Severe weather season is fast approaching so it is time to dust off the Skywarn material and get ready for spotter training, including one session in Brownwood. The local Skywarn training will take place at Howard Payne University, Newman Hall, Room 136 from 9:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 20th.
More than 10,000 severe storms, 5,000 floods and 1,000 tornadoes occur during a typical year across the United States. Many of these severe weather reports are received by Skywarn spotters. Skywarn is a volunteer program that consists of more than 250,000 trained severe weather spotters. These spotters provide timely and accurate weather reports to their local National Weather Service office. Skywarn volunteers are an essential part of the warning process and have had a positive impact on the improvement in severe weather detection and warning lead times.
Anyone with an interest in public service and/or severe weather is encouraged to participate in the Skywarn program. A lot of volunteers come from various backgrounds, including: fire fighters, law enforcement, public utility workers, and HAM radio operators. However, these training sessions are not limited to these individuals. Skywarn is also for those who have had an interest in severe weather and would like to learn more about storm structure, the identification of severe weather features, or what to do when severe weather strikes. The only requirement for participation in the program is the completion of a FREE spotter training course provided by the National Weather Service. These courses are offered in numerous communities and generally last approximately 2 hours.
Topics covered in these courses include:
- Basics of thunderstorm development
- Fundamentals of storm structure
- Identifying potential severe weather features
- Information to report
- How to report information
- Basic severe weather safety
CLICK HERE for a schedule of additional locations and times of Skywarn classes facilitated by the National Weather Service located in San Angelo, TX. Additional classes will be added as they are scheduled. For questions, please contact Hector Guererro at (325) 944-9445.