🚀 go-pugleaf

>One wonders why there is such a desire to avoid attending Skywarn
>training and joining RACES.  It would appear that such an act would
>1)indicate that a person wanted to know more about what they are
>reporting and 2)take some minimum steps to join a very worthwhile
>organization.

I don't think that is why some of us are concerned... Because I am not a
RACES member apparently I am not able to call in reports via ham radio in
some locations like Dallas TX. Does that mean my hail / damage / etc reports
are not worthy of being collected? We have the problem in a county near
Toledo that won't accept reports unless the net control knows you
personally. Is that what your intent is? To make Skywarn your "personal"
group? If so -- barring non-RACES and non-"trained" reports is the way to
get there.

And one point that has been avoided so far... There is absolutely NO way
that an hour or two of training per year gives the common spotter all the
knowledge he needs. So when I hear "It HAS to be a valid report, he was at
the training session" I tend to get sick. Chicago has an eight hour session
involving all aspects of severe weather spotting -- the best I've ever been
to, and I drive 5 hours each way every year just to attend -- but just in
quick conversations with people afterwards it either flies over many of
their heads or they don't pay attention for that long. So when people "avoid
attending Skywarn sessions" I imagine they get tired of seeing the same
slide set or "get under the girders" video year after year. That's the real
problem -- giving people the knowledge that they need, but in a way that
they are able to listen. I don't know how many times Cleveland shows the
NCSA video of a supercell wind flow, and it does absolutely nothing except
confuse people and make them say "nice graphics."

Rob
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Robert P Dale                      ||                    rdale@norden1.com
University of Toledo               ||          rdale@storm.atms.purdue.edu
  Northwest Ohio Weather Info on http://norden1.com/~rdale/weather.html