SKYWARN Class set for Tuesday in Copperas Cove
By BUDD JOHNSON
Cove Leader-Press
A Basic SKYWARN Spotter Training class is scheduled for Tuesday January 23rd from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. It will be held at the Copperas Cove Police Station Community Room, 302 E. Avenue E in Copperas Cove.
The City of Copperas Cove Emergency Management is sponsoring this year’s Coryell County SKYWARN Training.
The Severe Weather Education class will be being presented by the National Weather Service Office in Fort Worth TX and is open to the public.
Other scheduled classes in neighboring counties can be found at: https://weather.gov/fwd/skywarnmap . Basic and Advanced virtual classes may also be scheduled.
A link will be provided to download and print your Certificate of Completion, good for two years, but it is strongly recommended to attend annually to receive any new information and to refresh the spotting concepts.
What can you expect from the class and why is it a clever idea for you to attend? The program started in the 1970’s. Information reported to the NWS by spotters, along with doppler radar technology, and improved satellite data allows the NWS to issue more timely and accurate warnings.
Storm Spotters play a critical role by ground truth reporting, weather that they can see. The presentation covers severe weather characteristics, thunderstorms, cloud formations, and identifying threats associated with severe storms.
The class will give you the essential information for reporting and weather safety.
The SKYWARN program concept is having the citizen volunteers observe and report directly to the NWS.
Many cities or counties across the nation have organized networks often made up of amateur radio operators.
If you are interested, speak to your local emergency management office or at this class, the Emergency Management Volunteers that will be available. This class IS NOT for you to be a “storm chaser,” and that actually requires a much higher level of weather education and experience.