EYES ON THE SKY: WEATHER SPOTTERS PROVIDE EARLY WARNING SYSTEM FOR COUNTY

In the blockbuster movie "Twister" a team of scientists spends its time studying unpredictable tornadoes, often coming uncomfortably close. In his job as a weather spotter, Gene Jackson of Delta has been pretty uncomfortable himself.

"At one point, I was only a quarter-mile from a tornado," he said.

He remembers it well. He was sitting in his truck beneath stormy skies on Highway EE south of Delta, his CB radio in hand and his eyes open wide.

"I could see which way the tornado was going and how fast," Jackson said. "So I got on my radio and called it in."

Jackson said he wasn't afraid for a moment, he's spotted tornadoes several times.

When the National Weather Service issues any kind of weather watch, the spotters, located throughout Cape Girardeau County, are contacted.

They are called upon either by their special pager system or by telephone. Once contacted, they are told to be on the lookout for bad, sometimes life-threatening, weather.

"We're actually on duty all the time," said Alvin Frank, Delta's fire chief, who has also been dangerously close to a tornado as a weather spotter. "When human nature takes over and you see something that's not quite right, you check it out."

Weather spotters monitor their area looking for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, flash floods, washed out roads, downed power lines, anything that could potentially endanger lives or property.

They then radio the Emergency Management Agency, which gets the information to local radio and television stations and emergency officials such as police and fire departments.

"They're another set of eyes for us," said David Hitt, coordinator for the agency. "They're an early warning systems."

Thanks to weather spotters, the Emergency Management Agency can become aware of inclement weather several hours before it reaches the area.

"Hopefully, it buys people some time," Jackson said.

Like Jackson and Frank, most weather spotters are volunteer firefighters, Hitt said.

But not all are. "We encourage everyone to be weather spotters," Hitt said.

Most spotters are recruited after attending a special weather spotter seminar that the public is invited to attend. The seminar trains the public what the signs of bad weather are and how to react.

These seminars are held at least once a year, and afterward the public is asked to volunteer as weather spotters. The seminars are usually held in late February or early March before the arrival of spring's notorious stormy weather.

Currently, there are about 100 weather spotters spaced around the county.

The weather spotters program is national and was organized locally in 1978.

While all of the duties of the weather spotter are important, obviously as the weather turns more serious, so do the spotter's responsibilities.

"One of the biggest advantages of having weather spotters is in case of a tornado," Hitt said. "With enough warning, we can get the word out that a tornado has been spotted and get that information out to the public and warn them."

Cape Girardeau County has had several tornadoes touch down in the last several years and the weather spotters have been a vital part of saving lives, Hitt said.

Hitt said he is exceedingly grateful to all those who participate in the weather spotters program and adds that everyone in the county should be, too.

"Everyone should know how important these people really are," Hitt said. "They serve an important service to the community."