A National Weather Service meteorologist said the movie `Twister’ has had a big impact on meteorology.

Andy Kula was speaking about the increase in storm spotters, volunteers who provide the National Weather Service with the first visual confirmation of severe weather developments. The spotters seek “ground truth information” about weather and report it to the service.

These spotters differ from the storm chasers of “Twister” – they do not roam the plains in search of tornadoes for research purposes.

“Right now, we conduct spotter training classes in 51 counties all around Iowa in order to teach potential spotters about how to spot severe weather and report it to the proper organization to issue warnings,” said Kula, of the National Weather Service’s Johnston office.

Kula led an advanced mobile storm spotter and storm chasing course Thursday in Agronomy Hall.

“The classes are designed to train people about safety, how to identify storm structure and how to report it to the local National Weather Service office,” Kula said.

Kula, who has been involved with the storm spotter program for eight years, said he has noticed an increase in storm spotting’s popularity in recent years.

“With the combination of the spotter’s report and radar data we can issue better warnings,” Kula said.

Spotters must register with the National Weather Service and obtain an identification number. The numbers are used when reporting a threat of severe weather to aid the service in identifying and locating which spotter is calling in.

Kula recommends attending both basic and advanced classes, reading about weather and online spotter programs and talking to experienced spotters before attempting spotting.

“We are trying to save lives, but safety is of utmost importance and that spotters make sure they follow the proper guidelines when they are out there,” Kula said.

The National Weather Service has sponsored the nationwide program for about 30 years. The organization of spotters varies across the country, but is typically done at the county level.

Ron Nelson, of Shenandoah, has been spotting for six years, but still attended Kula’s course. “I think that the more training a person learns about spotting the better they become,” he said.