Tools of the trade

No special equipment is needed to get involved as a severe weather watcher - only a telephone, this booklet, a ruler, a watch and your own senses.

You might also consider using a Weatheradio and/or documenting your experience of severe weather events and damage with a still or video camera.You may also find it helpful to use a tape recorder to take notes which might otherwise get lost or forgotten in the stress of a severe weather event.

Useful or interesting websites

Environment Canada - www.ec.gc.ca
EC, Canadian Meteorological Centre - www.cmc.ec.gc.ca
MSC - www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca

SKYWARN, spotter training and information sites
www.skywarn.ampr.org,
www.skywarn.org,
www.k5kj.net/skywarn.htm, www.k5kj.net/training.htm

Severe weather glossary - www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/
severewx/glossary.html
NOAA Storm Spotter's Guide - www.nws.noaa.gov/om/basicspot.pdf
NWS/Oklahoma University - www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/
Curious about storm chasing? - check www.storm-track.com

Good luck, and keep your eyes on the skies!
We are counting on you!

1 N/SE, 2 N/SE, 3 NE/SE
Reading the stormy sky.
Under a storm, there's a constant struggle between warm air and the cooler air coming out of the rain. When warm air dominates the storm remains strong, but when cool air begins to make its move, the storm's survival is less certain.

In our main scene (2) a severe storm at right is pouring out plenty of cold outflow air to the left. However, the warmer air on this side is channelling that cool, moist air so that it concentrates along a narrow axis (tail cloud, right) and enters a lowering (centre) where it rises to sustain the storm's updrafts. That rising air forms a bank of giant towers which we see at the bottom as the dark base above the tube. Meanwhile, the cool air behind the axis across the scene is pushing south as well. This is apparent from the banded forward surface. The curve in the axis shows us that the outflow has gained ground left of the lowering, but is being held in check where the warmer inflow air is strongest (right side). Earlier (1), inflow was still dominant even though the main updrafts were already being crowded to the back wide (SW) of this classic supercell storm. Will the lowering grow larger, hold its own, or dwindle? If it gets large and round (begins rotating), a tornado is possible! But a short while later (3), it disappears as the cold air takes over and the entire axis moves south as a striated gust front. The storm is still going (at right) but has rebuilt farther east, away fromt he abundance of cold air left in its wake.