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Skywarn (sometimes stylized as SKYWARN) is a program of the National Weather Service (NWS). Its mission is to collect reports of localized severe weather in the United States. These reports are used to aid forecasters in issuing and verifying severe weather watches and warnings and to improve the forecasting and warning processes and the tools used to collect meteorological data. Reports are also used by local emergency managers and public safety organizations. Skywarn consists of a network of severe storm spotters who observe weather conditions and make reports of severe weather to their local NWS offices. These spotters are regularly trained by personnel from the local NWS offices. In many areas, classes are conducted each spring in advance of the coming severe weather season. Many SKYWARN spotters use methods to communicate with one another during severe storm events. A notable example of this is through the use of amateur radio nets, which is still an important method since severe weather can significantly disrupt local telecommunications systems. The program began in 1965, and counts over 300,000 active trained spotters. Where severe storms are possible, storm spotting groups such as Skywarn in the United States coordinate amateur radio operators and localized spotters to keep track of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Reports from spotters and chasers are given to the National Weather Service so that they have ground truth information to warn the general public. Spotting provides ground information and localized conditions that the National Weather Service might not know the extent or might not otherwise be aware of. They typically report events, such as structures struck by lightning, rotating wall clouds, funnel clouds—or conditions that exceed specific thresholds, such as extremely strong winds, significant hail or very heavy rainfall. The exact reporting thresholds can vary by region and may even dynamically change during a severe weather event. Spotters also give reports during winter storms, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires.

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Sediment transfer in the Rhône River Basin, Switzerland: the role of localized severe Alpine storm events on triggering turbidity currents in Lake Geneva

David Andrew Barry, Ulrich Lemmin, Koen Blanckaert, François Mettra

In Lake Geneva, a deep peri-Alpine lake in Switzerland, the sublacustrine Rhône River delta presents a deep canyon, the Rhône Canyon. Previous studies and recent observations show that low-velocity underflows and high-velocity turbidity currents pass frequ ...

2021

Tornado warning

A tornado warning (SAME code: TOR) is a public warning that is issued to an area in the direct path of a tornado or a thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. They are issued by weather forecasting agencies in some countries when an actual tornado or signs of a developing tornado, such as a funnel cloud or wall cloud, are reported by weather spotters, the public, or detected by weather radar.

Storm chasing

Storm chasing is broadly defined as the deliberate pursuit of any severe weather phenomenon, regardless of motive, but most commonly for curiosity, adventure, scientific investigation, or for news or media coverage. A person who chases storms is known as a storm chaser or simply a chaser. While witnessing a tornado is the single biggest objective for most chasers, many chase thunderstorms and delight in viewing cumulonimbus and related cloud structures, watching a barrage of hail and lightning, and seeing what skyscapes unfold.

Severe weather

Severe weather is any dangerous meteorological phenomenon with the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human life. Types of severe weather phenomena vary, depending on the latitude, altitude, topography, and atmospheric conditions. High winds, hail, excessive precipitation, and wildfires are forms and effects of severe weather, as are thunderstorms, downbursts, tornadoes, waterspouts, tropical cyclones, and extratropical cyclones.