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Weather Service Emphasizes Safety in Spotter Training

In 2016, flooding killed 123 people in the United States, while lightning killed 38, thunderstorm winds killed 20 and tornadoes killed 17.

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(TNS) - The videos and photos projected on the screen Wednesday night in the basement of the Ellis County Emergency Services Building shocked people, judging by the reactions from the crowded room.

Gasps of surprise and astonishment arose as the videos showed tornadoes taking over the house or vehicle housing the camera, flood waters sweeping away and sinking vehicles, hail breaking windows of a house, and a herd of livestock laying dead under a tree struck by lightning.

The reaction is by design, said Jeff Hutton, warning coordination meteorologist at the Dodge City National Weather Service. Hutton was in town to present the annual storm identification and spotter training session.

The basement room of the county’s newest building just off Vine on 22nd Street was packed nearly to capacity for the presentation.

The message Hutton emphasized is keep yourself safe during severe weather, whether it be from lightning, flood, hail or tornadoes.

“To some people it does,” he said about the images making a difference. For others, he acknowledges, it might arouse their curiosity to seek those sights for themselves.

“But part of the reason we do that is so people do realize what can happen instead of just imagining what it looks like,” he said.

Throughout the nearly two-hour presentation, Hutton showed photos, videos and graphics showing the different components of a severe storm and explained how to identify parts of a cloud such as the rain-free base, beaver tail and wall cloud. He explained where in a storm hail and high winds likely will be found, and perhaps most importantly, how to protect yourself in severe weather.

While much of the presentation focused on the development of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, Hutton discussed what are actually greater hazards to safety — lightning and floods.

In 2016, flooding killed 123 people in the United States, while lightning killed 38, thunderstorm winds killed 20 and tornadoes killed 17, he said.

“If I talked just about tornadoes, I would not be telling you about these other threats that you’re more than likely going to get hurt from, more than tornadoes,” he said.

Lightning is actually the most common cause of injuries and deaths in storms because it is the most frequent. Lightning can strike miles away from the storm cloud, he said, warning if you can hear thunder you are within striking distance of lightning.

Flooding is dangerous because one event can cause multiple deaths, he said.

One foot of water moving at only 6 mph can exert 500 pounds of force, he said — enough to displace 1,500 pounds.

“It only takes a couple foot of water to make a car buoyant enough to sweep it off the pavement or just flip it over, trapping you in the high water,” he said.

Flood waters also can hide other dangers, such as a road that has been washed away.

Hutton said there is a linear trend of increasing flood deaths since approximately 2000, to nearly 100 people a year.

“Part of the reason I think we have that is we have a lot of SUVs out there, all-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, big wheels, and people think they can just drive through it and that’s simply not the case,” he said.

When it came to the tornadoes, Hutton noted a relatively new danger — the human element.

“Let me ask you a question: Is there a difference between a storm spotter and a storm chaser?” he asked the crowd.

The answer, especially from those in emergency services such as volunteer fire, was an emphatic “yes.”

Storm spotters are trained meteorologists, volunteers or public employees who work as part of a research group, network or community.

“Storm spotters relaying information to us is a critical part of the warning process,” Hutton said.

Storm chasers, he said, are hobbyists or paying tourists who follow storms. They often don’t have the knowledge to understand what they are looking at, he said.

“They’re just following the masses. Looking up,” he said.

Storm chasers provide less than 5 percent of the severe weather reports received, he said.

The National Weather Service tries to discourage storm chasing, he said.

“For more than one reason. A lot of it is traffic. Especially in the last five years, there’s so much traffic out there,” Hutton said.

In the thrill of chasing a storm, an untrained individual can lose situational awareness, he said.

“You’re looking at storms and not paying attention out there. I’ve witnessed it myself — passing on hills, passing on shoulders, pulling out in front of vehicles all the time,” he said.

He cited Tuesday’s crash in Texas in which three storm chasers were killed while pursuing a tornado in Dickens County. The driver of one of the vehicles involved ran a stop sign near Spur, Texas, and collided with the other, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

Chasers can hinder emergency services when damage occurs in a storm, he said.

“Sometimes the storm spotters, the fire department and those people can’t get to that point because there’s so much traffic,” he said.

The Dodge City National Weather Service’s remaining training sessions will be in southwest Kansas.

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©2017 The Hays Daily News (Hays, Kan.)

Visit The Hays Daily News (Hays, Kan.) at www.hdnews.net

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