Severe weather seminars planned for various parts of southwest Missouri will cover things like the basics of thunderstorm development and how to identify severe weather features, including the development of storms that could produce tornadoes.
Ted Martin is Branson’s Fire Chief and Emergency Management director.
"The National Weather Service meteorologists will share the development of storms, what they like to have reported to them at the National Weather Service Office, how to get that information to that office as well so we can better see development of approaching storms coming across the communities, he said.
He said, after the training, participants will be able to serve as storm spotters—to help get information about severe weather out to the public more quickly.
Storm spotters work with emergency managers and the National Weather Service to provide more timely and accurate warnings to the public. National Weather Service severe weather coordinator, Steve Runnels, said they issue nearly all of their warnings based on radar. But he said storm spotters can confirm the presence of a tornado, size of hail or strength of wind.
"We rely very heavily on police officers, volunteer and paid fire department personnel and amateur radio operators, in particular, to report upon severe storms and flooding such that we know what the storm's capable of doing and then we let the general public know based upon their reports," he said.
Members of the public can be spotters, too. But they typically spot from their homes, Runnels said, which has some limitations.
To view a schedule of severe weather seminars across the Ozarks, click here.
