Thanks Ben. A lot of folks in the NE US might say that tornadoes are the rarity and snow squalls are not rare (if the 2021 tornado counts were indicative of a trend and not an anomaly, that may change). I think the true value of SpotterNetwork is that, wherever I am (including potentially outside of the CWA where I usually report), I can make a report with minimal leg work to know which office to call, etc. Anecdotally (hopefully not overusing that word yetLou I can definitely understand your viewpoint. I think the main difference in my mind is the fact that the most effective way to report something life-threatening in the winter, like a snow squall would be through telephone. Rare events typically require speaking directly with a forecaster and telling them what you are seeing. The best way to report a tornado is to hit a couple buttons, type a small description and click send with it geotagged and all.
I ask you this question - if the SN were to reverse this decision, what should minimum report-able criteria be in your mind?
![Grinning face with big eyes :smiley: 😃](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f603.png)
As far as minimum reportable criteria for winter weather, that is one of the things that would need some further discussion. In an ideal world, the SN software would know the regional criteria and use them rather than imposing criteria that may not make sense in other geos. I know the system is not there, which is why I think further discussion is needed. If SN would delay the decision for, let's say, something like six months and get additional input, that would make a lot of sense to me. Since winter weather is rare in most US locations for the next six months, the effect of that moratorium would be minimal. To me, that would make more sense than sending out an email/newsletter on May 9 announcing an excisional change occurring on May 10.
I would certainly be willing (maybe even anxious
![Grinning face :grinning: 😀](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png)