Free Online Basic SKYWARN Storm Spotter Training Coming Next Week

Want to learn more about severe weather safety and storm spotting from the comfort of your own home? Well, it’s just over a week away from the first Online SKYWARN Storm Spotter class of the fall season from NWS Birmingham. The class is FREE & there’s no need to register!

THE DATE: Tuesday, October 2nd
THE TIME: 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm CT

To join in on the class, go to Join.me, select the green ‘Join Meeting’ button, then enter the code: 935-938-747.

You can also join in on the class on your iPad or tablet using the Join.me app., available for download in Google Play and the Apple App store.

About Online SKYWARN Spotter Classes from NWS Birmingham…

We offer several ONLINE Basic Spotter Courses and a single Advanced Spotter Course each spring and fall. These online classes are FREE, and allow individuals to complete the course(s) in the comfort of their own home or office with the use of Join.me. By attending any course, which runs about 2 hours, individuals (or a group of individuals) will become SKYWARN Spotters. To schedule a LOCAL Basic Storm Spotter class in your area, please contact your county Emergency Management Office.

Unless you’d like to or are in need of a refresher, you do not need to attend more than one Basic SKYWARN Course, as the material covered is the same; however, we require you to attend at least one Basic SKYWARN Course before taking the Advanced SKYWARN Course. These courses are two-way, meaning you will be able to interact with the meteorologist leading the training. You will be muted while training is in-progress, and unmuted when applicable (e.g., for questions); or, you can use the built-in chat feature.

To see the complete schedule of classes for the 2018 Fall Season please visit NWS Birmingham’s 2018 SKYWARN Classes & Information page.

Additional SKYWARN Learning Material…

Though not a requirement, as a warm up to the spotter classes, NWS Birmingham would like those who plan on attending the online classes, or even our locally scheduled classes, to view the following FREE online training modules from UCAR’s COMET MedEd website:

The “Role of the SKYWARN® Spotter” module is used to provide baseline training for all spotters through multiple scenarios covering the procedures for spotting (including communication and storm report criteria), safety considerations for all hazards, and an overview of the national program and its history.

The “SKYWARN® Spotter Convective Basics” module will guide users to a basic understanding of convective storms. Through three different scenarios, you will cover reporting and proper communication of local storm reports to the National Weather Service (NWS), personal safety during these events, and field identification of convective storm hazards. After completing the scenarios, you will be given the opportunity to practice identifying storm features from a spectrum of photos.

SKYWARN Facts…

SKYWARN is the National Weather Service (NWS) program of trained volunteer weather spotters. Storm spotters come from many walks of life, including fire fighters, law enforcement, and amateur radio operators. SKYWARN spotters coordinate with local emergency management officials and send reports of weather based phenomena to the NWS.

In addition to serving as a community’s first line of defense against dangerous storms, spotters provide important information to warning forecasters who make critical warning decisions. SKYWARN storm spotters play a critical role of giving the NWS vital ground truth data, which helps the NWS perform its primary mission, to save lives and property.

Registration will be conducted prior to the beginning of each class. Spotter classes are not usually held during the summer months. Additional spotter classes may not be shown in the table above when scheduled for specific groups such as law enforcement training classes.

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