National Weather Service in Duluth looking for volunteers before the snow flies

DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) - Meteorologists need your snowfall data to paint the picture of upcoming snow this winter. That's why the National Weather Service is asking for volunteers around the Northland to join their virtual Skywarn Spotter classes during Winter Weather Awareness Week.

"The past couple years, we've offered winter Skywarn classes as well, and these classes go over, you know, some of the basics on how to measure snow, because it's really more of an art form than it is just walking out there and sticking the ruler in the ground," said Bryan Howell, NWS Duluth meteorologist.

A network of spotters reporting snowfall totals are also helpful for us meteorologists at Northern News Now. We use the NWS data to see how our forecasts played out as well.

In order to get a taste of what you'll learn at the Winter Skywarn Spotter class, Bryan Howell showed me the artform of measuring snow.

"So, when you're measuring snow, you're going to want to take one observation, and you're going to want to slant your ruler a little bit so it looks like you have more snow than your neighbors, right?" I asked Bryan.

"Not quite. In order to be scientifically accurate, we want to do multiple observations, and we want to take, you know, a couple of those right around the board, same area, and then we'll average those together. To get our final amount, you want to make sure it's vertical, up and down, not in a drift, because that could inflate your amount, and we don't want to have too high amounts or too low amounts for that matter," Bryan said.

"Sounds good, so don't do what I do?" I joked.

So, if you're interested in measuring the snow in your backyard, the NWS would like you to become a Skywarn Spotter and report what you see. The upcoming winter Skywarn Spotter classes are virtual and completely free. They go over measuring snowfall, what Northlanders can expect this winter, and some of the new products the NWS will be issuing this year. Plus, if you love weather like I do, they're fun.

The classes are about an hour and a half long and the first one starts Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. The next class is Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m., and the final class is Thursday Nov. 21 at 1 p.m. You can sign up on the NWS Duluth website here .