On October 12, the Amateur Radio Club of Sabine will host a training seminar for those interested in participating in the SKYWARN Project.
The effects of severe weather are felt every year by many Americans. To obtain critical weather information, NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, established SKYWARN with partner organizations. It is a volunteer program with between 350,000-400,000 trained severe weather spotters. 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 local storms. In the average year, 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods, and more than 1,000 tornadoes occur across the United States. These events threatened lives and property.
Since the program started in the 1970s, the information provided by SKYWARN spotters, coupled with Doppler radio technology, improved satellite and other data, has enabled NWS to issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and flash floods.
SKYWARN storm spotters are part of the rank of citizens who form the nation’s first line of defense against severe weather. There can be no finer reward than to know that their efforts have given communities the precious gift of time, seconds, and minutes that can help save lives.
Please consider becoming a part of the program. The recent bad weather and flooding in the nation only calls attention to the need of an organized team of trained people to aid in spotting and getting emergency information out to the community in a timely, accurate method.
The seminar will take place at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 12 at the Many Fire Station on San Antonio Avenue. The meeting consists of two session. The first from 6 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. and the second, more advanced session, from 7:45 p.m. – 9 p.m. All interested in becoming a spotter are invited to attend. You do not need to be a HAM radio operator to participate. However, possession of a HAM radio license is advantageous.