Inside the tech-savvy tactics of Poplar Bluff's Severe Weather Response Team

The Poplar Bluff Severe Weather Response Team is prepared to report on the winter weather approaching the Butler County area.

The group has the area covered in the event of storms, floods, and everything in between with advanced radar and communication techniques.

Craig Meador, director of the PBSWRT, splits his time between his monitoring setups in Doniphan and Poplar Bluff.

Along with Assistant Director Steve Seawright, his eyes are always on the sky.

“Our spotters will be getting current valid updates,” Meador assured.

The accumulation could be anywhere from four to nine inches.

“It’s hard to pin it down,” he observed.

In any event, the PBSWRT will be watchfully waiting to keep residents and officials informed.

When weather events come to the region, the team monitors storm progress on a real-time updating radar called WSV-3. Meador noted this radar has the same level of capability as the National Weather Service Paducah’s.

“It’s an extremely sophisticated radar,” he affirmed.

The team deploys storm spotters to visually verify the radar picture and report damage on the ground. Using a service called Zello, Meador and Seawright can send communications to individuals’ radio, phone and text messages all from their computers.

Meador said he can quickly disseminate critical information to first responders and local government.

“I have several ways of communicating with my spotters when we know weather is coming in,” he said, noting the use of two-way radios.

In addition to radar and spotters, the team has six live weather cameras deployed throughout Butler County. The cameras are fully traversable and can zoom in on points of interest.

“We can see the sky as the weather event would be coming in,” Meador informed. “That way, we know what we’re seeing.”

Meanwhile, Seawright condenses the information from the various weather inputs and live streams commentary on the PBSWRT Facebook and YouTube pages. He has a mirrored setup between his home in Greenville and his workplace at the Palace of Praise.

From a central control panel, Seawright can view weather cameras, add graphics, and provide commentary for the team’s viewers. Utilizing NWS chat and the Storm Spotter Information Network, the team remains in constant contact with Paducah to provide the best picture on the ground for watches and warnings.

Seawright said the streams can be found by searching “Poplar Bluff Severe Weather Response” on Facebook and YouTube.