Southeast Colorado 2023 Skywarn Training Info

Description: Sessions are taught by meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Pueblo, CO. Learn basic weather concepts, fundamentals of storm structure, what and how to report, and severe weather safety.

NWS SKYWARN Basic Weather Spotter Class

WHERE: Lamar

WHEN: 3/22/2023

TIME: 18:30

LUN

WEATHER.GOV/PUB

Please register so we can notify you of any potential last minute schedule changes.

Visit: Weather.gov/pub/spotters

*Prowers County - Basic Class

Sessions are taught by meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Pueblo, CO. Learn basic weather concepts, fundamentals of storm structure, what and how to report, and severe weather safety.

CONTACT: Staffon Warn at staffon.warn@prowerscounty.net

Additional Information from website:

What is SKYWARN®?

The effects of severe weather are felt every year by many Americans. In most years, thunderstorms, tornadoes and lightning caused hundreds of injuries and deaths and billions in property and crop damages.  To obtain critical weather information, the National Weather Service (NWS) established SKYWARN® with partner organizations. SKYWARN® is a citizen volunteer program with between 350,000 and 400,000 trained severe weather spotters. SKYWARN® storm spotters are citizens who form the nation's first line of defense against severe weather. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.

Although SKYWARN® spotters provide essential information for all types of weather hazards, the main responsibility of a SKYWARN® spotter is to identify and describe severe local storms. In an average year, the the United States experiences more than 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes.

Since the program started in the 1970s, the information provided by SKYWARN® spotters, coupled with Doppler radar technology, improved satellite and other data, has enabled NWS to issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash floods. Storm spotters play a critical role because they can see things that radar and other technological tools cannot, and this ground truth is critical in helping the NWS perform our primary mission, to save lives and property.

The SKYWARN® Program at NWS Pueblo

Across Southern Colorado, dedicated volunteers risk their personal safety to provide first-hand severe weather reports to their local officials, and the National Weather Service (NWS) in Pueblo. Their reason, to help protect the lives and property of the citizens in Southern Colorado.

Being a storm spotter not only means dedication, but also training. Each spring the NWS in Pueblo trains members of the public, police, fire department, emergency management, and amateur radio community, in the latest storm spotting techniques, basic weather concepts, and preparedness and planning. Typically the training is coordinated by a local group such as an emergency management agency or HAM radio operator. A NWS meteorologist serves as the guest instructor.

The goal of the training is to prepare the spotter to identify hazardous weather conditions, how to report that information to the local NWS, and personal safety.

There are also a number of in-person seminars scheduled. These seminars are free of charge and many are open to the public. Each seminar is approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours in length and most often held in evening on a weekday. We ask that you pre-register for the classes in order to get a better head count on attendance. You are allowed to attend classes outside your county of residence. If needed, training certificates are provided at each class. We no longer issue Spotter IDs.

For more information contact:
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
Klint Skelly
Phone: 719-948-9429 or
E-mail: Klint.Skelly@noaa.gov

https://www.weather.gov/pub/spotters

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