“Spotters” and “observers” aid National Weather Service forecasts and warnings.

Weather—it’s a prime topic of daily conversations.

Rain or snow, sunshine or clouds, everyone has a keen interest in Mother Nature’s plans.

Gail Pratt and Marjorie Cooper are no exception to the rule. The sisters, who live just outside Trout Lake in Chippewa County, aren’t meteorologists, but they do provide a valuable service for Michigan’s “weather junkies.”

“Sister and I enjoy collecting weather data—it’s fun and helps us give back to the community in a way,” Gail says about their volunteer duties for the Gaylord office of the National Weather Service (NWS).

The pair, who are members of Cloverland Electric Cooperative, record high and low temperature readings on a daily basis, along with precipitation and other meteorological data.

“We’ve been doing this for about six years,” Gail says of the information that she submits by email at 6 p.m. every evening.

The data that “spotters,” and “observers” like Gail and Marjorie provide is a key element in weather forecasting, says Jim Keysor, warning coordinator and meteorologist at Gaylord NWS.

“Spotters are critical—there are limitations to radar and technology,” Keysor explains. “During a warning situation, spotters provide ‘ground truth’ to what we’re seeing on radar.”

Individuals assist with “ground truth” through their participation in a pair of programs—the NWS Cooperative Observer Program, and SKYWARN, that are coordinated through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Daily and monthly reports are provided by volunteers like Gail and Marjorie, who are part of the Cooperative Observer Program.

In the SKYWARN program, volunteers are trained as severe weather spotters who provide real-time observations and accurate reports on storm activity.

“There are about 1,200 SKYWARN spotters working through our office that covers 25 counties in the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan, and about 70 NWS Cooperative observers,” Keysor says, noting that some spotters are involved in both programs. “There are also between 200 and 300 stations that have additional equipment capable of providing more detailed weather information on a daily basis.”

Keysor estimates that between 6,000 and 8,000 spotters are involved in programs across Michigan. Nationally, more than 230,000 individuals are registered with the SKYWARN program.

While an interest in weather is a common denominator among weather spotters and observers, there’s no such thing as a “typical spotter.”

“They’re young and old, and of varying occupations, but they all do have some knowledge about weather—some say they would have liked to have been meteorologists,” Keysor says with a laugh. “So many people are turned-on by the weather and really follow it; this is a way for them to be part of the Weather Service.”

The SKYWARN participants are required to take spotter training classes that are specific for each local area. There is no charge for the session that typically lasts about two hours. Included are topics such as the basics of thunderstorm development, identifying potential severe weather features, and how to report information.

Volunteers are encouraged to be “four-season spotters” covering all of Michigan’s seasons, but NWS also works with volunteers who prefer to provide information only on summer storms or winter weather.

“Mostly, spotters are inclined to be interested in thunderstorms during the spring and summer months, but we do have individuals who just want to work during winter, too,” Keysor says.

“We may be seeing a thunderstorm on radar that looks like it could be capable of producing 1-inch hail; all we know is what the technology is telling us is possible,” Keysor says. “A spotter calls in from the specific area and says pea-size hail is actually falling—that plays into what we do in issuing weather warnings.”

That type of information is important in tracking winter weather, too.

“During and after a storm, spotters and observers call with information on how much snow is falling, snow depth, and road conditions,” Keysor says. “We use that in winter storm watches and warnings.”

The use of NWS spotters is also a valuable resource for another set of meteorologists—those who broadcast the weather news.

“We know the people who are part of the NWS spotter programs are a reliable source of information,” says Kevin Dunaway, meteorologist with Channel 9-10 News in Cadillac. “When they call us and say that 2-inch hail is falling, or there’s been 5 inches of snow in the past hour, we know that information can be trusted.”

The news station doesn’t typically recruit its own weather spotters, although some individuals do provide information in specific instances.

“Probably, most of the spotters we work with are involved in the Weather Service programs,” Dunaway says, citing the collaborative arrangement between news organizations and NWS local offices. A relatively new approach to collecting data from volunteer weather observers is the NWS E-Spotter program, which allows individuals to register and provide local data from their home computers.

“We have about 200 people registered in E-Spotter; it’s another great tool that allows individuals to become involved with meteorology,” Keysor says.

For detailed information on the NWS spotter and observer programs, visit nws.noaa.gov or call 989-731-3384.