Spotting Dangerous Weather

Lightning streaks across the sky during a thunderstorm in Mahaska County. (file photo by Ginger Allsup/Oskaloosa News)

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Storm spotters are volunteers who help bring real-time reports to authorities about potentially dangerous weather occurring in your neighborhood.

This past week, nearly 50 individuals updated their weather spotting skills at an almost 2 hour class designed to educate volunteers about the weather they are experiencing.

Kelsey Angle, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines, lead the class and said that “storm spotters are vital to the warning decision making and also warning the public of impending weather hazards”.

Angle said that the reports submitted by trained spotters to National Weather Service are then correlated with what is observed on radar “when we are issuing warnings” and are incorporated into the weather statements that are distributed to the public.

“Storm spotters will report hail size, as well as whether they are seeing a tornado or not, wind damage, the amount of rain that has fallen, or if they are seeing any flooding,” said Angle.

Mahaska County Emergency Manager Jamey Robinson was on hand to help answer any questions about the coordination of EMA and the NWS during threatening weather situations.

“From a local perspective, it helps because it’s going to get the citizens aware of the different types of weather,” said Robinson, who explained that the importance of getting factual information from trained spotters is vitally important, using the example of the difference between a funnel cloud and a tornado.

“So trying to get the citizens some training on, and being able to identify the different types of weather is huge,” explained Robinson.

For county residents, there may be some additional warning indicators for those who are outdoors this coming storm season.

Robinson explained that sirens in Mahaska County communities will only go off for a tornado, winds greater than 70mph, or hail larger than a quarter in size.

“So if the sirens are going off, people need to seek shelter,” explained Robinson.

The sirens are an outdoor warning system only, said Robinson. “These systems are not made that if you are in your living room, you should be hearing it. That’s what weather radios are for, or the new Mahaska Alert System, which you can sign up for and get texts and emails right to your phone.”

Outdoor warning system coverage has been improved in communities like Eddyville, Beacon (activated with Oskaloosa sirens). Fremont will be upgrading its warning siren in the near future from its current civil defense era air-raid siren.

If you would like more information about the Mahaska Alert system or to sign up, you can follow this link for more information – https://www.mahaskaready.com/mahaskaalert.html