMORROW.


...TORNADO /CASS COUNTY IN/...

RATING: EF-0
MAXIMUM ESTIMATED WIND SPEED: 80 MPH
MAXIMUM ESTIMATED PATH WIDTH: 100 YARDS
PATH LENGTH: 0.9 MILES
START TIME: ESTIMATED AROUND 320 PM EST
END TIME: ESTIMATED AROUND 322 PM EST
LOCATION: 2 MILES SW OF LOGANSPORT TO 1 MILE SOUTH OF LOGANSPORT
DESCRIPTION: THE TORNADO PATH WILL BE POSTED TO OUR
WEBPAGE...FACEBOOK PAGE...AND TWITTER PROFILE SOMETIME TOMORROW.

...TORNADO /CASS COUNTY IN/...

RATING: EF-0
MAXIMUM ESTIMATED WIND SPEED: 80 MPH
MAXIMUM ESTIMATED PATH WIDTH: 200 YARDS
PATH LENGTH: 1.6 MILES
START TIME: ESTIMATED AROUND 319 PM EST
END TIME: ESTIMATED AROUND 321 PM EST
LOCATION: 0.75 MILES NORTH OF YOUNG AMERICAN TO 2 MILES NORTHEAST OF
YOUNG AMERICA
DESCRIPTION: THE TORNADO PATH WILL BE POSTED TO OUR
WEBPAGE...FACEBOOK PAGE...AND TWITTER PROFILE SOMETIME TOMORROW.

...TORNADO /MIAMI COUNTY IN/...

RATING: EF-1
MAXIMUM ESTIMATED WIND SPEED: 110 MPH
MAXIMUM ESTIMATED PATH WIDTH: 75 YARDS
PATH LENGTH: 1.8 MILES
START TIME: ESTIMATED AROUND 332 PM EST
END TIME: ESTIMATED AROUND 333 PM EST
LOCATION: 2.5 MILES NORTHEAST OF GRISSOM AFB TO 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF
GRISSOM AFB
DESCRIPTION: THE TORNADO PATH WILL BE POSTED TO OUR
WEBPAGE...FACEBOOK PAGE...AND TWITTER PROFILE SOMETIME TOMORROW.

...TORNADO /KOSCIUSKO COUNTY IN/...

RATING: EF-2
MAXIMUM ESTIMATED WIND SPEED: 125 MPH
MAXIMUM ESTIMATED PATH WIDTH: 150 YARDS
PATH LENGTH: 4.0 MILES
START TIME: ESTIMATED AROUND 343 PM EST
END TIME: ESTIMATED AROUND 348 PM EST
LOCATION: 2.5 SOUTH OF SILVER LAKE TO 3 MILES EAST OF SILVER LAKE
DESCRIPTION: THE TORNADO PATH WILL BE POSTED TO OUR
WEBPAGE...FACEBOOK PAGE...AND TWITTER PROFILE SOMETIME TOMORROW.