Published: January 07, 2009 08:14 am         

Storm spotter class slated

With one of north Texas’ more violent storm seasons behind it, the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth Office is now taking time to focus on increasing storm preparedness among residents in 2009.

As part of its area-wide weather preparedness campaign, the NWS has partnered with Anderson County’s Emergency Management Office to host a storm spotter training program from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27 in the Anderson County Courthouse Annex Meeting Room.

The 2009 program will discuss thunderstorm formation, severe weather production and features associated with severe storms; and will review tornado formation, storm spotter operations and recommended reporting procedures.

“We have some new material in the 2009 spotter training program,” NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Gary Woodall said. “We will present the information in the form of a checklist for the attendees to utilize.

“Most of the storm photos and video clips are different this year,” Woodall explained. “We have reworked many of our graphics, we’ll have more identification cases and we’ll discuss the operational aspects of storm spotters in detail.”

The fundamental purpose of the spotter training — and of the storm spotter network as a whole — remains unchanged.

“We could not do our job as well as we do without storm spotters,” Woodall said. “Radar is a great tool, but it only tells us part of a storm’s story.

“Spotter observations complement the electronic data we use to analyze storms,” he added. “The combination of spotter reports and radar data gives us the best possible picture of the storms and what’s going on inside them.”

The program is free and open to the public.

“By coming to this program, you will learn a lot about thunderstorms,” Woodall said. “Even if you don’t become an active storm spotter, you will learn about how storms work and the visual clues you can identify when storms are in your area.

“We will discuss severe weather safety tips. This will better prepare yourself and your family for the threats that storms pose.”

For more information on severe weather and the National Weather Service, visit the Fort Worth Forecast Office’s website at http://www.weather.gov/fortworth

————

Mary Rainwater may be reached via e-mail at mrainwater@palestineherald.com

     

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.