Storm spotter training sessions to be held
Storm spotter training sessions will be presented by the National Weather Service office in Des Moines.
Roger Vachalek is a lead forecaster for the NWS.
"It's kind of an introduction on a little bit of storm structure for severe weather and also what the spotters do for their individual counties and surrounding areas as well as the National Weather Service and how we all fit together. We're basically just one big team which helps keep people safe. So if you are a spotter already, it's always good to come to these talks and just get a refresher. Or if you would be interested in becoming a spotter, you can certainly go to a talk and learn about that and then sign up once you've taken the course. We have a number of courses that are being offered throughout parts of Central and North Eastern Iowa as well this year."
Vachalek says technology can only go so far in helping meteorologists.
"One of the limitations of radar is, as you know, we kind of sample the lower part of the atmosphere and then we raise the radar beam higher up to get a full picture of the storm. And as you go from Des Moines to areas that are farther away, you end up not seeing the lowest part of the storm as easily. So, spotters help fill that gap beneath the cloud and can tell us, you know, well, how big is the hail? They can tell us if they see rotation in the lowest layers of the cloud and those sorts of things."
The first storm spotter training session for the broadcast area is scheduled for March 28th beginning at 6pm at the Hardin County Emergency Management Office in Eldora.
