Calling All Cloud Watchers!
Valarie Morris
March 12, 2009
Do you or someone you know love to watch the clouds in and around Santa Fe? You can put your fascination to work by helping protect our community from the dangers of lightning, floods, and other severe weather. Lightning is the number one cause of death in New Mexico from weather, closely followed by flash flooding.
Spotters Fill in the Gaps
The National Weather Service (NWS) relies on radar images to show moment by moment weather patterns, but New Mexico's mountain ranges get in the way! NWS Albuquerque needs more SKYWARN Spotters to train. Spotters fill in the gaps to give us more accurate weather reports and warnings.
Facts and Questions
Hail between the size of a penny and a nickel has a 3/4" diameter. Winds from 55 to 63 mph break trees. But what's a supercell, a microburst, a tornado, a gustnado, and a wall cloud? What does it mean when an anvil cloud or shelf cloud approaches? And what do cauliflowers have to do with it?
Get the Answers
To get the answers to these questions and find out more about the SKYWARN Spotter Program, call Timothy Shy or Daniel Porter (Senior Meteorologists) at 505.243.0702 x0, Jesse Haro (Warning Coordination Meteorologist) at 505.244.9147 x223, or visit the National Weather Service ABQ SKYWARN Spotter Program page.
Help Prevent Deaths, Injury, and Damage
Impress your friends and family with your new knowledge about clouds and help the entire community as a SKYWARN Spotter. The NWS welcomes new spotters! This allows meteorologists to issue more timely warnings to help prevent deaths, injury, and damage from severe weather.
