Tornado Lookouts
Meteorologists use
radar to
forecast where tonadoes might
form. But, the radar
can't detect actual tornadoes. People are needed for that.
That's a problem because people without any training don't know
what to look for in a storm. To solve this problem, the National Weather
Service regularly trains volunteers for the SKYWARN program. Anyone who
is interested can take the classes. SKYWARN spotters form a network
across an area to let the NWS know what's happening with the weather.
Meteorologists use spotter reports to issue tornado warnings.
Storm spotters are different than storm
chasers. Spotters work
in organized networks to observe severe weather for the NWS. They also
only work in one area, usually their county.
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