For some Allen County residents, storm chasing season might be their favorite time of the year. If that’s true, then Tuesday will officially kick-start the season.
It’s time for “Storm Fury on the Plains,” a storm identification and safety presentation offered by the National Weather Service. This year’s event will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Creitz Recital Hall at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
“People who are enthusiastic about the weather are very enthusiastic about the weather. There’s no in-between,” Jason Trego, Allen County Emergency Management director, said.
At Tuesday’s event, meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Wichita will offer information to prepare storm spotters and weather enthusiasts for the coming storm season.
It’s a family-friendly event that teaches the audience about different types of storms. They’ll learn how to identify clouds and cloud formations to recognize a storm’s potential severity. Attendees will learn how to read radar and the different kinds of weather advisories, watches and warnings. They’ll also learn how to report hazardous weather and severe weather safety. People who are enthusiastic about the weather are very enthusiastic about the weather. There’s no in-between.
“It’s kind of all-encompassing,” Trego said. “It’s a good refresher for those who have already been. And if they haven’t been to one of these presentations before, it’s a great learning opportunity.”
It’s one of the most popular training events for weather enthusiasts, county employees and others, Trego said.
Emergency management officials encourage everyone to attend. They’ll keep a list of those who have gone through the training; that helps when severe storms arrive and dispatchers get calls from concerned citizens.
If the caller has been through the training, the dispatcher can feel more confident about the report they receive.
“In the training, they go over what they call SLCs, ‘scary looking clouds,’” Trego explained.
“Someone may see something triangular shaped and assume it’s a funnel cloud, but it may not be. There’s a difference between low-hanging clouds that don’t mean anything versus a super cell structure.”
