Weather spotter class train eyes watching for severe spring weather

CASSVILLE, Mo. — Weather observation classes are returning to the area this spring, training people to observe the skies during the traditional severe storm season, March through June.

A number of classes, led by meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Springfield, have already been held and more are being added to the schedule.

“The National Weather Service is still holding discussions with observers scattered throughout the region,” said Severe Warning Coordinator Steve Runnels of the Springfield office. “We won’t really have one per county, but we have several. The National Weather Service partners with city and county emergency management officials to plan the courses.”

Barry County Emergency Management Director David Compton, who recently attended an observer course in Cassville, said the training is a tradition that dates back more than 25 years in his county.

“We need to refresh people and just get them back up to speed so they can go out and scout safely,” Compton said. “One of our biggest problems is situational intelligence, knowing what’s happening on the ground. When we look at our radars in the emergency operations center, we look at all the radar views, but that still doesn’t tell us what’s happening on the ground. The best intelligence we have comes from a pair of eyes and a human being saying, ‘This is what I see.'”

Runnels said radar technology is constantly advancing, but trained observers who can report what they see on the ground are still a critical part of the NWS’s warning chain.

“Doppler radar is a great tool and of course we’re going to issue the majority of our warnings based on its data,” Runnels said. “However, it takes an observer to actually confirm the threat. It could be a tornado. It could be a flash flood, or baseball-sized hail, or a damaging wind. What we need from observers is that confirmation of the threat to get people to take shelter.”

Shelby Melto, the NWS meteorologist who recently taught a class in Cassville, explained what spotters are and what they are not.

According to Melto, spotters are people who:

• Watch the weather.

• Communicates reports to the National Weather Service.

• Be careful.

• Play a vital role in assisting the NWS and local observers.

Melto said observers are not:

• Meteorological experts. No formal education or experience required.

• Storm chasers. They do not tolerate continued storms.

• Above the law. Do not try to use a storm spotter certificate to get out of a speeding ticket.

• Immune to the laws of physics. Flooding, lightning, hail, tornadoes: these threats can all cause serious injury or even death.

Melto said Severe Weather Awareness Week will run from March 2-6.

Wednesday, March 4, will be dedicated to tornado awareness and a statewide tornado drill is scheduled for 11 a.m. that day.

For more details on classes and observer schedules, people can visit the Springfield NWS office website https://www.weather.gov/sgf/ and click on the link under the new titles.

Upcoming observer courses include:

• Jasper County: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, March 26, at Carthage Fire Department Station 2, 3000 S. Main St., Carthage.

• Barton County: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday, April 1, Barton County Ambulance Services, 1100 Cherry St, Lamar.

• Crawford County, Kansas: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 25, Bicknell Family Center, 1711 S Homer St., on the campus of Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kansas.

• McDonald County: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday, March 12, Pineville Community Center, 602 Jesse James Road, Pineville.