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What is the Spotter Program?
Despite all the technological gains the Weather
Service has acquired over the years, one aspect remains vital to our functioning,
The Spotter Program. The Spotter Program is essentially
comprised of people, such as yourself, who voluntarily report significant weather to our office and others across the
country. These persons enable us to gain ground truth about radar
echoes, give validity to flood warnings, or inform us of weather hazards
which we simply cannot detect. Through the nation's entire spotter
network, it is estimated that thousands and possibly tens of thousands
of lives have been saved by timely and informative reports. Here
in Northwest California we have 143 spotters spread across Del Norte,
Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties. If you are interested
in becoming a spotter, please call our office at 707-443-6484.
What are Spotters Asked to Report?
Weather Phenomena |
Specifics |
| Tornadoes, Waterspouts, or
Funnels |
Location, time, direction
of movement. Still Visible? Any Damage? |
| Damaging Winds |
Large trees or limbs down?
Damage to homes? Winds greater than 45 MPH? Use the Beaufort Scale
to estimate speed. |
| Hail |
Pea-sized or greater. Can
use coins for measurement (.i.e. penny-sized). Any damage? |
| Heavy Rain |
Half inch or more in 30
minutes? |
| Flooding |
Flooding of any kind! Near
rivers and streams, and dam failures. Still rising or falling? Any
damage or road closures? |
| Poor Visibility |
Reduced to 1/4 of a mile
or less due to any atmospheric phenomena (fog, smoke, haze, etc..) |
| Snow |
Any below 1000 feet. 3
inches or more above 1000 feet in 12 hrs. |
| Dangerous Surf |
Eroding beaches, large debris
tossed by waves, damaged structures? |
| Lightning |
Frequent cloud-to-ground
strikes? Any damage? |
| Earthquakes |
Tremors of any intensity.
Any damage? |
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Webmaster
US Dept of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service
Eureka Weather Forecast Office
300 Startare Drive
Eureka, California 95501
Tel: (707) 443-6484
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National Weather Service Mission: "The
National Weather Service (NWS) provides weather,
hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for
the United States, its territories, adjacent waters
and ocean areas, for the protection of life and
property and the enhancement of the national economy.
NWS data and products form a national information
database and infrastructure which can be used by
other governmental agencies, the private sector,
the public, and the global community." |
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