Getting started as a spotter

[Dan Hildebrand]

Hello. First, if this question has been asked a million times I apologize, please simply direct me to the appropriate thread.

In short, I want to become a certified spotter. Where i live (Northern Ohio) has its share of severe weather, and when the time comes i want to be part of the warning community.

I've heard that there are different spotter programs. For my area, which are the best, or ones that you would recommend?

Also, reading these threads i've seen a lot of talk about ham radio. What is the significance of these devices?

Thanks for your time,

Dan

 

[rdale]

There's really only one "spotter" program... That's the Skywarn program. Your local NWS office http://weather.gov/cle offers free training in your county every year, so that's the way to start. Ham radio used to be the primary way of getting info to the NWS, that's sort of getting supplanted by SpotterNetwork.

But you still need training, and that's through Skywarn.

 

[J Tyler]

The final part of SKYWARN certification is training on how to trash Bart Comstocks hotel room. Once you are certified, you get a bounty hunter police badge.

 

[Dan Hildebrand]

Thank for the info

and warning me about the hotel room, ill try and prepare for it

 

[Hannah Weddell]

hehe i could do that in 3 weeks

 

[JWWaldschmidt]

The only "official" spotter organization is Skywarn. I recommend you do a few searches online, their website is located here: http://skywarn.org/. You might contact your local NWS office, and find out who your spotter coordinator is for the area. They can give you more localized information.

The Skywarn classes offered each spring are nice starting points, but are by no means all-inclusive. Find someone who truly knows what they're doing, most are very great people who are more than willing to help "newbies". Experience is the best way to learn. Check out the Educational area for some information on severe weather, including some literature for you to purchase & read. Learn all you can before going out in the field, and learn some more when you're out there.

 

[James Hilger]

Wow, where did that come from? That's awesome.

The final part of SKYWARN certification is training on how to trash Bart Comstocks hotel room. Once you are certified, you get a bounty hunter police badge.

 

[Keith Hosman]

The Skywarn training is most likely over for the season, they usually run that in February through March. One does not have to be an amateur radio operator to be a spotter, there are other ways of notifying the NWS, there is the e-spotter portal, there is the toll free spotter number for the NWS office, there is Spotter Network as previously mentioned.

One thing to remember, just taking one class will not totally prepare you, my suggestion is to go with a more experienced spotter for your area.

You can probably get in tough with local spotters by contacting your local EMA, give them your name/contact information and they will forward it on and someone will get in touch with you.

 

[GregDean]

I wanted to get Skywarn Cert this year but with my new job not giving me much time to pursue it. I missed my chance to get to one of the classes in my neighboring counties. So what i am going to do for myself is read up on all the Spotter Network training module, Pass their Tests, and start my storm spotting that way. I will just have to wait till next year to get to a Skywarn class. I am also studying for my Ham Radio License, So i will be on the airwaves soon as well.

Too bad that i missed Skywarn though.. I just wish they would offer classes for longer periods or even private classes. But i dont think that will happen.

 

[Keith Wilson]

Some WFO's offer online spotter training even after the regular training classes are over with. These would be announced on the WFO website for your CWA.

 

[GregDean]

My local area doesn't seem to have an online program from what i have seen I am currently working on getting done with my SN tests. Been working so much i havent had a chance to read the material for SN. I am just now getting serious about learning more about weather. Being 22 i have a good amount of time to study it...

 

[David Drummond]

Here is a site I own that can help you learn with some "online training". Not a substitute for real life training, but you might find it useful. http://spotterguides.us

 

[GregDean]

OH so you own that site! Awesome. I actually used that site 2 years ago. I was going to start reading ti just recently but work caught up with me so now i am working like 40 hours a week.(retail)

 

[Sarah B. Wood]

If you do take a spotter training session through the local NWS office, here is a link to the online training they like for you to complete before attending the live training.

https://www.meted.ucar.edu/training_course.php?id=23

 

[Elizabeth Andrews]

Your best bet in getting started is getting certified through your local National Weather Service office. You can find the information on SkyWarn's website (www.skywarn.org) under "Training", "Local Training Classes"; if this does not work you can look up your local National Weather Service office by putting your zip code into the search bar on the NWS national website. Once you find your NWS office website, look under "Local Programs" for a link to the SkyWarn page.

If your office does not offer in-person or online "webinar" format classes, you can contact your NWS office's Warning Coordination Meteorologist via email and ask how to get involved in person.

Alternatively, there is a Basic SkyWarn Spotter course offered for free through MetEd that you can take at your own pace, and once you obtain certification, you can provide this to the Warning Coordination Meteorologist as proof of training.

 

[Brian OConnell]

I'd be leery of the meted.ucar.edu spotter training, when I took that it contained a non-trivial amount of misinformation, for example it said that if you are in a store and see a shelf cloud you should get the manager to put everyone in a closet to protect from high winds, which seems really extreme given the number of shelf clouds that have only 20-45 mph winds, it also implied that a shelf cloud is a tornado warning sign (yes I know tornadoes can form on or near shelf clouds, but I wouldn't really call a shelf cloud much more of a tornado warning sign than thunder)

Perhaps the worst was when they said that you should report both rotating and non-rotating wall clouds, and then ended the training by showing a picture of a classic LP supercell with a wall cloud with spiral striations and askign if this was a wall cloud, the correct answer was supposed to be that you can't tell from a still image, because it is only a wall cloud if it rotates, directly contradicting the instructions to report non-rotating wall clouds

 

[Randy Jennings]

@Brian OConnell Which UCAR training class are you referring to? It has been a while since I have taken any UCAR training, but I remember them as being perty good. I will say much of the material was produced a while ago, so it probably isn't up to date on the latest trends (like not reporting non-rotating wall clouds).

 

[Brian OConnell]

It was only the skywarn spotter one that had a lot of errors, the others seemed fine

To clarify at least in my CWA non-rotating wall clouds ARE supposed to be reported, the error was that the UCAR spotter training said that by definition it is only a wall cloud if it rotates

 

[Levi Mol]

Just became a Trained Spotter last month so happy

 

[Levi Mol]

Right now just spotting from home and having so much fun! Just don't know what your going to see.