earth science

Weather spotting

Weather spotting is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Weather spotting rather than just read about it. In short: Weather spotting is observing weather for the purpose of reporting to a larger group or organization. Examples include National Weather Service (NWS) co-op observers and Skywarn storm spotters.

Key takeaways

Weather spotting belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Weather spotting to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Weather spotting from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Weather spotting is observing weather for the purpose of reporting to a larger group or organization. Examples include National Weather Service (NWS) co-op observers and Skywarn storm spotters.

Storm spotters

A storm spotter is a specific type of weather spotter. In the U.S., these volunteers are usually trained by the National Weather Service or local Skywarn group, and are given a phone number, internet outlet, or amateur radio frequency to report to if a severe weather event, such as a tornado, severe thunderstorm, or flash flood occurs where the spotter is located. They add ground truth information to remote sensing technology such as weather radar. Canwarn is the national storm spotting program of Canada, Skywarn Europe covers about a dozen countries (including the U.K., which is also covered by TORRO), Australia has a program organized by the Bureau of Meteorology called ASP (Australian Storm Spotters), while Malaysia has a community service oriented program called 'RakanMET' which allows public weather report and spotting.

National Weather Service Coop Observers The National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) is a network of around 11,000 volunteers that record official weather observations across the United States. Data is taken from a multitude of geographic regions and topography, and sent to the National Weather Service and National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) for official records. In making these reports, observers use a specialized set of jargon and slang to describe their observations. Cooperative weather observers often double as storm spotters. Some are also river and coastal watchers, typically reporting gauge readings.

Media weather spotters Since New England experiences harsh winters, several regional television stations use weather spotters for up-to-date snowfall amounts and reports. WHDH-TV's network, launched by former meteorologist Todd Gross, is the largest in New England with close to 300 spotters. The former name of the group was "WHDHwx - The 7NEWS Weather Spotter Group." In December 2005, the group's name was switched to "NEWeather - Todd Gross' Weather Spotter Network", in light of Todd Gross' departure with Channel 7. Al Kaprielian, former meteorologist for WNDS/WZMY-TV/WBIN-TV (now WWJE-DT), started his weather watcher group in 1986, when WNDS-TV first went on the air. Kaprielian featured one weather watcher per night on "my TV Prime," with their name, town, and current temperature on the map. Other Boston-area stations with weather spotter networks include WBZ-TV, WCVB-TV, and WMUR-TV in Manchester, New Hampshire. Media weather spotters are also extensive in the Midwest; though they also report severe warm weather, such as large hail and heavy rain. WFIE in Evansville, IN, for example, has a massive network of over 100 spotters. In the Great Plains and Southern US, many stations hire or contract storm chasers to send severe thunderstorm and tornado imagery to their viewers and listeners. Some TV stations fly helicopters to record such weather.

Aviation Accurate and timely weather information is crucial to safe flying operations. Large airports retain a staff of trained weather observers. Previously, many airports had such observers but automated systems replaced humans at most airports and airfields. The military, especially air forces and navies, also maintains such observers.

See also Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP) Climatological observers link NOAA Hurricane Hunters 53d Weather Reconnaissance Squadron

References

External links National Weather Service Coop program

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Weather spotting

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Weather spotting claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Weather spotting before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Weather spotting ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Weather spotting

In research: Weather spotting appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Weather spotting in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Weather spotting is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Meteorological data and networks, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Weather spotting outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Weather spotting” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Weather spotting in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Weather spotting means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Weather spotting out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Weather spotting in simple terms?

Weather spotting is observing weather for the purpose of reporting to a larger group or organization. Examples include National Weather Service (NWS) co-op observers and Skywarn storm spotters.

Why does Weather spotting matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Weather spotting?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Weather spotting.