Published: February 10, 2009 10:36 am      

Spotter class set for Wednesday

The storm spotter training held in Cooke County each year is seldom the same program twice.

“I go every year because they have new material,” said Cooke County resident Don Lawrence of the severe weather program scheduled for 7-9 p.m. for Wednesday, Feb. 11 at the Gainesville Civic Center.

A Gainesville Fire Department press release said that storm observing, reporting procedures, and safety to be emphasized.

The release reminded citizens of the area that the 2008 storm season in north Texas was one of the more violent in recent history.

According to the release, 34 tornadoes were reported across the area, and destructive windstorms, large hail, and flooding all made appearances in this area.

The toll on life and property was significant, with many casualties and damage in the tens of millions of dollars.

The release asked, “Are you ready for whatever this year has in store? Do you have a severe weather plan at your home and your workplace? Can you recognize the clues that suggest large hail, flash flooding, or a tornado is possible? Do you want to become part of the severe weather warning system in your county?

As part of its area-wide weather preparedness campaign, the National Weather Service in Fort Worth will answer these and many other questions in the severe storm spotter training program.

The program will be in Gainesville at the civic center, and will be presented in partnership with the City of Gainesville and the Cooke County office of Emergency Management.

Lawrence said had nothing but praise for the program’s educator, Gary Woodall, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth forecast office.

“Gary Woodall, the presenter, is incredibly knowledgeable,” Lawrence said.

“We have some new material in the 2009 spotter training program”, Woodall said.

“We will present the information in the form of a checklist for the attendees to utilize. Most of the storm photos and video clips are different this year. We have reworked many of our graphics. We’ll have more identification cases, and we’ll discuss the operational aspects of storm spotters in detail.”

The 2009 program will include discussions of thunderstorm formation, severe weather production, and features associated with severe storms.

The presentation will also review tornado formation and behavior, non-threatening clues which may be mistaken for significant features, and safety when thunderstorms threaten. The program is also scheduled to include storm spotter operations training and recommended reporting procedures.

Organizers plan to use lots of images in the two-hour presentation including numerous pictures of storms and nearly 25 minutes of storm video clips.

Lawrence said his work as a volunteer firefighter prompted him to take the class.

“I took it originally because I was with the (Callisburg) Volunteer Fire Department, and I went out as a spotter. I don’t do that now.”

“Lets you know if you’re in harms way — even if you don’t have a radio. It’s good to know what types of storm clouds you have to watch out for. It can save your life,” he added.

The fundamental purpose of the spotter training — and of the storm spotter network as a whole — remains unchanged.

“We could not do our job as well as we do without storm spotters. Radar is a great tool, but it only tells us part of a storm’s story. Spotter observations complement the electronic data we use to analyze storms. The combination of spotter reports and radar data gives us the best possible picture of the storms and what’s going on inside them,” Woodall said.

Lawrence said, “Now I work with the Cooke County Emergency Management Coordinator, and I help to keep track of the spotters.”

He said by contacting spotters by radio the county can triangulate the weather conditions.

“I’m not a member of the Civilian Emergency Response team, but I know a bunch of them,” Lawrence said.

He said spotters are essential in this area because, “As you get farther from the radar in the DFW area, the less accurate the storm reports may be. (However) with individual spotters up here a storm cell that comes in under the radar to hit the area can be reported in time.”

The release read that the program is free and open to the public.

“By coming to this program, you will learn a lot about thunderstorms,” Woodall said. “Even if you don’t become an active storm spotter, you will learn about how storms work and the visual clues you can identify when storms are in your area. We will discuss severe weather safety tips. This will better prepare yourself and your family for the threats that storms pose.”

The Cooke County severe weather program is one of over 40 that the Fort Worth NWS Office will conduct between January and early April 2009.

The National Weather Service in Fort Worth provides forecasts, warnings, and weather services for 46 counties in north and north-central Texas. For more information on severe weather and the National Weather Service, visit the Fort Worth Forecast Office’s website at http://www.weather.gov/fortworth