How do I become a storm spotter?
The easiest way to become involved to contact your regional National Weather Service office's Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM). The WCM acts as the liaison between the forecast office and local emergency management and spotters. Contact information for your local forecast office can be found in the Blue Pages of your local telephone directory or at the National Weather Service website.
In some areas, the programs are run directly from the office itself; in other areas, programs are run by county or municipal authorities and sometimes, even by citizen groups, such as amateur radio clubs. Whichever model is used, the local WCM will be able to provide contact information for a given area. The WCM is also the one that oversees the meteorological aspects of spotter training.
For a general overview of storm spotting, meteorologist and volunteer storm spotter, Keith Brewster, has written a brief guide to Getting Started in Tornado and Thunderstorm Spotting . Todd Sherman, KB4MHH, Coordinator of Alachua County, Florida, SKY WARN program, has published a comprehensive Index to SKY WARN Web Pages On The Internet.
I've signed up to take a spotter class from my local NWS Forecast Office, but it's not until next week. Are there any sources of training material on line?
You'd likely have been surprised if the answer were "no"! There are many good training sites on the net, a few of which are listed below. There is, however, one caveat: None of the pages listed below are meant to be a substitute for official storm spotter training. Contact your local NWS office for details on spotter training in your area.
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