Severe Storm Spotting

I am a trained weather spotter. As a weather spotter, I do not try to chase down severe weather nor tornadoes. Instead, I report on severe weather that is occuring wherever I happen to be.

A storm chaser is one who safely gets in behind a storm in order to locate any tornadoes which may develop. This should never, ever, ever be done as a one person show nor by one who doesn't have the proper training.

When severe weather [defined in our area as a thunderstorm that produces 1" hail or larger in diameter and/or winds equal to or exceeding 58 miles an hour] is approaching the KC area, the National Weather Service will request that the SKYWARN net be activated. Upon receipt of this request, the person acting as the net control operator will activate once the liason operator arrives at the National Weather Service office in Pleasant Hill, MO. Yes, every weather office has an amateur radio station inside. In the Kansas City area, the SKYWARN frequency is 146.820.

Nearly every county (and some individual cities) in the KC metro area have spotter groups. One person from each of these groups acts as a liason between their group and SKYWARN net control to provide storm reports directly to the National Weather Service. This procedure works amazingly well.

Here are some of the frequencies the local spotter groups use. This is not the full list. You can find that in my Unofficial KC Storm Spotter Manual (5 MEG).

KC SKYWARN 146.820
KC SKYWARN Backup Frequency 146.700
Johnson County KS 145.470
Wyandotte County KS 147.210
Jackson County MO 147.270
Independence MO 145.310
Clay & Platte Counties MO 146.790
M.E.R.S. (Metropolitan Emergency Radio System) 154.130
National Weather Radio KID-77 in Pleaant Hill, MO 162.550

For those who are interested in becoming a weather spotter, there are several things you should do:

training

2) Become an Amateur Radio Operator. You will be most effective when operating with a group, plus it's safer this way.

3) Download (right-click and select "Save As") the Basic Spotter's Field Guide (557 kb) and the Advanced Spotter's Field Guide (3.2 MB). Keep a copy at home and one in the vehicle to use as a reference tool.

4) Download my Unofficial KC Storm Spotter Manual (5 MEG).
This manual (and the information therein) is to be considered a supplement to and NOT a substitute for actually attending a spotter training session conducted by the National Weather Service Pleasant Hill/Kansas City.

5) Your personal safety is of high importance. When storm spotting, do no place yourself in a dangerous situation. If conditions are deteriorating at your location, inform the control operator of the net you're checked into that you need to relocate, then do so immediately.

Here are some great tools to help you be an effective severe storm spotter:

Spotter Network - This is an excellent tool used by the National Weather Service. The SpotterNetwork brings storm spotters, storm chasers, coordinators and public servants together in a seamless network of information.
Storm Prediction Center
Milwaukee Area Skywarn Association - Links to many great storm spotting training materials
Getting Started in Tornado and Thunderstorm Spotting
NWS Norman OK Spotter Training Materials
Storm Spotter Reference Guide
NWS HotSeat - The NWS Warning Decision Simulator
NWS JetStream - An Online School for Weather
National SKYWARN Forums
The Online Tornado FAQ
USA and World Weather Spotters Yahoo Group
The Online Meterology Guide
The National Severe Storms Laboratory

According to the January 2009 edition of Aware (page 14) the National Weather Service outreach team will soon replace the Basic and Advance Spotter Guides with revised materials including a pocket guide, scheduled to be printed this summer.

The revised spotter training materials are being developed by the SKYWARN Modernization Team, made up of field representatives from each NWS region. This balanced approach was taken to ensure that the modernized guide contains information that will help spotters understand severe weather most commonly observed in their specific location.