OK...I was always under the impression local Skywarn spotters were supposed to be pretty familiar with the terrain and the topographical oddities of the area in which they live and report. So, can someone explain to me what a Skywarn spotter near Montricello MN was doing reporting a wallcloud and funnel over Monti nuke plant on Friday? For crying out loud, we see the steam coming off the cooling ponds 365 days per year and sure as shit, every year someone will make a shit report as the steam get caught in the updraft of a rain shower or a shelf cloud. It happened again 6-27-08. Thank goodness net control for West Metro Skywarn is familiar with this problem and immediately discounted it as a bad report.
So, what are your opinions of Skywarn? Seems to me they are talking more steps backwards in accurate reporting than getting better (even with limited experience). Instead of going off on a rant about my opinions, I'd love to hear some of yours. I really want to hear from the southern chasers who get to see GOOD supercells and not the crap rain wrapped HP's up here. Do RFD plumes get reported as torns? Do Skywarn spotters have such a hard time telling the difference between a shelf cloud and a REAL wall cloud as the spotters have up here?
Time to get some stock video ready for the Discovery Channel...
2 comments:
This is truly great!
And the comedy & irony of this thread is a true testiment to the large number of the bad spotter reports that have taken place in central Minnesota this year.
Spotters have significantly struggled with outflow dominant cells and shelf vs wall vs scud, hell, One can almost expect to hear the report of a wall, funnel or torn come in whenever a red box is put up.
I have not pinned down what is driving this noticiable upswing as compared to past years in the number of wall/funnel in areas of storms that leave forecasters pulling thier hair out looking at all given data at the time of the bad report.
But a particular date from the month of September 06 reminds me of the duck hunter with the itchy trigger that shot his limit of mallards 15 minnutes before the noon waterfowl opener had even arived.
NE
Keep the posts coming. I have seen one reportable thing in MN this year (hail, which my siding reported to me). Maybe people forget what a wall cloud is supposed to look like.
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