March 1, 2000
Weather watchers soak up workshop
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
From macrobursts to microbursts to downbursts. From anvil heads to wall clouds to funnel clouds, it was a weather junkies' dream.
More than 60 people from Leelanau, Benzie and Grand Traverse counties packed a room at the Government Center last Tuesday evening for a Weather Spotter Workshop sponsored by the National Weather Service. Attendees soaked up every word of presenter Brian Hirsch as he led them on a quick tour of meteorology, northern Michigan style.
Using videos, photos and statistics, Hirsch wowed the crowd with stories of tornadoes, lightening and storms while at the same time teaching them the basics of severe weather safety. It is crucial to know the difference between a watch, which indicates that severe weather is possible in a region, and a warning, which says severe weather is happening and headed toward the area being warned.
The National Weather Service does not issue severe weather warnings unless certain extreme conditions are met. For example, a severe thunderstorm warning is issued when winds exceed 58 miles per hour or when there is hail _-inch or larger.
Because of this potential severe weather, it is important is to know what to do in a warning. Hirsch compared it to a family having a fire plan they talk about and practice, where everyone knows what to do and where to go.
"In severe weather, the most important thing is to take action," Hirsch noted. "The most dangerous is lightening, especially younger people standing under trees in a thunderstorm. Don't stand under a tree, go inside!"
He acknowledged that the lakes mitigate the effects of storms in northwestern Michigan, meaning that the Grand Traverse region does not get the severe weather in the spring and summer that other areas do. During his tenure in Iowa and Oklahoma, tornadoes were commonplace. Here, tornadoes are rare and severe thunderstorms happen only four or five times a year.
"Summerwise, this area does not get the severe weather of other areas," said Hirsch, who noted that the United States sees the most tornado activity in the world but, unlike the movie "Twister," most tornadoes nationwide are smaller. "But those four or five times when it does come should really get your attention."
Hirsch was also recruiting Weather Spotters at the meeting. Weather Spotters are volunteers who agree to phone the Gaylord office of the National Weather Service every morning with precipitation totals, temperature and a local weather report. This network of volunteer reporters helps the National Weather Service track weather events in northern Michigan. While they do not get paid for their time and efforts, the volunteers are vital to keeping everyone in the region informed.
Sometimes during severe weather such as a thunderstorm or blizzard, a member of the National Weather Service Staff will call a spotter for additional information.
"Sometimes they have called me to ask about something they saw on the radar," said Matt Salon, a Long Lake Township resident who has been a Weather Spotter for three years. "This was especially true when they first got the Doppler radar and were calibrating it."
Four people signed up at the meeting to be Weather Spotters, including Leonard Mendrek, a Traverse City resident who works as a boat captain, marine surveyor and boat builder. A veteran Weather Spotter from years back, Mendrek has found that the weather in northwestern Michigan is unpredictable, especially on the water where he spends most of his time during the summer.
"I saw a waterspout last summer in Frankfort, but it never touched down or did any damage," said Mendrek, owner of Coast Marine Surveyors. "Lightening is the most scary thing over water, though."