Wellington residents came out in the dozens to educate themselves on severe weather during the National Weather Service’s (NWS) annual storm spotter training, Wednesday.
Filling the seats of the Wellington High School auditorium, NWSâMeteorologist Brad Ketcham showed participants the differences between supercells and squall lines, downbursts and tornadoes, and helped dispel some weather myths.
Throughout the presentation, Ketcham brought up local tornadoes and their effects on the community, most prevalant was the Conway Springs tornado that touched down in 2004.
“Once a major tornado like that hits and gets further away, people forget the...precautions they need to take,” said Ketcham. “When they get complacent, it’s the storms that remind them what it’s all about,”
No one knows that better than former Greensburg turned Wellington residents, Frank and Marilyn Hayse who attended the storm spotter training for the first time, Wednesday.
“It’s just something that we ought to do,” said Frank Hayse.
The couple didn’t lose their home and were out of state when the Greensburg tornado hit, but many of their friends and family lost their homes in the storm.
“Do what they tell you to do,” said Frank Hayse.
“When they give the warning, go,” said Marilyn Hayse.
The thought of another Greensburg doesn’t travel far in the couple’s minds.
“Wellington could be wiped out just as easily,” said Frank Hayse.
Even the youngest members of the audience were learning what to do in severe weather.
“Take shelter in a storm shelter,” said Kennedy Elementary School student Michael Clark, when asked what he would do in a storm.
The whole point of the presentation is not just to spot a storm, Ketcham said, but to learn how to stay safe during one.
“It’s very important because all we can do is tell people severe weather is coming but they are ultimately responsible for their safety, so if they know what to look for and they know what to see they can take the proper precautions that they need to do,” said Ketcham. “A lot of people have to see it for themselves before they take action and if they know what they see then hopefully they will take the right action,”
Though the auditorium wasn’t packed wall-to-wall, Ketcham is hopeful even a little education will help in a severe situation.
“It really does make me hopeful that one, people are still interested in the weather and what we do and two, that they are interested in taking care of themselves to get information out,” said Ketcham. “Hopefully once they see the presentation, they will spread the word and maybe get involved, become a part of the community and help us spot storms or know what to see when the weather turns bad,”
Sumner County Emergency Management Director James Fair echoed the meteorologist’s statement.
“I think people are doing a better job of educating themselves in the ways they can protect themselves or are better prepared,” he said. “It’s one of those things. We would rather have all 25,000 people of Sumner County educated and knowledgeable than to have a few dozen well-trained responders that have to take care of the other 20,000-plus people. It makes the responders just that much easier,”
For more information on additional storm spotter meetings, go to www.weather.gov/wichita.
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Wellington residents came out in the dozens to educate themselves on severe weather during the National Weather Service’s (NWS) annual storm spotter training, Wednesday.
Filling the seats of the Wellington High School auditorium, NWSâMeteorologist Brad Ketcham showed participants the differences between supercells and squall lines, downbursts and tornadoes, and helped dispel some weather myths.
Throughout the presentation, Ketcham brought up local tornadoes and their effects on the community, most prevalant was the Conway Springs tornado that touched down in 2004.
“Once a major tornado like that hits and gets further away, people forget the...precautions they need to take,” said Ketcham. “When they get complacent, it’s the storms that remind them what it’s all about,”
No one knows that better than former Greensburg turned Wellington residents, Frank and Marilyn Hayse who attended the storm spotter training for the first time, Wednesday.
“It’s just something that we ought to do,” said Frank Hayse.
The couple didn’t lose their home and were out of state when the Greensburg tornado hit, but many of their friends and family lost their homes in the storm.
“Do what they tell you to do,” said Frank Hayse.
“When they give the warning, go,” said Marilyn Hayse.
The thought of another Greensburg doesn’t travel far in the couple’s minds.
“Wellington could be wiped out just as easily,” said Frank Hayse.
Even the youngest members of the audience were learning what to do in severe weather.
“Take shelter in a storm shelter,” said Kennedy Elementary School student Michael Clark, when asked what he would do in a storm.
The whole point of the presentation is not just to spot a storm, Ketcham said, but to learn how to stay safe during one.
“It’s very important because all we can do is tell people severe weather is coming but they are ultimately responsible for their safety, so if they know what to look for and they know what to see they can take the proper precautions that they need to do,” said Ketcham. “A lot of people have to see it for themselves before they take action and if they know what they see then hopefully they will take the right action,”
Though the auditorium wasn’t packed wall-to-wall, Ketcham is hopeful even a little education will help in a severe situation.
“It really does make me hopeful that one, people are still interested in the weather and what we do and two, that they are interested in taking care of themselves to get information out,” said Ketcham. “Hopefully once they see the presentation, they will spread the word and maybe get involved, become a part of the community and help us spot storms or know what to see when the weather turns bad,”
Sumner County Emergency Management Director James Fair echoed the meteorologist’s statement.
“I think people are doing a better job of educating themselves in the ways they can protect themselves or are better prepared,” he said. “It’s one of those things. We would rather have all 25,000 people of Sumner County educated and knowledgeable than to have a few dozen well-trained responders that have to take care of the other 20,000-plus people. It makes the responders just that much easier,”
For more information on additional storm spotter meetings, go to www.weather.gov/wichita.
