Proper training and foreknowledge of the dangers are required of everyone who meets face to face with severe thunderstorms - regardless of the reason for the encounter. In this region, spotters actively seek as much information as possible when assessing severe weather potential on a given day. The information available often includes products which contain technical terms which are more esoteric to operational meteorology, and less familiar to those who do not pursue meteorology as a living. The question arises as to just how far one should go into the technical realm of operational meteorology when compiling a glossary like this for storm spotters. That is not its purpose.
Spotters have a vital role in the warning program, as do forecasters.
And while interaction between them is an absolute necessity, one must be careful not to allow the two functions to overlap so much that we end up with spotters routinely generating their own forecasts and disregarding those made by the forecasters. On the other hand, I applaud the spotters who demonstrate a genuine interest in understanding the atmosphere that they are trained to observe. New terms to this addition, many of which were added at the suggestion of spotters, are listed below. They at least should help the spotter to understand a little more about why a particular feature is important to severe weather forecasting. Those who wish to pursue a particular issue beyond what is covered in this glossary are directed to the local library or the nearest university meteorology department.