Cobb ARES - Severe Storm Reporting






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Your safety and that of the general public depend on what we see as SKYWARN participants. Please be attentive and alert to what happens around you. Remember our job is to observe and report as fast as possible, what you see and what you report can save many lives and increase the National Weather Services lead time for warnings. ABOVE EVERYTHING, YOUR SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT!
YOU ARE IMPORTANT!

The National Weather Service uses the following criteria to determine if a thunderstorm is severe or not:

Hail 3/4 of an inch in diameter or larger

Wind gust of 50 knots or 58 mph or greater (Locally, NWS PTC is using 35-40 mph)

A tornado

Note that thunderstorm winds that bring large tree limbs, large trees, or power lines down would be considered severe. Also, damage to certain structures would be considered severe. For a chart to help with wind speeds and hail size, Click Here.

When passing information, remember the "TELE System" for reporting information back to net control:

T = Time of Observation (Local Time)

E = Effect (Hail, Winds, Wall Cloud, Etc.)

L = Location (Check your map... KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!)

E = Estimated or Measured

A sample report would be:

At 4:35 pm we had pea size hail, winds of about 40 miles per hour, with moderate cloud-to-ground lightning. I am 2 miles southeast of downtown Marietta, and observations are estimated.

Stay calm and be professional. ALWAYS ASSUME THE PUBLIC IS LISTENING IN ON SCANNERS. End your report with your callsign and await further instructions from NCS.

Unless net control specifies otherwise, please limit reports to weather conditions of significant nature only.
Please avoid the 'Sunshine' reports.

Only the following conditions should be reported:

Funnel Cloud Aloft

Tornado Touchdown (including direction and estimated speed of travel, if possible)

Wall Cloud/Rotating Wall Cloud (not Roll Cloud)

Cloud Rotation (Sustained)

Damaging Winds (above 58 mph)

Large Hail (3/4 inch or larger, i.e. Dime Size)

Flooding in Progress

Unusually Heavy Cloud-To-Ground Lightening (CG)

Trees, tree limbs, power lines down

Damage to Structures due to the Storms

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When All Else Fails....