Look inside NWS WFO during major event

[Randy Jennings]

The FWD WFO has posted an event thread about the Dec 26, 2016 tornados at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/?n=dec26tor . It is a great write up about the event, but it has a real gem about 2/3 of the way down. They included links to their NWSChat logs, social media posts, emails to Emergency Managers, and more. It gives a rare glimpse into what goes in inside a WFO during a major event. I found the chat logs at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/fwd/dec26outbreak/img/txt/nwschat.pdf very interesting in particular. You can see they have SpotterNetwork tied in (and some reports from Stormtrack members where posted in chat). What you don't see in chat is the spotter reports from ham radio. The FWD WFO's main way of receiving reports is via amateur radio Skywarn groups. The volunteer radio operators sit directly on the other side of the table from the forecasters, and they talk across the table. Pictures of the setup can be seen at http://wx5fwd.org/.