Tornado season has arrived, and the National Weather Service has started its annual training sessions for Skywarn spotters.

Jackie Anderson is the warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS forecast office in White Lake Township. She says the information spotters provide is crucial during tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and flooding rains.

“When we’re issuing warnings, we’re looking at what’s going on with radar,” she said. “Our spotters really provide us with that ground truth as to what severe weather is actually happening in their area.”

Anderson says meteorologists says spotter reports help keep the public informed during bad weather.

“We can actually update our warnings to say trained spotters have confirmed one inch hail, 60 mph winds, tornadoes,” she said.

What do spotters learn?

A typical spotter training session lasts up to 90 minutes. Anderson says NWS staff use that time to review the previous year’s severe weather.

“We talk about different events that have impacted southeast Michigan,” she said. “We talk about what to look for, and then how you can report it to us.”

Spotters learn how to identify the early indications of a severe thunderstorm or tornado, such as the difference between wall clouds and shelf clouds.

Southeast Michigan saw a few tornadoes in 2024, including one that struck Livonia without warning in June, killing a 2-year-old boy. A rare February twister touched down in Grand Blanc, and a weak tornado spun up briefly in Holly in November.

Safety comes first

Spotting storms does not mean chasing them. Anderson encourages spotters to be careful.

“While we want to know what’s happening and get that ground truth information, the safety of all our spotters is the most important thing,” she said.

The White Lake office trains about 100 people a year and offers classes in several counties. Anderson says they do not need any background in meteorology to become a spotter.

More: NWS seeks winter weather spotters in Detroit

“We welcome anybody who’s interested in helping us provide that ground truth information,” she said. “People can also attend if they’re just generally interested in severe weather safety information.”

Spotters are always needed

Anderson cannot comment on recent layoffs at the National Weather Service, but she says spotters — who are not paid — are vital to the agency.

“We always rely heavily on spotters regardless of the time of year, whether it’s winter or severe weather season,” she said. “Having that ground truth support really helps us in the warning process.”

More: Local meteorologist says NWS layoffs risk public safety

The agency has several spotter training sessions coming up. You can find one here.

March 16-22 is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Michigan. NWS will conduct a statewide tornado drill at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19.

About 190 families displaced by last week’s water main break in Southwest Detroit are still in hotels as repairs and cleanup continues.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

City officials say repairs to the most-damaged homes should be completed within the next six weeks.

Jose Poprawa, a Southwest Detroit resident who lives down the street from the break, says he’s been impressed by the city’s response so far.

“From what I seen and me having them being ground zero of it, it’s gone as planned. Said Monday, they would be here to clean up. Everything is clean. Now it’s just cleaning the outside, and now the next phase is for them to come in to replace the appliances,” he said.

Todd King, chief resiliency officer at the Great Lakes Water Authority, said they’re hoping to have the water main back in operation within the next two weeks, but noted that there’s no way to inspect all 300,000 miles of water mains in the city.

“I mean, there are tools that are available, but they’re…they’re on the innovative side of things,” he said. “There’s no standard practice for inspecting this type of pipe.”

For those looking to support those affected by the water main break, Detroit Deputy Mayor Melia Howard said residents could use some every day items.

“Hygiene kits, feminine products, diapers in all sizes going up to size seven, toilet paper, paper towel, new underwear, new socks,” she said.

Howard said Spanish-speaking volunteers would also be appreciated. The American Red Cross is set up at the corner of Lisbon and Green streets in Southwest.

Reporting by Russ McNamara, WDET News

More headlines for Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025:

• The nonprofit Michigan Immigrant Rights Center is applauding the Trump administration’s decision to rescind a freeze on funding that pays for attorneys to represent unaccompanied migrant children.
• Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan spoke to students at Central Michigan University on Monday, hoping to win over young voters who don’t like Republicans or Democrats. 
• Nominations for the Detroit Office of Neighborhoods 313 Community Day Awards close on Saturday, March 1. The city wants to acknowledge residents who exemplify the Spirit of Detroit through work in or with neighborhoods, nonprofits, schools, faith-based organizations, community groups or other work. 
• Detroit’s Parks and Recreation Department is looking for young golfers ages 11-14 to take part in Youth Golf in the D, a four-week course each Tuesday in March, teaching the fundamentals of the game.  The cost is $20. For more information visit dprdathletics.com. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.