SKYWARN

If someone were to ask you to take your car out on a stormy spring evening, with every expectation that you could soon be in the midst of golf ball-sized hail pelting the finish, not to mention the possibility of broken glass and the danger to your own personal safety, what would you say? Now consider that in order to “enjoy” such an outing, you would have to take special training annually and spend many hours of your free time studying for a communications license as well.

If you say, “No thank you!” then you are among the people who benefit from the volunteers who say “Yes!” to the call to become severe weather watchers, more romantically referred to by the media as storm or tornado trackers, as part of the National Weather Services SKYWARN network.

“Simply put, the SKYWARN volunteer acts as our eyes and ears,” explains meteorologist Gary Woodall of National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service office in Ft. Worth, where all SKYWARN observations are reported. “The SKYWARN storm spotters are a valuable part of the severe weather detection and warning system. While our electronic tools, radar, satellite, etc., are important tools, they cannot show the visual aspects of a storm. Additionally, they cannot and do not tell us what is actually happening at the ground underneath a storm. SKYWARN spotters provide visual observations of storm structure and the near-storm environment. These observations complement the electronic data and allow us to have a more complete picture of a storm. This, in turn, allows us to issue the best possible warnings.

“Amateur radio operators (HAMS) make up the backbone of the Texas spotter networks. These groups have the traits most needed for successful spotter groups: efficient communications, dedication and a sense of community service, trainability, and ability to be integrated into the area-wide reporting system,” Woodall notes.

Every county has their own SKYWARN system, all linked in North Texas to the Ft. Worth weather service, as well as local emergency managers. While each county does things slightly differently, usually dictated by budget constraints, the core system is designed so that a SKYWARN volunteer from Vermont or Missouri could perform well in Texas. The basic training, a one-day class that storm spotters must attend annually, is the key to the system’s flexibility. Secondary training in advanced weather spotting are also offered by the weather service every winter, which is historically the system’s most quiet period.

In some North Texas counties, emergency coordinators have installed ham radio gear in police dispatch centers, where a ham operator will respond when the SKYWARN system is activated. In another county, the hams themselves have installed a high-power remote camera system on a hilltop for observation, and in others hams have created their own Doppler radar systems for local reporting. All of these innovations get no federal support whatsoever. The two-way radio equipment the volunteers rely upon, even the cost of the gasoline they use, is paid for out of pocket. Yet the program maintains a robust volunteer cadre of well-trained spotters.

SKYWARN hams also spend a significant amount of time helping to train new volunteers to earn their Amateur Radio license from the Federal Communications Commission. Becoming a ham requires a basic understanding of electronics and radio theory, as well as FCC laws. And while there are now operator levels that no longer require Morse code proficiency as part of the testing procedure, the program still requires a commitment by both instructors and students to qualify. SKYWARN does not require that new volunteers be licensed radio operators to join; many nonlicensed volunteers begin their storm spotting careers riding the “shotgun” or “second seat” with licensed operators after taking the one-day SKYWARN schools.

As one volunteer notes, “Once you are out there, you want to work the radio, which is the only part of the job that requires an FCC license. Almost everyone makes the transition quickly. It’s not all that difficult, and ham radio has a lot more to offer in addition to the SKYWARN activities.” In fact, the paid meteorologists with NOAA in Ft. Worth, like their counterparts in other hub weather service offices, have voluntarily become hams over the years.

The choice of the ham radio community to undertake this job from the beginning has sometimes come into question. At one recent SKYWARN training class, a member of the public asked a Weather Service representative, “Why are you trusting this important function to a group that willingly accepts the title ‘Amateur’ as their name?” The answer is simple. While the amateur radio operators are volunteers and their activities could be considered a hobby, they have the technical training behind them as a benchmark for admission.

In fact, when that civilian asked his question, what he really wanted to know was why the job does not immediately go to professionals, such as the police or firefighters. The answer is equally simple; in times of severe emergencies, the police and fire departments are already busy dealing with rescue and emergency response issues, and in a true emergency, have other important jobs to perform. The ham radio community is perfectly suited for the storm spotter job, with knowledge of communications and emergency radio traffic; and in most cases they will not be torn between their activities in SKYWARN and other emergency management needs.

In Collin County, SKYWARN has in excess of over 200 trained volunteers, both men and women ranging in age from teenagers to octogenarians, who responded to a half dozen potential weather-related emergencies last year. Directing these activities is Ted Best, the severe weather coordinator for the county through the Collin County Amateur Radio Emergency Service. He explains that an average year sees anywhere from six to 18 severe storms in our area.

Veteran news weatherman Troy Dungan, who routinely attends SKYWARN training sessions, notes, “Rule number one is that severe weather can happen anywhere – and will. It can hit an affluent suburb, a small country crossroads, or a major metropolitan area with equal devastation. Some volunteers have never seen a tornado; others have come face to face with one their first time out. The training prepares them to approach potentially dangerous super cells with a minimum of danger and to keep their distance, but sometimes you can’t predict a storm’s sudden turn. I guess the rule would be, if you are getting hit with baseball-sized hail, you should quickly reevaluate your position and retreat.”

Ted Best explains, “SKYWARN relies on several ‘repeater sites’ that allow low-power mobile or hand-held radio units to communicate effectively over long distances. All of our repeaters are capable of maintaining communications with the National Weather Service Center in Ft. Worth. Our main site is in Plano, with another in Allen.

“Virtually all of our volunteers can operate in the field or man their own base stations throughout the county. Many have elaborate weather stations of their own and constantly feed back changing conditions to both the spotters and the weather service. In all, there are six affiliated clubs in Collin County that participate in SKYWARN, each with their own repeater systems available for our use. The network guarantees the best possible early warning system for the county’s residents and vastly improves the warning time given for an approaching storm.”

The storms that SKYWARN tracks are not limited to tornadoes – although they all have that potential. But the spotters are all eager to share the fact that more folks are killed each year by lightning and sudden flooding here in Texas than by twisters.

As one storm spotter says, “Any of these storms can produce direct line winds in excess of 100 miles per hour; there is no funnel cloud, just straight winds, but it will take down a house or barn just as easily. There is a hail potential, sometimes the size of a baseball or even a softball, that will destroy a car and break out windows, too. But the worst killer is the flash flooding. Every year somebody tries to drive through a flooded area and will pay with their life.

“The second largest killer associated with these storms is lightning. Every severe storm is associated with lightning and thunder. That is our signal to get out in the field – but that lightning can kill you. Lightning strikes the closest protruding object from the surrounding area. The safest place to be is in your car; cars are not ‘grounded’ because they are sitting on rubber tires, so they will not be hit. But wherever you are, get down low, close to the ground. You will have a better chance at survival lying in a ditch than standing on the patio!”

All of the storm spotters in SKYWARN stress that early detection and warning are the overall key to survival. To that end, if you are not listening to the weather warnings on TV or radio, and do not have an inexpensive NOAA Weather Radio to hear a warning, the efforts of these volunteers are useless.

Troy Dungan adds, “Get a weather radio for your home, turn on the TV when you see the sky turning dark, and pay attention. You have to know where the ‘safe room’ is in your home – usually an interior bathroom without windows – and be prepared to go to it when the broadcast gives the word. A NOAA Weather radio cost about $20 or less, the same as the average smoke detector. That is a small amount to pay for your safety, especially when you realize that the volunteers who are out there in the storm have invested hundreds, if not thousands, for their equipment to keep you safe. Remember, nature never does it the same way twice. There are few common denominators, which is why SKYWARN is so important to all of us!”

Here in Kansas they have storm spotter classes offered all around the state, but they don't seem to be Skywarn, which seem to be a more advanced course.

They have them in Montana, usually on the weekends during the spring, summer and fall months of the year, somewhere in the state.

SKYWARN is not a club or organization, but in some areas of the country, where emergency management programs do not perform the function, people have banded together to form SKYWARN groups that work independently of a government agency, but they feed valuable information to the National Weather Service.

I don't have a SKYWARN number, but I'm not part of an organized group, yet when I call in my spotter report to the NWS along with my number, they immediately know where I am located because each person is in a database at their location, along with my name, and exact coordinates of my house (since I volunteered that information when I signed up).

I attended spotter training several years ago. It was free. They usually are.

The immediacy of your information then becomes dependent on how quick the LE agency reports to the NWS.

By reporting directly to the NWS, I eliminate that step of reporting to the law enforcement agency.

I still have not found out how the heck you sign up for one. All I have taken is the regular storm spotting classes.

Probably the best thing to do is to ask the person responsible for setting up spotter training courses at your local NWS office, or better yet, find someone in your area who is a part of SKYWARN.

The safest place to be is in your car; cars are not ‘grounded’ because they are sitting on rubber tires, so they will not be hit.

BZZZZZT! WRONG!

Cars are safe because they are so well grounded! The 'rubber' in tires is synthetic and contains carbon (that's what makes 'em black) which makes them very effective conductors. Lightning will take the path of least resistance which is through the tires and the steel of the vehicle....and not through you.

The SKYWARN program is one of the few excellent and nearly hassle free government programs around.

All one has to do is show up for the NWS Spotter class and earn the certificate. We run two classes a year. One is the basic class, the other the Advanced Weather Spotter class.

Both are done under the SKYWARN program.

This thing saves lives, no doubt about it.

The safest place to be is in your car; cars are not ‘grounded’ because they are sitting on rubber tires, so they will not be hit.

Bull. I'm surprised to see a trained spotter repeating this old myth. Airplanes aren't "grounded" either, but they're struck by lightning all the time. A car can easily be struck by lightning, and it happens on occasion. Cars - full metal-body cars - are indeed safe places in lightning, but not because they aren't "grounded." They are Faraday cages, which cause the electrical energy to go *around* their contents. Because of this, convertibles are not safe in lightning, and neither are leaning against a car or sitting in one with your foot out the door and on the ground.

Cars are safe because they are so well grounded! The 'rubber' in tires is synthetic and contains carbon (that's what makes 'em black) which makes them very effective conductors. Lightning will take the path of least resistance which is through the tires and the steel of the vehicle....and not through you.

Well, not quite. You are right about the steel of the vehicle, but the tires have essentially no affect on the process. Are airplanes struck in flight safe because they're so "well-grounded" by their very black tires? No, they're Faraday cages, just like cars. After traveling thousands of feet through air to hit you, the few inches between your car and the ground do not pose a significant barrier, even though (contrary to your assertion) the tires are extremely poor conductors. A person inside is safe only because of the metal cage.

Bull. I'm surprised to see a trained spotter repeating this old myth. The only "myth" part might be about the tires. The fact is, the message after yours is correct, the metal in the car acts as a faraday cage, and IF your car is struck my lightning, then the electricity will be conducted AROUND you through the car body. It will still leap from the car body to the ground. I've been in a Jeep when the hood was hit with a direct strike. So, being IN your car IS the safest place to be.... UNLESS you're in a convertible, or a car without a roof on it, or a car mostly made of fiberglass. Then, you're probably toast. :)

I prefer being a part of the Storm Spotter Network rather than SKYWARN, because in most cases that I know of, those who belong to the SKYWARN network, refer their reports to the local law enforcement, which they in turn refer to the NWS, which issues their reports over the NWS Weatherwire and the media is then informed to inform the general public.

No... we have direct contact with the NWS here in Colorado area. We do not report to LE authorities, we report to a radio Net Control Operator on Ham Radio. There are people who belong to the storm spotter network who are NOT hams, and they generally make a call direct to the NWS (a number provided BY the NWS for just that purpose).

The fact is, the message after yours is correct, the metal in the car acts as a faraday cage,

Actually that was also part of *my* message. If you'll go back and read it, you'll find that we are exactly on the same page; my post even included a link to the Wikipedia article on Faraday cages. I also mentioned that convertibles aren't safe, and that you don't want to be sitting in a car with your leg hanging out the door and your foot on the ground. The tires statement was exactly the myth to which I referred; cars are indeed quite safe if they're primarily made of metal.

So I want to hear more about the lightning strike to your Jeep; that sounds a little exciting! Any damage? What was that like?

No... we have direct contact with the NWS here in Colorado area.

Same here. All but one NWS official (there are about a dozen) at the local NWS office (which has it's own callsign and ham station) are hams. They conduct a weekly SKYWARN net. I also have a ham radio license (I've been licensed since 1992, and have held the Extra class license since 1993, going from Novice to Extra in one year) and tested one of the NWS officials.

Not all cases are like ours.

The only prerequisite of being a member of SKYWARN is that you have to have a ham radio license.

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