Keith Chancey can look at a radar map and tell exactly what weather is coming, but he isn't a meteorologist.
The 55-year-old locomotive engineer is a trained storm spotter and, after eight years of attending classes, he says he's gotten comfortable reading radar maps.
"The National Weather Service radar map you can get on the Internet, I can take that and tell you a whole lot about what's coming," said the Cleveland, Tenn., resident. "And it's not only watching the radars, but taking the information as it comes in."
Mr. Chancey is part of a network of storm spotters throughout Southeast Tennessee trained by the Weather Service. He said storm spotters relay information to weather service forecasters about thunderstorms, floods, tornadoes and snowstorms.
Next week, Mr. Chancey will be attending yet another storm-spotting class in Cleveland.
The two-hour SkyWarn courses offered by the National Weather Service teach how to spot severe weather and to get that information to the people who need to know what's going on.
The program has been in effect since the 1970s, said Tim Troutman, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tenn.
"We can use all of the storm spotters we can get," Mr. Troutman said. "They are our eyes and ears at the National Weather Service. They help to report inclement weather we can't see, and it's very much appreciated."
The Thursday class at Bradley County's Emergency Management Agency is "generally a very popular training," said Matthew Cason, EMA administrative officer.
About 40 to 50 people normally come to the class, which is free and open to the public, Mr. Cason said.
"There's a pretty in-depth explanation of how to spot certain weather patterns by looking at clouds and the sky," he said. "It's very useful for pretty much anyone to know the warning signs for severe weather in the atmosphere and how to recognize it."
Mr. Chancey said storm spotters aren't the storm chasers sometimes seen on TV in pursuit of tornadoes.
"In East Tennessee, the first thing they'll teach you is you can't chase storms," Mr. Chancey said. "Because the terrain is hilly, if you lose sight of a tornado and it changes course, it could kill you."
Mr. Troutman said local tornadoes are different from those in the Midwest and Plains states. Those twisters usually can be seen for several miles, he said, but ones in the Southeast have a tendency to become "rain-wrapped."
"Rain will have the tendency to wrap around the tornado, making viewing of the tornado difficult until it's too close for comfort," Mr. Troutman said.
It's nerve-wracking not being able to see the tornado, but being pretty sure one is out there, Mr. Chancey said.
"The scariest thing is trying to track alll tornado that you don't have eyes on, or if it's in the nighttime," he said.
Mr. Chancey became interested in SkyWarn after a friend got him hooked on ham radio. He said he enjoys being able to talk to people through what he calls "the last line of communication."
IF YOU GO* What: SkyWarn storm spotter training.* Where: Bradley County Emergency Management Agency, 1555 Guthrie Drive, Cleveland, Tenn.* When: Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m.* Admission: Free
Many other storm spotters also are amateur radio operators, but Mr. Chancey said it's not a requirement. There is a Web site and a line for storm spotters to call to inform forecasters of weather changes, he said.
Throughout the years, Mr. Chancey has seen all types of bad weather, but he said the scariest storm happened while he was on vacation in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He saw three tornados at once and, for a short time, thought he might get caught in one.
"We were on (U.S. Highway) 17 going north, and the wall cloud came over the top of us and we lost contact with where the storm was at," Mr. Chancey said. "And I could see the storm forming over us, but I didn't know where to go."
"Luckily, we were near a bridge and we were going to go under the bridge if we had to."
The tornadoes lightly damaged several buildings, but lifted up in time to spare the area of serious damage or injuries, he said.
Continue reading by following these links to related stories: