Winter, Racing, and Spotting

March has arrived.  The old saying is that March arrives like a lion and leaves like a lamb.  Judging by how this month is starting, we may be in good shape should the saying hold true.  Around 2/3 of the US mainland has some sort of winter weather box affecting it.  From Washington state to Washington DC winter is dominating the scene.  Record cold, snow and ice are still ravaging the country.

The west coast is at least getting a respite from it's drought.  Much needed major rains fell up and down the coast.  So much so that flooding has become a concern.  It isn't enough by itself to end the long drought, but it is a good start.  Certainly we all would like to see the drought out there end.

Last week NASCAR kicked off its season with the Daytona 500.  Weather played a huge role in the race delaying it for hours.  The weather there should be a wake up call (another one) for outdoor event operators.  They had 150,000 plus people out in the open with no shelter and a tornado warning heading dangerously close to the track.  Reports from the track through social networks like twitter described chaotic scenes of people running about looking for any kind of safety, and not finding it.  This was within a couple of miles of being one of the greatest natural  disasters we have ever had in this country.  Outdoor event organizers need to take weather seriously and have plans in place to execute should the need arise.  One of these days, it will happen.






This time of year, many counties in places that experience tornadoes (which is most) have their severe weather and storm spotter training courses.  These are usually about 3 hours long and give you a simple overview of what to look for and where to look for it when it comes to severe weather types and a quick overview of cloud structures that will help you identify possible tornadoes.  Find your local National Weather Service web page for times and locations in your area.  Severe weather spotters are invaluable in getting the ground truth of what a storm is doing that radar alone cannot do.  This can be life saving work while also allowing one to indulge in a passion for nature and storms.  




Storm Spotters are a little different than chasers.  Spotters often work with local emergency management agencies and are assigned locations from which they will report conditions back to the central office.  Their assignment is to protect their community from their post.  Chasers also do spotting and reporting, but they are generally independent of local government.  They could be media, researchers,     or general enthusiasts.  The main goal of all of these should be the same, the safety of the public at large.