SKYWARN storm spotter training scheduled

Feb. 17, 2015

The National Weather Service in Fort Worth wants to help you prepare for the 2015 severe weather season by offering a free class of the SKYWARN severe weather program Saturday, Feb. 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The program will be held at Granville Arts Center and is held in partnership with the city of Garland Emergency Management. Broadcast sponsor is KDFW Fox4.

This class is free and no pre-registration is necessary. This class is for official storm spotters as well as anyone with an interest in learning more about severe weather. This is a part of an area-wide severe weather preparedness campaign, which will include spotter training sessions across 46 counties in North and Central Texas.

The 2015 program will cover thunderstorm formation, ingredients, and features associated with severe and non-severe storms. Additionally, we will discuss non-threatening clues which may be mistaken for significant features. Most importantly, we will discuss what you can do to keep you and others safe when thunderstorms threaten. The program will cover spotter operations and recommended reporting procedures. The two-hour presentation will be in multimedia format.

“Once again, we have plenty of new material for the training session,” said Mark Fox, warning coordination meteorologist at the Fort Worth National Weather Service Office. “We combine the radar data spotter video to show the 2014 storms in detail, highlighting the subtle, yet important features.”

The fundamental purpose of the spotter training—and of the storm spotter network as a whole—remains unchanged. “Weather radar can only tell us so much” said Tom Bradshaw, meteorologist-in-charge of the Fort Worth Office. “The trained spotters in the field give important information for the warning process to work effectively.”

“By coming to this program, you will learn a lot about thunderstorms” Fox said. “Even if you don’t become an active storm spotter, you will learn about how storms work and the visual clues you can identify when storms are in your area. This will better prepare you and your family for the threats that storms pose.”

For more information on severe weather, visit http://www.weather.gov/fortworth, on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NWSDallasFortWorth and on Twitter: @NWSFortWorth.

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