Spotter Reference
What to report, and how.
A good report is specific, observed, and short. This page is the reference - bookmark it before severe weather season.
Thresholds
What meets our reporting criteria.
Report at or above these thresholds. When in doubt on something life-threatening, report it - a forecaster would rather set aside one uncertain tornado report than miss a real one.
Tornadic Activity
Any tornado, funnel cloud, wall cloud, or visible rotation
Say whether it is on the ground, which way it is moving, and your distance and direction from it. Report only what you can actually see - and be ready to say why you believe it is what you are calling it.
Hail
Quarter size (1 inch) or larger
Compare to a coin or ball rather than estimating in inches. Report the largest stone, not the average, and note whether it is still falling.
Damaging Wind
Gusts of 60 mph or higher
Measured is better than estimated - say which one you are giving. If you are estimating, say what you are basing it on.
Wind Damage
Any wind damage, at any speed
Damage is often the more useful report. Trees down, limbs snapped, power lines, structural damage - and say what size the trees were and what actually failed.
Flooding
Any flooding - water over roadways or rapidly rising water
Name the road and the nearest crossroad. Note whether it is impassable or closed. Never drive into water to judge its depth.
Hail
Size it against an object, not a ruler.
Estimated measurements in inches are unreliable. Comparisons to common objects are what the National Weather Service uses, and what net control expects to hear.
Pea
0.25″
Below our threshold
Penny
0.75″
Below our threshold
Nickel
0.88″
Below our threshold
Quarter
1.00″
Report it
Golf ball
1.75″
Report it
Tennis ball
2.50″
Report it
Baseball
2.75″
Report it
Softball
4.00″
Report it
Our threshold is quarter size - 1 inch. Anything smaller is below reporting criteria for our nets.
Structure
How to give the report.
Listen first
Make sure you are not transmitting over a report already in progress. The frequency belongs to whoever has the most urgent traffic.
Your callsign
So net control knows who is reporting and can come back to you.
Where you are
Your nearest cross street and the city you are in. Specific enough to place the report on a map.
What you are reporting
The event itself, described plainly against our criteria. "Quarter size hail," not "big hail."
Anything else pertinent
The supporting detail that makes the report usable - if you are reporting a tornado, why you believe it is a tornado.
Sounds like
“[Your callsign], corner of Sunshine and National in Springfield. Reporting quarter size hail, still falling, been going about five minutes.”
Restraint
What not to report.
Knowing what to leave off the air matters as much as knowing what to pass.
- Heavy rain on its own. We do not take rainfall reports unless they come with flooding.
- Winter weather. Snow and ice reports are not part of what our nets collect.
- Anything you did not personally observe. Second-hand reports and social media screenshots are not spotter reports.
- Rotation you cannot actually see. Scud clouds and rain shafts get mistaken for funnels constantly, especially at night.
- Your own position if reaching it puts you in danger. No report is worth the risk.