National Weather Service Milwaukee · 2018-03-12 · DISCLAIMER! National Weather Service Milwaukee: Storm Spotter Training Spotting severe weather can be dangerous! If you do not

Storm

Spotter

Training

2018

Picture: Ryan Wubben

Madison, WI July 20, 2017

National Weather Service Milwaukee

DISCLAIMER!

National Weather Service Milwaukee: Storm Spotter Training

Spotting severe weather can be dangerous! If you do not feel safe, you should seek shelter immediately!

Your safety is more important than a report.

The NWS does not condone, endorse or recommend storm chasing. It is a

dangerous practice and should not be attempted.

Mobile Spotting Safety Concerns

Always spot with a partner.

Watch for water on the road.

Obey traffic laws.

Watch out for ‘the other guy’.

Make sure your vehicle is ready for action.

What are storm spotters?


The National Weather Service needs reports of

tornadoes, flash floods, wind damage and hail to

effectively warn the public of inclement weather.

Storm spotter volunteers provide ground truth to what NWS meteorologists interpret

on radar. They have an interest in the weather and a desire to serve their community.

Who are storm spotters?


Private Citizens

Law Enforcement

Fire Personnel

EMS Workers

Public Utility

Amateur Radio Volunteers

Storm Chasers

Hospitals, schools, churches, nursing

homes, others w/responsibility for

protecting others.

Radar Limitations


-Radar typically doesn’t ‘see’ tornado

-Base of cloud that tornado descends from is typically 1,000-5,000 feet off the ground

-Sees rotation in the upper parts of a thunderstorm

MKX

1000ft

NWS Milwaukee Radar Height Above Ground

3000ft

5000ft

How do spotters/reports help?


People react to reports of severe weather as opposed to ‘radar indicated’.

May 16, 2017

528pm Tornado Warning

Barron County/Chetek

May 16, 2017

540pm Tornado Warning

Barron County/Chetek

...a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Sumner (Chetek)...

SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation

TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor....

...a confirmed tornado was located near Sumner...

SOURCE...Public confirmed tornado

To repeat, a tornado is on the ground. TAKE COVER NOW!

Timely Reports


Reports that come in as the storm is in progress are much

more valuable than reports that come in hours after the storm is

done.

NWS relays this information through warnings.

Can trigger or keep warnings active.

Broadcast media relays reports.

People react! It’s a confirmation source.

What triggers a warning?


•Conditions favorable for severe weather?

Environment

•Signatures/thresholds met

Radar

•Less reliant on reports at night

Report

Typically need

2 out of these

3 to issue a

warning.

Storm Spotting Process


Hour 1: Severe Weather Safety

• In-person, online training

• Sources of weather info

• Is it a day to potentially spot?

Training

Prepare

Deploy

Observe

Communicate

Hour 2: Spotter Training

• When to go observe

• Where/How to

observe

• What to observe

• How to

communicate report

(MOST IMPORTANT!)



Deploy When and where should

you go out to look/report

on storms?

Hail/Damaging Winds: At your location, report hail size and wind

speeds/damage as soon as storm ends.

Flooding/Heavy Rain: Measure rain at your location.

Tornadoes: The following slides apply to tornado situations.

When should mobile spotters deploy on storms?

Watch Issued?

Warning Issued?


Spotting Locations


• Stationary or Mobile

• Upstream from city – Avoid high traffic areas

• Good visibility – High Ground

– No trees

– No buildings

• Know your escape route – How long does it take to get to shelter?

Self Activating


• NWS Milwaukee does not activate spotters

• Stay ahead of the storms

• Monitor conditions/warnings in nearby counties

• Monitor radar trends

• Be pro-active!

• You may not see anything. That’s okay!

Radar is your friend


Download a good app that shows your location

relative to storms.

Reflectivity


How much energy is

reflected back to the radar.

The more, the brighter.

Velocity


Just because a storm has

rotation does not mean it will

be tornadic. Radar Location

RED: Moving away from radar

GREEN: Moving toward radar

The brighter the colors, the

faster the speeds.

Using Radar to Position Yourself


Typically, you want to be

on the south/southeast

side of a thunderstorm.

On the north? See

mostly rain.

Run a loop of images to

see trends.

Heavy Rain

I see it!

Hail

Tornado

I can’t see it. Why’s it so dark?

I can’t

see it.

Storm Motion

Radar vs Reality

National Weather Service Milwaukee: Storm Spotter Training Photos: Tom Purdy

Why was the Chetek tornado hard to see?


Poor terrain

Poor road network

Rain-wrapped

Storm mergers

Picture: Justin Phillips

Chetek, WI May 16, 2017

Rain Moving North

June 28, 2017 Monticello 2 EF1 Tornadoes


There are NO expectations

that you will be able to see

tornadoes with a squall line.

Video: Ron Mattson

Monticello, WI June 28, 2017

June 28, 2017 Monticello 2 EF1 Tornadoes




Observe What severe weather types

need to be reported.

Hail: Diameter size of largest stones

Winds: Estimated/measured speed and damage

Flooding: Rain measurements, washed out roads

Tornadoes: The tornado, funnel cloud, wall cloud, damage

Hail


-Measure the diameter of the largest

hailstones using a ruler or compare to

other objects

-The size of a quarter is considered severe

Chris Morehouse Greg Syvrud

Windsor Jillian Barber

Hail


Pea = ¼”

Penny = ¾”

Nickel = 7/8”

Quarter = 1”

Half Dollar=1¼”

Walnut = 1½”

Golf Ball=1¾”

Egg = 2”

Pool Ball=2¼”

Tennis Ball=2½”

Baseball=2¾”

Grapefruit=4”

Softball = 4½”

SEVERE

Damaging Winds


-Measure or Estimate wind gusts

-Most over-estimate wind gusts

-Tree branches, limbs or uprooted? Most say

“trees down”.

-Rotted?

Estimating

Wind

Speeds


30-40 mph

• Whole Trees in Motion

40-50 mph

• Twigs or small branches breaking

50-58 mph

• Branches/Small Limbs breaking

58-75 mph • Threshold of visible structural damage

• Large branches broken

Over 75 mph • Loss of roofing materials/roof

• Trees uprooted/trunks snapped


30-40 mph

• Whole Trees in Motion

40-50 mph

• Twigs or small branches breaking

This is frequently reported as “Estimated 60-70mph gust”.

If you report that, we will ask what kind of damage there is.

If there is no damage, we will question the report.

Don’t use the wind speeds listed in the warning as your guide.


50-58 mph

• Branches/Small Limbs breaking

58-75 mph • Threshold of visible structural damage

• Large branches broken


Over 75 mph • Loss of roofing materials/roof

• Trees uprooted/trunks snapped

Shelf clouds are pretty, but you don’t need to report them.


Ben Miller

Tiffany Olson Jason Schwartzlow Holly

Flooding


-Rainfall

measurements/hour

-Helps collaborate radar

estimates

-Washed out roads...but

don’t search for them!

Tornadoes


-Precursors to a tornado: Wall Cloud, Funnel Cloud

-LOTS of questionable reports of funnel clouds

-In contact with the ground? Yes-Tornado No-Funnel Cloud

-Cloud movement does not mean rotation.

-Look for debris, power flashes

-Any damage?

C.J. Montour

Nichols, WI June 14, 2017 Monticello, WI June 28, 2017

Wall Cloud


-Isolated lowering

-Rear of storm

-Updraft area (up and in)

-Persistent feature?

-Watch for rotation

-Reportable to the NWS

-Having a wall cloud does not

mean that a tornado will form.

Edgerton, WI June 22, 2017

Funnel Cloud


-Rotation as the base of the thunderstorm

-Updraft area (up and in)

-Persistent feature?

-Watch for rotation

-Reportable to the NWS

-May not trigger a tornado warning

Sauk City, WI August 12, 2016

Matt Potratz Winnebago Co, WI

August 28, 2017

Katie Cardin, Fitchburg, WI

August 28, 2017

NOT a Funnel Cloud


Justin Poublon

Bancroft, WI September 20, 2017

Scud Cloud


SVL Media

Durand, WI May 16, 2017

Tornadoes...not all look alike


Starts up here

Ends up here

Woodmans

Madison, WI October 7, 2017

Madison-Sun Prairie

EF0 Tornado

Tornadoes...

not all look

alike


Madison EF0 Tornado

From another perspective

Dave Meyer

Madison, WI October 7, 2017

Tornadoes


-Watch for debris

-Power flashes

-Is it on the ground?

-Rain wrapped? (Chetek EF3)

-Watch out for look-a-likes: Virga, Scud

Tornadoes are where spotters can

make a difference in saving peoples

lives!

People react to reports of tornadoes.

Night Spotting


CAUTION! -Spotting storms at night can be dangerous!

-Need to be experienced

-Radar support

How to spot a tornado at night?

-Lightning

-Transformers/Power lines

-Bright flashes

-Roaring sound.

-Tornado or High Winds



Communicate How should you report the

severe weather?

This is the MOST IMPORTANT step in the process and why

spotters exist!

Reports must get to the National Weather Service.

Do NOT assume we know just because a warning is out.

Reporting Basics


Use proper terms (Example: wall vs shelf cloud)

Be as specific as you can.

Do not exaggerate.

How confident are you? (Wall, Funnel Cloud, Tornado)

Location should be address/lat-lon/intersection (Can be estimated miles from city)

Follow up, if necessary.

WHO are you?

-Trained spotter, Law Enforcement, EM?

WHAT occurred?

WHEN was it?

WHERE was it?

NWS Milwaukee Spotter Phone #


Highest Priority:

Tornado

Flash Flooding (Roads washed out)

Structural Damage (Winds/Tornado)

Uprooted Trees

Hail over 2” in diameter

1-800-545-8197

Reports only!

Twitter @NWSMKX


Best way to send reports/pictures to NWS

Milwaukee via social media.

Photos are great!

Mention @NWSMKX and we receive an audible

alert on our computer.

#swiwx used in the past, but not monitored as

much.

We are always monitoring and try to ‘like’ each

report to notify you that we’ve received the report.

Quote tweet to @NWSMKX any other local reports

that you think may be of interest to us.

facebook.com/NWSMilwaukee


Photos are great!

Send a message (BEST), write a

post on the page or comment on a

post that we start.

We monitor, but have to physically

refresh the page to get updates on

posts/comments/messages.

Share posts/information from

friends that may be posting about

damage/storms that may be helpful

to us.


Like social media, but don’t want to be a spotter?

Join our volunteer social media search team!

We’re looking for people from each county to help out!


Our Current Search Operations During Severe Wx

Searching a 125 mile radius.

Lots of noise!

Concerned we’re going to

miss something.


Our Goal? Teams/volunteers in each

county or large city.

Volunteers search

Twitter/local contacts (FB)

and tweet to NWS.

Search a 10-15 mile radius.

Less noise!

Find more information that

can help w/warnings.

Contact Tom Kucharski at

[email protected] or

[email protected] to sign up.

Provide location, social media experience.

mPING


Please use this for most/all

hail reports without pictures,

particularly sub-severe.


spotternetwork.org


cocorahs.org Use this to report rainfall

amounts, particularly

non-flooding type/lower

end reports.

Light rain reports via

other methods adds to

the data that we need to

filter through.


Columbia County ARES/RACES Richard Green: [email protected] Tyler Letlebo: [email protected]

Dane County Midwest SSTRC Dale Bernstein: [email protected]

Dodge County ARES/RACES Ryan Klavekoske: [email protected]

Fond du Lac County Sullivan Committee [email protected]

Green County Sullivan Committee [email protected]

Green Lake County Sullivan Committee [email protected]

Iowa County Midwest SSTRC Dale Bernstein: [email protected]

Jefferson County ARES/RACES Paul Marowsky: [email protected]

Kenosha County Racine Co ARES/RACES Dave Whitham: [email protected]

Lafayette County Sullivan Committee [email protected]

Marquette County ARES/RACES Richard Green: [email protected] Tyler Letlebo: [email protected]

Milwaukee County Milwaukee Area Skywarn Association Skip Voros: [email protected]

Ozaukee County OZARES ARES/RACES Don Zank: [email protected]

Racine County ARES/RACES Dave Whitham: [email protected]

Rock County Midwest SSTRC Dale Bernstein: [email protected]

Sauk County ARES/RACES Matt Noll: [email protected]

Sheboygan County OZARES/Washington County ARES/RACES

Walworth County Volunteer based spotter team Eli Larson: [email protected]

Washington County ARES/RACES Steve Sundquist: [email protected]

Waukesha County MASA Skip Voros: [email protected]

Amateur Radio


Safety is your #1 priority!!! It is your responsibility to stay safe.

Obey federal, state, local laws and directives from public

safety officials.

Do not put yourself (or others) in harms way.

Know your escape routes and how long it takes to get

back to shelter.

Communicate your whereabouts.


Thank you for attending!

If you have questions, come up and ask! Please share any local weather

photos/videos with us!

Contact: Tim Halbach

Warning Coordination Meteorologist

[email protected]

NWS Severe Weather Reporting NWS Milwaukee (800) 545-8197

NWS Green Bay (800) 788-6883

NWS La Crosse (800) 848-2199

NWS Chicago (800) 681-2972

NWS Quad Cities (800) 803-9357 Social Media Volunteer Search Team:

Email Tom Kucharski at

[email protected] or

[email protected]

Documents

National Weather Service Milwaukee · 2018-03-12 · DISCLAIMER! National Weather Service Milwaukee: Storm Spotter Training Spotting severe weather can be dangerous! If you do not