Sumter County Citizen Corps meeting held at the former armory at 903 Adderton Street

Published 7:38 am Monday, July 1, 2024

Davis McArthur taught a class on Skywarn Spotter Basics for the Sumter County Skywarn Program at 5 pm on June 28. While spotters are not EMS or affiliates, McArthur stated that trained weather spotters provide useful information to meteorologists that can make live saving decisions.

McArthur noted several rules for spotters. Spotters were not to chase storms as part of the program, but to report from their location. Relayed information from other parties was not to be considered, and McArthur stressed the importance of using patience to make careful observations. A key point was distinguishing scud clouds from tornados, rotation being a key indicator of the later.

McArthur also used radar to help show the development of storms, specifically looking for rotation beginning to develop in storm system that could become a tornado.