Meteorologists meet with the weather service to improve cooperation

SAINT LOUIS, Mo. (WGEM) – As demonstrated by Friday’s severe weather, the weather can strike at short notice.

The WGEM Stormtrak Weather Team works with the National Weather Service (NWS) to get weather information out to the public as quickly as possible.

This partnership is important, which is why the St. Louis office of the National Weather Service hosted a media workshop on Saturday morning.

On the St. Louis University campus, meteorologists from Columbia, Jefferson City, St. Louis and here in the Tri-States participated, including meteorologist Logan Williams.

Throughout the workshop, NWS meteorologists discussed recent severe weather conditions in the Midwest, some changes to NWS products coming in a few years, and growing concerns about fire weather reports.

The overall goal of the workshop was to build relationships and improve collaboration and coordination, which warning coordination meteorologist Kevin Deitsch says is very important.

“So whether people turn on the TV, look at their cell phones, or talk to their neighbor, they all hear the same thing. So if broadcast meteorologists and the National Weather Service can agree with what we’re telling people, then people are more likely to react to bad weather,” Deitsch said.

He said viewers also play an important role in telling the weather story by providing storm reports when damaging weather strikes.

“Storm reports are critical to our work at the National Weather Service. Especially since we’re farther from our radar, which is in St. Louis, we really can’t see below 8,000 to 8,000 feet, so knowing what’s going on on the ground is critical,” Deitsch said.

How to send reports

• If there is active weather in the area, viewers can send photos and videos to the Stormtrak weather team by clicking here.
• The team has a Facebook page called StormTrak Weather – WGEM News and a Twitter page with the handle @WGEMWeather.
• You can find the NWS St. Louis on Twitter with the handle @NWSStLouis and on the US National Weather Service Saint Louis Missouri Facebook page.
• The NWS office in St. Louis covers Knox, Lewis, Shelby, Marion, Monroe and Ralls counties in Missouri. They also cover Adams, Brown, and Pike counties in Illinois.
• Meanwhile, the NWS office in Lincoln, Illinois, covers Scott and Schuyler counties. Her Twitter name is @NWSLincolnIL and her Facebook page is US National Weather Service Central Illinois.
• The Northern counties of Scotland, Clark, Lee, Hancock and McDonough Counties are covered by the NWS Quad Cities office. Her Twitter handle is @NWSQuadCities and her Facebook page is US National Weather Service Quad Cities Iowa/Illinois.

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