Thursday, September 15, 2011

Kentucky: Pilot, flight instructor honored by National Weather Service

Brian Schoettmer, right, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Louisville, presents Roy Cantrall, center, and Glen Norman with a plaque Wednesday for their assistance to the NWS after tornadoes struck in April at Addington Field in Elizabethtown. Cantrall flew his plane over areas suspected of tornado strikes as Norman photographed the damage they located.



Pilot Roy Cantrall and flight instructor Glen Norman were presented with a plaque at Addington Field in Elizabethtown for their aerial photography, capturing images of damage from tornadoes that struck portions of Hardin and Grayson counties, said Brian Schoettmer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Louisville.

Schoettmer said the National Weather Service is working with general aviation pilots to capture images after tornadoes and straight-line winds, which can help in its rating of tornadoes and assessments of storms.

Schoettmer said Cantrall and Norman’s work will be featured at the National Weather Association Conference in Birmingham, Ala., where the National Weather Service plans to promote the partnership with pilots.

“We’re going to feature these guys’ work as our success story,” Schoettmer said.

Schoettmer said the organization could not compensate Cantrall or Norman for their work, but there was nothing hindering them from giving the men the award. Cantrall and Norman also were presented with tool kits.

Cantrall said he flew the plane while Norman snapped photos — a flight which took them to the Glendale area, where an EF-1 tornado destroyed several buildings at the Hardin County Fairgrounds and damaged the roof of a home on U.S. 31W.

The men also flew into the Leitchfield area and captured photos around Short Creek, Cantrall said. The flight would take them all the way to the Hartford and Beaver Dam area in Ohio County where damage had been reported but no tornado activity was confirmed.

Schoettmer said the flight helped sort fact from fiction about a tornado sighting in the Beaver Dam area, which was ruled untrue.

“They helped clear that up,” he said. “It was getting a lot of media attention.”

Toby TenHarmsel, an information technology officer with the National Weather Service in Louisville, said the reactions to storm damage are interesting because people are convinced a tornado caused the damage even if there is no proof.

“People want it to be a tornado,” TenHarmsel said. “They’re pretty fanatical about it.”

Cantrall, who owns a Piper Cherokee 140, said the flight was enjoyable and joked that he strapped Norman to the wing for better photos.

He also told Schoettmer they were available for future flights if necessary.

"Anytime that you need us, just let us know,” he said.

Original article and photo:  http://www.thenewsenterprise.com

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