NOAAs National Weather Service BaltimoreWashington Weather Forecast Office

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NOAAs National Weather ServiceBaltimore/Washingt
on Weather Forecast Office
SKYWARN Basic I Spotter Training

• SKYWARN Basic I Spotter
• Training Session

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Basic I Spotter Training
Today we will learn the following basics -

• NOAAs National Weather Service
• SKYWARN Spotters
• Severe Storm Spotting Techniques
• How to Report to the NWS
• More Training and Other Information

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Hazardous Weather
Adversely impacts society and the economy

• Hundreds of people in the U.S. die each year in
  weather and flood related events
• Thousands are injured
• Tornadoes, floods and hurricanes alone cause over
  11.4 billion dollars each year
• U.S. experiences more adverse weather then any
  other nation in the world

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About NOAAs National Weather Service

• A Typical Year Brings
• 7 Hurricanes
• 1,000 Tornadoes
• 5,000 Floods
• 10,000 Violent Thunderstorms
• Drought Conditions
• 500 Deaths 5,000 Injuries 14 Billion in Losses

• Provide climate, water, weather forecasts and
  warnings to protect life and property and enhance
  the economy
• Data and products are used by other government
  agencies, the private sector, the public, and the
  global community.

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NWS Service Delivery
Observe
Distribute
Respond Feedback
Products Services
Process
Feedback
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Key Partnerships

• Emergency managers
• Other government agencies
• Broadcast and print media
• SKYWARN Spotters
• Amateur Radio Operators
• Cooperative Observers

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NOAAs NWS Service Delivery Facilities
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NOAAs National Weather Service
Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office
(WFO) Sterling, Virginia
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WFO Area of Responsibility
Approximately 27,000 square miles
Serving 8.5 Million People

• Maryland
• 13 Counties
• City of Baltimore
• Chesapeake Bay
• Tidal Potomac
• West Virginia
• 8 Counties
• Virginia
• 22 Counties
• 11 independent cities
• District of Columbia

Region is prone to all types of weather hazards!
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WFO HydrologicArea of Responsibility

• River Basins
• Potomac
• 11,600 square miles
• 22 forecast points
• Shenandoah
• 3,050 square miles
• 6 forecast points
• Rappahannock
• 1,580 square miles
• 2 forecast points

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Observation Sources - Technology

• Doppler radar (WSR-88D)
• NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental
  Satellite (GOES)
• Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS)
• Upper Air (weather balloons)

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NOAAs NWS Baltimore/Washington Doppler Radar

• 80 Ft Tower
• 30 Ft Radome
• 25 Ft Radar Dish
• 750 KW Power
• 0.8 Beam

Doppler Velocity Image of September 24, 2001
College Park Tornado
Cross-section of April 23, 1999 Hail Storm over
Northern Virginia
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WSR-88D Radar Coverage

• Radars are spaced so that there is good
  over-lapping coverage in the Eastern U.S.

Dover Radar reflectivity and velocity images
viewed at the Weather Office in Sterling
Severe Rotating Thunderstorm over the Delmarva
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NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellite (GOES)

• Orbits Over the Equator at 22,000 Miles
• GOES-12 (GOES EAST) is at 75W Longitude
• GOES-10 (GOES WEST) is at 135W Longitude
• GOES-9 (GOES Pacific) is at 205W Longitude

Severe Thunderstorms near Ohio River
Hurricane Fran
Hurricane Georges
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Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS)
Wind
Present Weather
Temperature
Visibility
Ceiling
Pressure
Rain Gauge
ASOS at Reagan National Airport
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Upper Air Observations(Weather Balloons)

• Observations are taken twice a day - Midnight and
  Noon UTC or Greenwich England Time
• 72 sites in the U.S. plus sites all around the
  world
• Measures Temperature, Pressure, Humidity, and Wind

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Technological Limitations

• Radar
• Can not see through mountains
• Cannot sense below cloud base
• Not continuous scanning (5 minutes between scans)
• Satellites
• See only the tops of clouds
• Automated Observation Stations and Gages
• Can not measure snow or ice depth
• Can not discriminate hail, sleet, or tornadoes
• Can not tell us that trees are down

SKYWARN Spotters are our ground truth!
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All Hazards NOAA Weather Radio
Transmitters
Manassas VA 162.55 MHz Pikesville MD 162.40
MHz Hagerstown MD 162.475 MHz Moorefield WV
162.40 MHz Frostburg MD 162.425
MHz Charlottesville VA 162.45 MHz
Receivers
Can be purchased in Nature and Electronic Stores
and Catalogs. They generally range in price from
15 to 75.
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All Hazards NOAA Weather Radio
EAS Emergency Alert System SAME Specific Area
Message Encoding
Radio Coverage Map
Radio Broadcast Workstation
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SKYWARN
Community Volunteers

• National Weather Service
• SKYWARN
• Severe Storm Spotting Techniques
• How to Report to the National Weather Service
• More training and other information

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SKYWARN

• SKYWARN is a national network of volunteer severe
  storm spotters.
• SKYWARN spotters are trained by National Weather
  Service (NWS) meteorologists
• SKYWARN programs are run independently by each
  NWS Forecast Office
• SKYWARN spotters are usually people with a
  strong interest in weather and those who are
  public service oriented and want to help protect
  people and communities from hazards

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Spotters By County
We can never have enough spotters!
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SKYWARN Amateur Radio Station (WX4LWX)

• Real-Time 2-Way Communication
• Backup Communication
• Two 2-Meter Radios
• One 440 Radio
• One HF Radio
• One Packet Terminal
• Computer for Radar Display and Intranet
  Information

This radio station was funded by a grant from the
National Capitol Foundation for Amateur Radio
(FAR)
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NOAAs National Weather Serviceand SKYWARN
Working Together To Save Lives

• National Weather Service
• SKYWARN
• ---- End of Part 1 ---- Basic1-Part2
• Severe Storm Spotting Techniques
• How to Report to the National Weather Service
• More training and other information

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SEVERE STORM SPOTTINGSKYWARN Basic I Training

• An Introduction to Understanding Thunderstorms
  and Learning Some of their Visual Clues

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Objectives

• Understanding Thunderstorm Hazards
• Knowing what Safety Actions to Take
• Learning Basic NWS Terminology
• Thunderstorm Life Cycle
• Structure and Appearance of Severe Thunderstorms

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Thunderstorm Hazards

• Lightning
• Flash Floods
• Hail
• Downbursts
• Tornadoes

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NWS Terminology
Watch versus Warning

• WATCH means conditions are favorable for the
  potential hazard to occur in and near the watch
  area
• WARNING means that the threat is imminent or
  already occurring in the warning area

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Lightning
If you can see a lightning stroke or hear the
thunder, you are close enough to be struck and
need to take immediate action

• The average distance from one stroke to the next
  is 2 to 3 miles
• Lightning can come from the upper part of the
  storm and strike tens of miles away!
• Lightning kills around 100 people per year and
  injures hundreds

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Lightning Safety Indoors

• Close windows and doors
• Doorways are NOT safe
• Stay away from electronic equipment and
  appliances
• Stay away from plumbing
• Do NOT use a corded phone
• Unplug expensive electronics and appliances or
  install good surge protectors

Move indoors immediately
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Lightning Safety Cars

• If no building is not available
• Hard top enclosed vehicles are okay
• Soft top, convertibles are not

It is not the tires that help protect you. It is
the metal casing. When lighting hits a car, the
charge runs over the metal surface and down into
the ground. A soft top car does not provide the
metal casing to protect you.
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Lightning Safety Outdoors

• If no building OR car is available
• Find a low area with dense brush and take the
  position shown in the picture to minimize your
  chances of being struck

Picture of hair standing up taken just prior to
lightning striking. These teenagers were not
killed, but a nearby hiker was.
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Flash Floods

• Flash Floods can occur from stationary, slow
  moving or training thunderstorms
• Rainfall amounts in this region can reach 5
  inches of rain per hour
• The worst events tend to occur with either a
  tropical system or the remnants of a tropical
  system.

Madison County June 1995
Camille Nelson County August 1969
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Flash Floods

• Over half of flood fatalities occur from people
  driving vehicles into flood waters

Water typically flows downstream at 6 to 12 mph.
As little as 1 to 2 feet of water will float most
vehicles!!!
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Flood Safety Tips

• Never enter water over a road if it is too deep
  to see the pavement beneath. Find an alternate
  safe route. Turn around dont drown!!!
• If your vehicle stalls in unexpected high water,
  leave it at once and seek higher ground.
• Be very care at night. Visibility is greatly
  reduced and flooding is harder to recognize.

Fredericksburg, September 4, 2000
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Floods and Cars Dont Mix
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Floods and Cars Dont Mix
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How Fast?
Dam Failure
Debris dams can suddenly break
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NWS Terminology
Severe Thunderstorms

• Severe Thunderstorm means that the thunderstorm
  is producing
• Wind gusts 58 mph or higher
• Hail penny size (3/4) or larger
• Tornadoes also qualify a storm as being severe

Note The National Weather Service does not
classify a thunderstorm as severe based on
intense lightning or flash flooding
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Large Hail

• Hail near La Plata, MD was up to 4.5 inches in
  size on April 28, 2002
• Hail can impact at speeds over 100 mph!
• Hail is a sign that this is a powerful storm and
  it falls near the area where a tornado would form.

La Plata, MD - April 28, 2002
Slicing through a hailstone shows its rings.
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Large Hail

• Hail causes billions of dollars in property
  damage and crop damage every year
• In April 1999, a hail storm in Northern Virginia
  did 275 million in damage
• Typically, it takes golf ball size hail to begin
  to dent a car
• Smaller hail, when wind driven, can also produce
  damage

Damaged siding Southern VA June 1993
Winchester, VA - April 1999
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Downbursts / High Winds

• Sudden downward rush of air from a thunderstorm.
• Wind Gusts can reach 150 mph.
• Sometimes referred to as a wind shear or
  microburst

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Downbursts / High Winds

• Downburst damage can easily be mistaken for that
  of a tornado
• Safety actions for a downburst are the same as a
  tornado

Anne Arundel County MD August 1999
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Tornadoes
College Park, MD September 24, 2001
Frostburg MD June 1998
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NWS Terminology
Tornado versus Funnel Cloud

• Funnel Cloud is a funnel-shaped cloud most often
  seen protruding from a thunderstorm. It is NOT
  touching the ground or causing damage.
• Tornado may appear as a funnel-shaped cloud. A
  tornado is a violently rotating column of air
  that extends from the thunderstorm all the way to
  the ground.

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High Wind / Tornado Safety

• Close Windows and Doors, if time!
• Basement or Interior room on lowest level
• If in a camper or mobile home, seek shelter in a
  substantial house with a foundation or find a
  ditch outdoors.

Bathroom
Interior Closet
Weak tornado damage
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Tornado Safety Outdoors

• Do not try to outrun it
• Do not take shelter in an underpass

Get away from your car and into a low area
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Tornado Safety Outdoors

• If no structurally strong buildings are
  available, find a ditch or low area
• Take the position shown in picture to the right

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Break Time!

• Questions?