WILMINGTON — From watching the radar to issuing river forecasts, it’s all part of the day-to-day operations at the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
And, because the Miami Valley is no stranger to tornadoes and severe weather, our Storm Center 7 team of meteorologists works closely with the NWS during these times.
The NWS is the organization where they can broadcast and get the message out to thousands and thousands of people, so News Center 7 needs to continue the open line and that open flow of communication.
Christine Aiena is one of the meteorologists who says her duties vary from one shift to the next.
“So, if I were to come in and be on a radar shift, typically that shift in the summertime is from noon to 9 p.m. because we want to be around for those afternoon thunderstorms, that evening convection,” Aiena said.
She continued by saying, “There is a second evening shift that comes in. His role is to actually be the forecast. So, he’s in charge of the forecast package.”
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Located inside the same building is the Ohio River Forecast Center, which began in 1946. Hydrologist Link Crawford works to see how river levels change from precipitation events.
“Our river model is able to come up with a forecast of what’s going to happen. Is the river going to continue to fall, or are we going to start to rise again? How high will the river rise? And, if the river is going to rise significantly, are we going to reach critical levels like a flood state or a major flood stage? Crawford said.
The first thing in the morning, meteorologists compare radar to rain gauges, coming up with a solution for how much rain fell.
A program called COCORAHS is just one way that you can report what you see because NWS can’t do it all.
COCORAHS is the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network, and COCORAHS began in 1998 in response to a devastating flash flood the year prior.
Ashley Novak is the state coordinator for COCORAHS for the state of Ohio. It’s an easy program to join to become an observer, but that’s not all.
“So, COCORAHS observations, when the observer reports 100 or more precipitation observations, they become part of the climate history in the United States. So, that’s a really neat thing to be a part of that you are part of history being a COCORAHS observer,” Novak said.
If you would like to be a COCORAHS observer, click this link.
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