Therefore, this winter for those of us who live in the lower Great Lakes should average a little warmer than usual along with less snow. However, areas that are located in the primary snowbelts will not notice substantially less snow. They need to know what the storms are doing at ground level. Ground-truth spotter reports allow meteorologists to correlate what they see on radar with what is actually happening. These are known as severe weather events.
Flash floods are another severe weather event.
NWS meteorologists want to know if these severe weather events occur during the valid time period of a warning. WHY does the NWS need to know the exact time and location of severe weather reports such as toppled trees and power lines, damaged buildings, flooded or washed out roads, etc. These reports will help meteorologists determine the effectiveness of their watch warning service. In addition, an accurate Stormdata database allows Emergency Managers to more readily assess the weather hazards in their county, or local municipality, and plan for future mitigation. These numbers are incorporated into NWS messages that are disseminated on computer wire services to the media, businesses, government agencies, and the general public.