Informing the public about dangerous weather events isn’t an activity exclusive to career meteorologists.
When the weather turns violent, many people turn to written reports from the National Weather Service detailing what to expect in the coming hours. While the weather professionals at NWS’s office in Wakefield provide extensive information related to weather in Hampton Roads, they don’t do it alone. A dedicated group of people in the area funnel real-time observations and information from all over the region to NWS in a program known as Skywarn.
“We rely on the spotters to fill the gaps between what we can see on radar and what’s happening on the ground,” said Jeff Orrock, the Meterologist-in-Charge at NWS Wakefield. “We call them ground-truth reports. What’s the exact size of the hail? What kind of wind are they experiencing? Any damage?”
Orrock said the program was critical when a tornado touched down in James City County before making its way to Gloucester County in April 2011.
“We see it on radar and we can get warnings out, but we’re really looking for what people are seeing on the ground to fine-tune our warnings,” Orrock said.
Jim Tuttle manages Skywarn activities in the area and helped send information to NWS during the 2011 tornado.
“I started watching and saw some announcements that came out at 12:05 p.m. [on April 16, 2011] that the Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma had issued a tornado watch for portions of this area. Then they said the magic words ‘this is a particularly dangerous situation,’” Tuttle explained. “If you see that in a message from Wakefield or the Storm Prediction Center, pay close attention. They don’t use that terminology unless weather is supposed to be severe.”
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Want to join Skywarn?
Residents of the Historic Triangle who are interested in joining Skywarn can learn more about it at an upcoming advanced training session at the Williamsburg Regional Library. The free session starts at 6 p.m. Nov. 25. Those who want to attend or who want more information about Skywarn should contact Jim Tuttle at [email protected]
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Tuttle said he monitored the situation through the rest of that day until around 6:45 p.m. when he saw what appeared to be a tornado vortex signature near Surry Nuclear Power Plant in Surry County. Skywarn spotters use an amateur radio system so they can continue to communicate in the event that phone networks are damaged by inclement weather. As the tornado carved a path through James City County, across the York River and into Gloucester County, the spotters sent real-time information to Tuttle and NWS to keep the reports up to date.
“One guy was following it and gave the first reports that it was hitting Page Middle School [in Gloucester County],” Tuttle said. “That’s one of the big advantages of having amateur radio operators out there is that they’re in position talking to me. I was passing all of that information to Wakefield.”
Tuttle said Skywarn spotters are active throughout all of the major weather events in the area, such as during the band of violent storms that blew through James City County in June.
“I first started getting reports of the severity from our amateur radio team in the Richmond area,” Tuttle said. “We received reports of the storm knocking trees and power lines down. I was able to talk to the fire chiefs in James City County and Williamsburg and say ‘This is what the storm is doing in Richmond. It’s moving this way now.’”
Tuttle got involved in Skywarn in 2006. As the manager for this district, he coordinates training, answers questions and acts as a funnel for incoming information from Skywarn members in the field.
Historic Triangle residents who are interested in joining the program can learn about that process at an upcoming advanced training session at the Williamsburg Regional Library. The free session starts at 6 p.m. Nov. 25 and should run for about two-and-a-half hours. Those who want to attend or who want more information about Skywarn can contact Tuttle at [email protected].
“If you have any interest in weather, even looking at the sky and watching storms, it’s a neat class,” Orrock said. “You’ll learn quite a bit about storms and safety. Storms give out a lot of visual clues about how they’re behaving and how intense they are. We talk about how to detect the intensity of a storm by looking at it. There are clues you can look for in the clouds.”
Spotters tend to focus on hail, high wind and tornadoes, though many can also provide rainfall and snowfall information if they have a gage. According to an NWS webpage outlining the program, people with an interest in public service and access to communication equipment such as HAM radios should consider joining the program.
“Volunteers include police and fire personnel, dispatchers, EMS workers, public utility workers and other concerned private citizens,” according to the website. “Individuals affiliated with hospitals, schools, churches, nursing homes or who have a responsibility for protecting others are also encouraged to become a spotter.”
Skywarn is a national program with nearly 290,000 trained weather spotters who transmit information the 122 NWS local weather forecast offices across the nation.
