For several years, a Web-based weather reporting system called “eSpotter” has been available to trained SKYWARN storm spotters. They could obtain accounts from their local National Weather Service (NWS) offices and then used the special website to make any kind of SKYWARN spotter report. The report would be relayed immediately to the appropriate NWS staff member. That system is coming to an end this month, according to a Web page on the northern Indiana NWS website.

As a result of the pending termination of eSpotter, the NWS is no longer creating new accounts on the system. Spotters who already have accounts may continue to use eSpotter until it goes off line, but the NWS is encouraging them to begin using alternative reporting methods in preparation for the termination of eSpotter.

The IMO SKYWARN quadrant two net has used eSpotter in the past to relay reports from ham radio-equipped spotters when the ham radio station at the northern Indiana NWS office (WX9IWX) was not staffed. Over the past year, most quadrant net control station operators have obtained accounts on an internal NWS chat room service called, “NWSChat.” In the future, therefore, if WX9IWX is not staffed during a severe weather event, net control stations can relay hams’ reports via NWSChat. NWSChat accounts are not available to all spotters. They are only available to staff members of the NWS and its government partners, broadcasters and members of the emergency management community (including public safety officials and SKYWARN net control station operators).

For those spotters who are not eligible for NWSChat accounts and who prefer to use an Internet-based reporting method, below are the best alternatives. (This list is focused on the northern Indiana NWS office. To learn how to send tweets, Facebook messages, etc. to other offices, contact those offices):

Of course, non-Internet reporting methods remain available, including ham radio (for licensed operators) and telephone, using the special toll-free number that the NWS provides to spotters when they attend training (if you attended training but don’t have the number, use the email address above to request it).

Indiana’s statewide tornado drills today provide excellent opportunities to practice what you would do if the National Weather Service issued a real tornado warning for your area. Here are the basics:

1. Listen to or read the entire warning. If your first notification is from hearing a siren, turn on a radio or television or go to the Web to get the details. You’ll learn exactly what areas are covered by the warning, what prompted the warning and what impacts to expect from the storm.
2. If you are in the warning area, take shelter. Do not go outside to look for the tornado. Assume that you are in immediate danger and act accordingly. Below are official recommendations on where to take shelter based on various situations.
3. Remain sheltered until the storm has passed and/or the warning has expired.

If you practice these steps today, when the test tornado warnings come out (once in the morning and again in the evening), you’ll be better prepared for a real warning.

Below are recommendations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency regarding how to take shelter from a tornado:

Earlier this week I wrote about why you should stop believing in tornado sirens and some better alternatives to sirens.

Assuming you’ve chosen a method to receive tornado warnings, tomorrow, you’ll have a chance to see how well the method you’ve chosen works. Throughout the state, the National Weather Service will issue two test tornado warnings tomorrow; one in the late morning (when most people are at work) and one in the early evening (when most people are at home). These test warnings will trigger all the alerts that a normal tornado warning triggers, including weather alert radio, smartphone apps, wireless emergency alerts, radio and television alerts, and yes, even tornado sirens.

So, if the morning goes by and you don’t become aware of a test tornado warning — that is, you don’t hear sirens or get the test warning by any other means — you’ll know you would have missed a real tornado warning. Likewise, for the evening test.

There are a couple possible exceptions. If true severe weather threatens any part of Indiana tomorrow, officials will postpone the statewide drill. Also, in previous years, local officials have unilaterally decided not to activate tornado sirens during the drill. So, if you don’t hear a siren, it might be because you’re not in range of a siren, or it might be because the local officials who control the sirens decided not to participate in the drill.

If you read this blog regularly, you know that the northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service has been supplementing live and online independent-study SKYWARN storm spotter training with “chats” via Facebook and Twitter.

During one of the Facebook chats, a spotter asked an excellent question: If he sees a tornado, should he call the NWS first, or 911? The spotter reasoned that if he calls 911, local public safety officials would learn of the tornado and would relay the report to the NWS.

The NWS replied that they’d prefer to get the first call. This makes a lot of sense, for the following reasons:

• 911 call centers get very busy answering calls and dispatching emergency responders during severe weather. They are often so busy, they don’t have time to call the NWS with the reports they receive. We should never assume that a report made via 911 will get to the NWS.
• 911 call centers might be able to activate tornado sirens, but they cannot issue the official tornado warning that triggers NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) alerts, broadcast radio or TV alerts or cell phone wireless emergency alerts (WEA).
• The NWS, on the other hand, can issue the official tornado warning, which will go to the 911 center, the broadcast media and directly to the general public via multiple channels, including NWR, WEA, smartphone apps, etc.

There can be an issue, however, with calling the NWS. Sometimes, their unlisted spotter report line is busy when spotters call, especially during a widespread event. That’s one reason that the NWS increasingly suggests that trained storm spotters use Twitter (include @nwsiwx or #nwsiwx in your tweet) or Facebook to send reports. These social media channels also allow spotters to add credibility to their reports by including photographs. During periods of severe weather, NWS monitors Twitter and Facebook constantly, so a social media report can actually reach meteorologists faster than a telephone report, especially if the phone line is busy.

Of course, for spotters who are also ham radio operators, ham radio SKYWARN nets provide another alternative to telephone and social media. And ham radio transmission allows other radio-equipped spotters to hear reports as spotters make them.

A sample display from GRLevel3 radar software.

One of the most useful situational awareness tools for a SKYWARN storm spotter is a good view of radar data. For several years, I’ve used a program called, “GRLevel3,” from Gibson Ridge Software. It runs on a computer, receives raw data from National Weather Service (NWS) Doppler radar stations via the Internet and then displays that data on the computer screen. With software like GRLevel3, you can see much more than the various radar websites display. For example, I have GRLevel3 configured on my computer to display the outline of the county warning area of my local NWS weather forecast office. It also displays the locations of spotters who are registered with spotternetwork.org, the locations of ham radio repeaters, and lots of other data.

I just learned that tomorrow evening, March 18, a ham radio leader who is a user of GRLevel3 will conduct a webinar (online presentation) titled, “An Introduction to GRLevel3, Version 2.” Below is an email message that gives the details. If you have a copy of GRLevel3 or if you’re thinking about acquiring radar software, this could be a good webinar to attend.

Severe weather could happen at any time, anywhere, so being prepared to act quickly when it strikes could be a matter of survival. The Moore, Oklahoma tornado is estimated to have caused about $2 billion in property damage. In November 2013 alone, at least 70 tornadoes spanned seven Midwestern states, including one in Kokomo, Ind.

Even though the 2013 Oklahoma tornado outbreak was forecasted for days in advance, and warning lead times for the outbreak’s tornadoes averaged nearly 20 minutes, there were still many people in the impacted areas who stated they were unprepared.

Here is what we can do to prepare:

Knowing your risk, taking action and being an example by sharing your knowledge and actions with your social network are just a few steps you can take to be better prepared and save your life and others.

• Know Your Risk: Tornadoes and damaging severe thunderstorms are not uncommon in northeastern Indiana, southern lower Michigan and northwestern Ohio. See the chart below and follow this link to see additional information about the severe weather risk in this area.
  
• Take Action: Take the next step in severe weather preparedness by creating a family communications plan, putting an emergency kit together, keeping important papers and valuables in a safe place, and learning about Wireless Emergency Alerts. To learn more about taking action, participate in a local event on April 30 through America’s PrepareAthon.
• Be an Example: Once you have taken action to prepare for severe weather, share your story with family and friends on Facebook or Twitter. Your preparedness story will inspire others to do the same.

Learn more at www.weather.gov and www.ready.gov/severe-weather or the Spanish­ language website www.listo.gov. Follow the northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service @nwsiwx and FEMA @readygov.

In support of Indiana’s Severe Weather Preparedness Week (March 16 – 22), I plan to post a series of articles on this blog. Some will be targeted at my readers who are members of the general public and others will be intended for trained SKYWARN storm spotters.

This first instalment in the series is for everyone; especially everyone who thinks tornado sirens will keep them safe from severe weather.

Tornado sirens are something of a tradition in the Midwest. For many of us, the very sound of a tornado siren creates an emotional response – which is why some NFL teams play recordings of tornado sirens during games. These sirens are so woven into our culture that many Midwesterners dangerously assume that if a tornado threatens their town/city/neighborhood, they’ll hear a tornado siren. Just as dangerously, many believe that if they don’t hear a siren, there’s no real danger.

In fact, very few communities have enough tornado sirens to protect all residents. And no sirens are intended to be heard indoors. So, if you rely solely on sirens to keep you safe, chances are very high that even if a tornado is bearing down on you and even if it has been spotted, warnings have been issued and sirens activated, you won’t know about it!

Just to give you an idea of how sporadic tornado sirens can be, the area of Allen County, Indiana is 660 square miles. According to the Allen County Office of Homeland Security, only 175 square miles are within range of tornado sirens (“within range” meaning the sirens can be heard by people who are outdoors). That means only 26.5 percent of Allen County’s geography is within range of a tornado siren!

There are other issues with tornado sirens, but I’ll omit them for now. The bottom line is this: Stop believing in tornado sirens. Find other ways to know if you and your family are in danger, even late at night when you’re all asleep. A good start is to buy a weather alert radio, put fresh batteries in it, and program it to sound off when warnings are issued for your county.

Read more about weather alert radios and other alternatives to tornado sirens.

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