Storm Spotter Class Draws Big Crowd
By: Brandon Arnold
Updated: March 14, 2013
It doesn't feel like it outside, but severe weather season is just a few weeks away.
The National Weather Service hosted a storm spotter class Thursday night to a packed house at the Cherry Valley Fire Protection District.
The class taught the public how to identify severe weather and relay that information to the National Weather Service.
Our very own Brandon Arnold was even on hand to talk to the crowd about the importance of the class.
The weather service says it needs spotters to be their eyes and ears in the field during severe weather.
"How big the hail is, how bad the wind is, whether they're seeing a funnal cloud, that type of information," says Jim Allsopp, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weatheyr Service in Chicago. "So it's really critical to the warning process and helps us make better decisions and get better warnings out to the public."
Don't worry if you missed Thursday night's meeting... more spotter classes are being offered in the coming weeks.
You can find the whole list here.
The National Weather Service hosted a storm spotter class Thursday night to a packed house at the Cherry Valley Fire Protection District.
The class taught the public how to identify severe weather and relay that information to the National Weather Service.
Our very own Brandon Arnold was even on hand to talk to the crowd about the importance of the class.
The weather service says it needs spotters to be their eyes and ears in the field during severe weather.
"How big the hail is, how bad the wind is, whether they're seeing a funnal cloud, that type of information," says Jim Allsopp, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weatheyr Service in Chicago. "So it's really critical to the warning process and helps us make better decisions and get better warnings out to the public."
Don't worry if you missed Thursday night's meeting... more spotter classes are being offered in the coming weeks.
You can find the whole list here.
