By ROD ZOOK
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — During severe weather awareness week, we are taking the time to inform you about how various agencies handle severe weather. One of the most important, of course, is the National Weather Service. Chance Hayes, meteorologist for the National Weather Service says forecasting severe weather all starts with looking ahead.
“We have a plethora of computer models we have access to, to try and interpret what the weather is going to do over the course of the next seven days,” Hayes said. “Once we kind of highlight those areas where we see we may be in a little more of an active pattern we watch them a little bit more closely.”
If the weather is shaping up to be severe the National Weather Service will continue to watch those areas. They call it a Ready, Set, Go approach.
“When we know the possibility is there we’ll issue an outlook. So we’ll utilize the outlook as ready,” Hayes said. “Then we start to look at the amount of instability in the atmosphere.”
If all of the parameters fall into place for severe weather a watch is issued. That does not come from the National Weather Service.
“The watch actually comes from the Storm Prediction Center in Norman Oklahoma. They are looking at the whole country and will issue a watch for a very large area,” Hayes noted. “Once the watch is issued we will monitor the radar trend and local environment and then when conditions warrant we will issue a warning.”
Many feel that there are times when weather forecasters are trying to scare people with predictions of severe weather days ahead. Hayes says that’s not the case.
“There is that misrepresentation at times when folks think we’re trying to scare them, that’s not what we’re trying to do, “ Hayes stressed. “ We just want to provide them with information that goes into their decision making process so that they can be prepared and not be caught off guard when the weather does actually move in.”
Now there are times when things will look very active and for some reason, it never materializes. Hayes says all of the things that make severe weather need to fall into place and there are simply times that does not happen.
“I kind of equate it to putting together a puzzle when it comes to forecasting the weather,” Hayes said. “Forecasting storms is like putting together a 10-piece puzzle or a 1000-piece puzzle based on what the atmosphere is posing to us.”
Hayes says it is very easy to get the latest weather forecasts with personal devices, radio, television, and even weather radio.