Heavy Snow and Gusty Winds in the North-Central US; Freezing Rain Possible in the Northern Plains and Appalachians

Areas of moderate to heavy snow and gusty to high winds are expected across the Northern Plains, Upper Midwest and Great Lakes. Patchy areas of light rain/freezing rain may develop along the rain-snow line over parts of the Northern Plains into the morning. A mix of light snow and freezing rain or drizzle is possible in the central Appalachians that may impact the morning commute. Read More >

What is SKYWARN

Who are SKYWARN Spotters?

Submitting a Storm Report

SKYWARN is the National Weather Service (NWS) program of trained volunteer weather spotters. Storm spotters come from many walks of life, including fire fighters, law enforcement, amateur radio operators, and the public. SKYWARN storm spotters provide important ground truth information to NWS warning forecasters who make critical warning decisions during severe weather, and help the NWS perform its primary mission to save lives and property.

Note: This is not storm chaser training. A storm spotter is a volunteer service that is conducted primarily from fixed locations such as from home, work, or around your community. The National Weather Service does not endorse or encourage the use of storm spotter training for storm chasing.

SKYWARN name and logo are trademarked: SKYWARN® is a registered trademark of NOAA's National Weather Service. Please read the rules for the usage of the SKYWARN® name and logo.

If you are within NWS Rapid City county coverage area (shown below) and when you can do so safely, send us a report. Include photos if you are able to. Remember, be concise and accurate with your report -- who, what, when, and where. Please do not relay reports based on what you are seeing/hearing on television or on your app.

-Send us a message on Facebook

-Tag us in a Tweet or send a direct message

Include #

-Call us at

Hail (any size):
Measure the largest hail stone or compare it to a common item.

0.25" or less - pea

0.50" - mothball

0.75" - dime/penny

0.88" - nickel

1.00" - quarter (severe threshold)

1.25" - half dollar

1.50" - walnut/ping pong ball

1.75" - golf ball

2.00" - hen egg

2.50" - tennis ball

2.75" - baseball

3.00" - tea cup

4.00" - grapefruit

4.50" - softball

Strong or damaging winds
What was damaged and to what extent?

Healthy trees snapped or uprooted

Large tree branches blown down

Power poles downed

Structures damaged (businesses, homes, outbuildings, etc.)

Rotating wall cloud, funnel cloud, or tornado
Be sure to confirm rotation and include the direction and distance of these features from your location.

Flooding:
Focus on water 6" or more in depth that is rapidly flowing or standing water that is 3' or more deep. Is the flood water threatening life or property? Are waterways/streams and creeks rapidly rising?

Severe Thunderstorm criteria (any combination of the following):

Winds of 58+ mph

Hail of 1" in diameter or larger

A tornado

Click on the Hail Size Chart above for a printable full resolution version.

The Rapid City NWS offices offer spotter training classes by webinar during the spring. Classes last about an hour. Registration is required prior to attending the training!

The 2024 virtual spotter training classes are over. Check back again next year!

The Cooperative Operational Meteorology Education and Training (COMET) offers an online Skywarn® Spotter Training course in two sections: "Role of the Skywarn® Spotter" and "Skywarn® Spotter Convective Basics". The course is designed for people interested in becoming storm spotters. While previously-trained Skywarn® spotters are not required to take it, it does provides additional background material not covered in the local classes. The course is free and each section takes one to two hours to complete. People interested in becoming spotters for the NWS can notify our office after completing the training.

Submit a Storm Report (click on link)

Resources

Safety

If you have questions or want additional information, contact the Rapid City NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist, Aaron Woodward at aaron.woodward@noaa.gov

Banner image courtesy Pat Gerdes

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