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BUNNELL — Trained storm spotters serve as the local eyes for the National Weather Service, and Flagler County has more of them than any other county in the state.

At the end of Monday night’s Skywarn class, the county could tout another 50 added to the number of “advanced” storm spotters, which already tops 1,000, said Bob Pickering, emergency management technician for Flagler County.

“We’re teaching you to be storm spotters and not storm chasers,” said meteorologist Angie Enyedi from the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, who taught the class. “When you start seeing S shapes, you know there is a ‘hook’ which may be the start of a (thunderstorm) watch.”

A formation on radar called “hook echo” shows the beginning of a rotation that could turn into a tornado.

Enyedi’s microburst of information covered everything from cloud formations to thunderstorm development to visual predictions.

“Warnings for thunderstorms are only issued for hail or winds of 58 mph or more,” Enyedi said. “We don’t issue warnings for lightning, because there is lightning with every storm.”

However, lightning is the cause of more deaths in the United States than tornadoes and hurricanes, she said.

“Lightning is the completion of an electrical circuit in the atmosphere,” Enyedi said. “If you are close enough to hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning.”

Lightning happens when the negative charges (electrons) in the bottom of a cloud are attracted to the positive charges (protons) in the ground, she said.

The rule is: when thunder roars, go indoors.

Advanced as technology is, Doppler Radar has a “cone of silence,” an area where it cannot detect what is happening.

“This is why we have people like you to help us,” Enyedi said.

Besides reporting actual and potential storm activity, trained storm spotters also report damage.

“Rotation may have been detected, but we don’t know if anything has actually touched down if we don’t a damage report to confirm it,” she said.

Eddie Cail, who took Monday’s class, takes a class at least once a year.

“I take the Skywarn program very seriously,” he said. “Technology is great but it’s limited. I like to have a refresher, because I only want to report accurate information.”

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/318011242

This webinar will provide an overview of what weather information to report to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh

Title: NWS Pittsburgh Online Winter Skywarn
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011
Time: 7:00PM – 8:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Contact: Gregg Fitzgerald
Tel: 662-538-2514
Cell:
Email: Gregg.Fitzgerald@bmhcc.org

Contact: Rodney Herndon
Tel: 870-295-5252
Cell: 870-295-1500
Email: fd446@hotmail.com

Contact: Jeff Clingman
Tel: (662) 610-3169
Email: jsclingan@iccms.edu

Found after a July 23, 2010, severe thunderstorm by Vivian resident Les Scott, the hailstone is 8.0 inches in diameter and weighs 1.9375 pounds (1 pound, 15 ounces) with a circumference of 18.62 inches.

These measurements displace the previous hailstone record for weight, previously 1.67 pounds for a stone in Coffeyville, Kan., in 1970. They also surpass the record for diameter, which was 7 inches for a hailstone found in Aurora, Neb., in 2003. The Aurora hailstone still holds the record for circumference of 18.75 inches.

“I’m just glad nobody got hurt and hope the town will recover soon,” Scott said.

Read Full Article: Weather.gov

The Atlantic Basin remains on track for an active hurricane season, according to the scheduled seasonal outlook update issued today by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. With the season’s peak just around the corner – late August through October – the need for preparedness plans is essential.

NOAA also announced today that, as predicted last spring, La Niña has formed in the tropical Pacific Ocean. This favors lower wind shear over the Atlantic Basin, allowing storm clouds to grow and organize. Other climate factors pointing to an active hurricane season are warmer-than-average water in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean, and the tropical multi-decadal signal, which since 1995 has brought favorable ocean and atmospheric conditions in unison, leading to more active seasons.

“August heralds the start of the most active phase of the Atlantic hurricane season and with the meteorological factors in place, now is the time for everyone living in hurricane prone areas to be prepared,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.

Across the entire Atlantic Basin for the whole season – June 1 to November 30 – NOAA’s updated outlook is projecting, with a 70 percent probability, a total of (including Alex, Bonnie and Colin):

• 14 to 20 Named Storms (top winds of 39 mph or higher), including:
• 8 to 12 Hurricanes (top winds of 74 mph or higher), of which:
• 4 to 6 could be Major Hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of at least 111 mph)

. . . For more on this click here

La Niña is associated with cooler than normal water temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, unlike El Niño which is associated with warmer than normal water temperatures. Both of these climate phenomena, which typically occur every 2-5 years, influence weather patterns throughout the world and often lead to extreme weather events. Last winter’s El Niño contributed to record-breaking rain and snowfall leading to severe flooding in some parts of the country, with record heat and drought in other parts of the country. Although La Niña is the opposite of El Niño, it also has the potential to bring weather extremes to parts of the nation.

“La Niña is in place and will strengthen and persist through the winter months, giving us a better understanding of what to expect between December and February,” said Mike Halpert, deputy director of the Climate Prediction Center – a division of the National Weather Service. “This is a good time for people to review the outlook and begin preparing for what winter may have in store.”

Read Full Article: NOAA News