Tippecanoe County ARES Designated Spotter Locations
To facilitate effective SKYWARN operations, and attempt to provide some measure of safety for our members, ARES has designated 30 locations throughout Tippecanoe County that are suitable for mobile operators to station themselves for storm spotting activities. Each of these locations provide unobstructed views to the southwest through the north (except when the height of crops in adjacent fields may block the view), and an easily accessible escape route to the east and/or south for fleeing imminent severe weather threats.
Storm Spotter Locations
Tippecanoe County was divided into three equal geographic sections for the distribution and designation of spotter locations. There are 7 locations in the north, 8 in the central, and 15 in the south.
Here is the official list of spotter location designators, with latitude & longitude, a description of each position's location, and notes about each site:
You can also click on the thumbnail image below to see a large JPG photo of the Tippecanoe County map with spotter locations plotted on it (the same as in the PDF file above):
Google Earth
Here is a file for Google Earth that plots each of the spotter locations:
It has web-based utilities to create, edit, and manage POI files, and convert between various formats and brands of GPS receivers.
Just the Coordinates, Please
Here is a comma-delimited CSV file containing the designator, latitude, and longitude of each of the spotter locations: TCARES_Spotter_Locations.csv
Coordinates Conversion Utility
Have trouble quickly converting GPS coordinates between the different formats? Try this handy little utility that allows you to convert between coordinates given in degrees, degrees & minutes, or degrees, minutes & seconds: DegMinSec.exe
Storm Spotting Policy of Tippecanoe County ARES
SKYWARN is comprised of storm spotters - not storm chasers. Chasing is an extremely dangerous activity, and should be left to the professionals with advanced meteorological training, the proper tools, and seasoned experience. Storm chasing cannot be learned by watching television programs that magnify its allure; storm chasing is not condoned by TCARES in any form.
Even mobile storm spotting is a potentially dangerous activity. As a matter of policy, Tippecanoe County ARES does not actively deploy its members to particular locations when severe weather threatens the area. The safety of our volunteers is our top priority and we will not intentionally ask anyone to place themselves in harm's way.
However, we understand the vital need for storm spotter reports and fully support SKYWARN, a program administered by the National Weather Service (NWS). Many of our members are also trained SKYWARN spotters, and Tippecanoe County ARES conducts SKYWARN nets in support of the NWS. We realize that some of our members, as well as non-ARES amateurs, will want to engage in mobile storm spotting activities during the threat of severe weather. This is a choice made entirely by the individual, and not part of official TCARES operations.
Everyone who participates in mobile storm spotting should do so in a safe and responsible manner. Observe all traffic laws. Pull off roadways and intersections as far as possible (without getting yourself stuck) to avoid passing traffic. Do not turn off your engine; keep your vehicle running. Turn on your emergency flashers to warn approaching vehicles of your presence. Advise the SKYWARN Net Control when you are enroute to a designated spotter location, and specify which one. Check in with the NCS again upon your arrival, and report your status at least once every 10 minutes while there, when practical. Let the NCS know when you leave a spotter location. Mobile storm spotter communication with the SKYWARN Net Control is essential to personal safety.
