St. Mary’s to Hold SKYWARN Class July 23
Become a SKYWARN storm spotter volunteer with training offered July 23 from 6 – 9 pm at the Charlotte Hall Library, 37600 New Market Road, Charlotte Hall, MD 20622.
St. Mary’s County Department of Emergency Services & Technology is hosting the SKYWARN class to train citizens to become SKYWARN storm spotters.
Severe weather impacts us every year in many different ways. As a first line of defense, NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) established SKYWARN with partner organizations to obtain critical weather information as soon as possible. SKYWARN is a volunteer program which trains citizens to become severe weather spotters.
SKYWARN spotters give essential information on severe thunderstorms, flash floods, tornadoes, and severe winter storms among other weather emergencies. An average year in the US produces 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes. Lives and property are threatened by these events.
SKYWARN began in the 1970s and their information joins Doppler radar technology, improved satellite reporting and data from other sources to enable the National Weather Service to respond more promptly with accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, flash floods and winter storms.
The SKYWARN class is free. Curriculum includes:
- Basics of thunderstorm development
- Fundamentals of storm structure
- Identifying potential severe weather features
- Information to report
- How to report information
- Basic severe weather safety
To register for the SKYWARN Basic I class send an email to [email protected] with your contact information. For more information, please call (301) 475-4200 Ext. 2124.
