Train with the National Weather Service to become a Storm Spotter

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you are reading this, I’m guessing you have a thing for weather. Good news: you are in great company! If you’d be interested in leveling up your weather nerd levels, there’s even more good news: SKYWARN Storm Spotter training has gone virtual. You can train to join the ranks of thousands of other volunteers to provide 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 focus is reporting on severe local thunderstorms. In an average year, the U.S. sees over 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes. These storm spotters form the nation’s first line of defense against severe weather. There can be no finer reward than to know that your efforts have given your family and neighbors the precious gift of time: minutes that can help save lives.

Training is free and typically lasts about two hours. Through it, you’ll learn:

• Basics of thunderstorm development
• Fundamentals of storm structure
• Identifying potential severe weather features
• Information to report
• How to report information
• Basic severe weather safety

You can register for virtual training sessions through our local NWS office by clicking here, for the following dates:

• Friday, Jan. 29 from 6 to 7 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 4 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Tuesday, Feb. 16 from 7 to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, March 11 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 16 from 6 to 7 p.m.
• Thursday, April 15 from 7 to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, April 29 from 7 to 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 4 from 6 to 7 p.m.
• Monday, May 17 from 11 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.