Prepare safe fixed-location observation, follow local reporting guidance, and preserve a factual account with times and measurement sources.
Use the local weather office training and reporting instructions. Confirm which events, channels and information are requested in that area; reporting thresholds vary by office and program. Spotting can be done from a fixed location. This guide does not provide storm-chasing positions or routes.
Choose a substantial building or appropriate enclosed vehicle before observing and keep a reliable official-warning source available. Identify when observation must stop. Thunder indicates lightning danger; follow NWS shelter guidance and wait at least 30 minutes after the last thunder before resuming outdoor activity. Observation and reporting must not delay protective action.
Record what happened, when, where and whether it was directly observed, measured or reported by someone else. Distinguish rotating debris from cloud features and distinguish flood impacts from inferred rainfall. Do not approach hail, flowing water, damaged structures or downed lines to improve a report.
Record the instrument, height, averaging period and units for wind. Keep a measured gust distinct from an estimated wind based on damage. Measure hail only when it is safe afterward, using a ruler or an unambiguous size comparison accepted by the local program. A rain calculator cannot estimate hail diameter.
When safe, use the confirmed reporting method and provide the location, event time, observed impact and source. Explain uncertainty and whether the report is firsthand. Do not submit a radar-app interpretation as an eyewitness report. Follow local requests for later updates and emergency services for immediate life-threatening situations.
After the event and when conditions allow, retain the original notes, photos from a safe location and report details. Keep revised interpretations separate from the original observation. Review how warning reception and shelter arrangements worked, and bring questions to local training rather than drawing new safety thresholds from one event.
Retain timestamped surface observations and clear measured-versus-estimated notes. · Save the documented observation case and export a portable copy for later review.
Convert a mean wind measurement with its rounding basis; do not substitute it for a measured gust.
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NWS guidance prioritizes shelter and warns that no outdoor location is safe during lightning.
NWS Birmingham distinguishes spotting from chasing and does not endorse chasing as a reporting requirement.
Local NWS guidance asks for specific event details, location, timing and measurement/source information.
A statement from a neighbor and an instrument reading are useful in different ways when their origins are clear.
Do not copy another office’s hail or wind reporting threshold without checking your own program.