Storm Spotter, an inside look Part1

 

Freedom is not constituted of privileges but of responsibilities 

~Albert Camus 

          Good Afternoon friends, today I want to start off a three to four part series on being a storm spotter and what it takes to be one beyond just the Skywarn training. In this blog we are going to cover the mobile end of it and some of the special set-ups and modification's made to my vehicle in order to do it safely and efficiently. Let's take a look at what has worked well for me and some of the equipment I use. 

            For the most part I drive a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan and I decided not to post any exterior pics just because of the aesthetics  of the car would not let me show it in a good light, so we will focus on the inside equipment for the most part. Now if you are fairly new to storm spotting or are looking into it I hope this advice helps. You don't want to buy a new car or to go chasing in a 50K Dodge ram pickup truck right off the bat. The reason is, things happen, the reason I say this is you can easily turn that nice truck into a 2 ton tuna can in a hurry so start off with a older less expensive option like I did. 

Passenger side 

      

      In the picture above you are looking at the passenger side of the vehicle and where my partner sets while we are operating. This is the radar/ spotter seat this allows me or the driver to focus on the road condition ahead and affords the team the ability to keep out of the path of the storm. From this perspective you can see the laptop mount, laptop for radar positioning via cell and satellite, fire extinguisher and the weather tech mats. Out of sight in this view is the cell/ satellite booster used to keep the mobile data coming in. 

Drivers Side 

           Looking in from the drivers side we see the amateur radio used to call in reports, the handheld radio mount for the DMR (digital Radio) and the scanner used for Weather/CB Monitoring. One of the things I lack is a CB radio but that is on the list to be put in. By having the laptop mount in place allows for us (me and my partner) to keep eyes out the window while making sure we are in a safe location. Mobile spotting has it's dangers and if we are going out in the city I usually don't drive through traffic instead we find a spot and sit to watch the storm from a  safe distance. 

The back hatch 

        Moving to the Rear of the vehicle here we see more additional equipment. In my blog the incident command I explained how I built this for my vehicle and for short the short explanation it enables me to help establish emergency communications if need be, The orange case is more radio gear and the drawer contain usually a anometer for wind speed and other needed items. Other items that go behind the box are listed below.

  72 hour go-bag with IFAK med kit:  Out storm spotting this is a must especially if you come upon a town damaged by a tornado. It enables you to help out and save lives after the storm passes without the need to become a victim yourself and enables you to be self sufficent

CERT Bag: Some communities such as Copley (an adjacent town) have a Community Emergency Response Team and this allows us to function in a roll other than just another storm spotter trying to help. (I would suggest highly into getting into one it is a lot of fun) 

 Food and Supply crates:  This allows us to maintain extended operations as we may not be able to leave the damaged town for a few days, This contains non-perishable easy to cook food, gear and supplies  and the other containers contain teddy bears to comfort scared or hurt children. 

 EDC Bag and Lunch Boxes:  These usually sit up between the  rear passenger seats and provide food and other personal to our team members as we can be out on the road for a while on a very active day. 

Tools And other items: I carry a gas chainsaw (to remove downed trees)  and a few cans of fuel along with tools for the repair of the car and other spare parts to make needed field repairs . 

 Camera bag and media gear:  This should be self explanatory but it enables us to document and live stream video of the storm   

        For the most part we spot in teams of 2-4 people and those consist of  myself, my love, and whichever Skywarn trained friends want to ride along I hope you enjoyed my short blog and tour of my storm spotting vehicle. In the next blog we will cover the basics of information gathering, why I became a spotter and how we know when to load up the van. If you liked the blog click subscribe, leave a comment, if you have a suggestion for the vehicle let me know too. Remember God is still in control and let's keep those affected by the tornadoes in your thoughts and prayers. Until next time my friends 73