http://www.superior-wi.com/placed/index.php?sect_rank=1&story_id=171338

Deb and Mick Stein plan to keep their eyes to the sky this summer. As
skywarn spotters, they are part of a wide web of weather-watchers who
provide vital information to the National Weather Service.

“They are extremely important because we can’t see what’s going
on underneath a thunderstorm from the office,” said Greg Frosig,
meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Duluth.

While radar can detect what is occurring inside the storm, it can’t
catch a forming funnel cloud the way a spotter on the ground could.
Spotters also warn the National Weather Service of wind damage, hail and
flooding.

“We need your eyes out in the field watching thunderstorms,”
Frosig told more than two dozen residents who had come to the Government
Center for skywarn spotter training recently. “We all rely on each
other for teamwork.”

Skywarn spotters noticed ominous cloud formations one hour before a
tornado touched down in Siren three years ago. With their siren system
down, that hour allowed the sheriff to drive through town to alert
residents.

“We saved a lot of lives that way,” said Frosig.

....

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