The National Weather Service in
Juneau is always looking for volunteer weather spotters in Southeast
Alaska. Volunteer spotters support their local community and government by
providing the NWS with timely and accurate weather reports. These reports,
when integrated with NWS Doppler Radar signatures, satellite, and
other data, can be critical in the issuance of weather warnings and
advisories. This can save lives and protect property, which is the main
mission of the NWS.
Volunteers help the NWS by
reporting thunderstorms, hail, heavy rainfall, strong winds, heavy snow,
freezing rain, flooding, etc. It must be stressed that we are looking for
reliable and objective reports. When snowfall reports are inflated or hail
sizes are exaggerated, for example, it can do more harm than good. It is
imperative that volunteers are available to receive a call from the NWS,
in the event we feel that something suspicious is happening in their area
or to ask further questions on a report that you already gave to us.
In order to become an official NWS spotter, you need to attend a
training session conducted by the NWS. It is about a 2 hour slide and
video presentation about how to identify and report significant
weather.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer spotter, click on the
link below and fill out the form. If you have a report to send, click on
the enter report link.
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Examples of Weather Information to
Report
Significant or severe weather in Southeast Alaska may
include:
- Thunderstorms
- Waterspouts
- Hail
- Winds of 40 mph or more
- 1/2 inch or more of rain in 1 hour
Urban and/or small stream flooding:
- Roads closed due to high water
- Roads impassible due to high water
- Small streams overflowing their banks
- Land slides
Winter weather:
- Freezing rain or freezing drizzle
- Thundersnow
- 4 inches of new snowfall in 12 hours
Also report any unusual event, weather or non-weather related.
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