Help the NWS by becoming a SKYWARN storm spotter

Many people are intrigued when foul weather rolls into Holmes County with dark, circling clouds and heavy winds.

Those individuals are being invited to turn their intrigue into something valuable.

An upcoming event will open the door to serve the community for those who share a fascination for what’s happening in the weather.

The National Weather Service, in coordination with Holmes County Emergency Management Agency, will host a free SKYWARN Storm Spotter training session from 6-8 p.m. Monday, March 9 at the East Holmes Fire Department, 5257 County Road 77.

This training teaches participants how to recognize and report severe weather including tornadoes, large hail, damaging winds and flooding. Reports from trained spotters provide real-time information that helps improve warnings and protect lives and property.

The class is free to attend. Anyone interested in weather safety and community preparedness is encouraged to attend.

“This is a valuable session even for those who have previously served as weather spotters,” said Jordan Tschiegg, Holmes County EMA assistant director. “Because of technology and changes in weather patterns, the NWS suggests spotters take updated training classes every two to three years.”

Tschiegg said while the NWS has many tools and instruments to record and report weather data, having weather spotters on the ground in as many locations as possible is valuable.

“Getting updated reports visually from the ground as storms take place means people are becoming the eyes of NWS as weather situations take place,” Tschiegg said.

SKYWARN is a volunteer program with between 350,000 and 400,000 trained severe weather spotters and is part of the NWS. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely, accurate reports of severe weather to the NWS.

“It’s a really intriguing opportunity for anyone to become part of a program that can play a role in protecting people and saving lives,” Tschiegg said. “Those attending will learn about basics of thunderstorm development, the fundamentals of storm structures, how to identify potential severe weather patterns, what type of information they should report and how to report it, and basic severe weather safety information.”

Tschiegg said the SKYWARN program has been around since 1970 and has been instrumental in providing information, noting weather submissions from spotters may be submitted via internet or phone.

The NWS and Holmes County EMA encourage anyone interested in public service to join the SKYWARN program.

Volunteers include police, fire personnel, EMS providers, dispatchers and public utility workers, but many of NWS’s weather reporters are simply concerned citizens who share a passion for helping others avoid getting caught in harmful weather patterns.

“It’s a terrific way to educate oneself in times of severe weather,” Holmes EMA Director Jason Troyer said. “Just knowing what is taking place as severe weather looms is a good thing for anyone to be able to recognize, but being able to have the opportunity to share that information with others and help them prepare to be as safe as possible is what is important.”

Once someone completes the class, they will receive a card from the NWS that has a direct phone line to the NWS and helps it provide valuable weather information updates during severe storms.

Registration is suggested but not required for the class. Those interested may register by completing a class online submission form at www.weather.gov/cle/SKYWARN. Once on the page, click Training Schedule under the Click Here for SKYWARN Schedule listing. Once there, the schedule listings are placed on the page in order of date, so scroll down to the Holmes County location and click register here, located on the right side of the page.

Interested parties also can register by emailing their name, email address, phone number and whether they are a new or existing spotter to jtroyer@co.holmes.oh.us.

Any questions about the program can be directed to the Holmes County Emergency Management Agency at 330-674-0989.