Activity

Clients

About

The Spotter Network is dedicated to bringing storm spotters, storm chasers, coordinators and public servants together in a seamless network of information. We strive to provide accurate position data of spotters and chasers for coordination/reporting which in turn provides ground truth to public servants engaged in the protection of life and property. The network is a combination of locally installed software for position and status reporting, and web based processing and mapping.

The SN is a Non-Profit organization of like minded individuals taking input from the various communities that it serves and making the output available to any and all who are interested in severe weather.
The SN has a Board of Directors and an advisory committee made up of the following individuals.

Board of Directors
John Wetter - President, Spotter Network
Tyler Allison - Original Developer of the Spotter Network (ex-officio)
Paul Sirvatka - Professor of Meteorology, College of DuPage
Gilbert Sebenste - Consulting Meteorologist, AllisonHouse LLC
Joshua Jans - Private Meteorologist (Director of Training)
Ryan Hickman - Chief Technology Officer, AllisonHouse LLC

Advisory Committee
Rob Dale - Meteorologist & Emergency Management, Lansing, MI
Greg Stumpf - Research Meteorologist, Norman, OK
Randy Denzer - Fire Fighter / Emergency Response Trainer, Austin, TX (Director of Public Safety Affairs)
Laura Hedien - Retired Fire Fighter / Photographer / EMT
Chris Novy - Severe Weather Trainer / Emergency Management
Ben Holcomb - Storm Chaser
Craig Curlee - Storm Chaser
Justin Hughes - Hail Trace

NWS Liasons
Albert Pietrycha - Meteorologist NWS Kansas City, MO (Primary NWS Liason)
Rick Smith - Meteorologist NWS Norman, OK (Primary NWS Liason)
Evan Bookbinder - Meteorologist NWS Pittsburg, PA


Though National Weather Service staff and offices utilize the data that flows through the network, the Spotter Network is in no way affiliated with the NWS nor any of the other government agencies that benefit from spotter information and coordination efforts except for a memorandum of understanding between the NWS and Spotter Network.

The original Spotter Network went operational in April 2006 and quickly grew to over 100 spotters. Since that time, several National Weather Service employees and other officials have taken an interest in the capabilities it brings to them to integrate ground truth provided by spotters into their operational responsibilities. All at ZERO cost to them. Subsequent versions of the network expanded the coordinator and reporting capabilities and the NWS eSpotter integration was completed in early September 2006.

Spotter Network in action!
A hurricane chaser heading in

 3 spotters team up to work a storm
25 spotters on the same storm!