Weather Blogs

For emergency managers, interpreting severe weather outlooks requires more than simply looking at the risk category. While the outlooks issued by the Storm Prediction Center are a valuable planning tool, they represent probabilities, not guarantees. Even a low-end outlook can still produce significant impacts when the right atmospheric ingredients come together. The recent tornado event in Michigan serves as a strong reminder that severe weather risk categories describe likel

Jem Busse • What a Winter Storm Taught Me About Emergency Management Growing up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I thought I understood snow. I’ve seen it all from lake-effect systems, long winters, to roads disappearing overnight. I assumed I had already seen everything a snowstorm could do. So, when forecasts began shifting to show that our county might face its heaviest snow event in recent years, I felt prepared- but this storm had some lessons in store for me. One of the first le

Jem Busse • Because Tornadoes Don’t Accept Credit Cards The Importance of Public Weather Forecasting There has been growing discussion around the privatization of weather forecasting. Proponents often frame this shift as innovation-driven or efficiency-focused. However, I strongly disagree with the underlying premise of forecasting being sold as a service or product. At its core, weather forecasting is not a luxury service or a market commodity; it is a public safety function

What Is SKYWARN? SKYWARN® is a volunteer storm spotter program coordinated by the National Weather Service (NWS). Trained volunteers across the United States watch for severe weather and report real-time observations, such as hail size, wind damage, flooding, and tornado sightings, back to the NWS and local public safety officials. These “ground truth” reports help forecasters confirm radar data and issue more accurate and timely warnings that save lives and property.  How SK