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WHAT
IS SKYWARN®
SKYWARN®
is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by
providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National
Weather Service. Although
SKYWARN® spotters provide
essential information for all types of weather hazards, the main
responsibility of a SKYWARN® spotter is to identify and describe severe
local storms. In the average year, 10,000 severe thunderstorms,
5,000
floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes occur across the United States.
These events threatened lives and property. Since the program started in the 1970s,
the information provided by SKYWARN® spotters, coupled with Doppler
radar technology, improved satellite and other data, has enabled NWS to
issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe
thunderstorms and flash floods. SKYWARN® storm spotters are part of the
ranks of citizens who form the Nation's first line of defense against
severe weather. There can be no finer reward than to know that their
efforts have given communities the precious
gift of time--seconds and
minutes that can help save lives.
Who is Eligible?
NWS encourages anyone
15 years of age or older with an interest
in public service and access to communication, such HAM radio, to join
the SKYWARN® program. Volunteers include police and fire personnel,
dispatchers, EMS workers, public utility workers and other concerned
private citizens. Individuals affiliated with hospitals, schools,
churches, nursing homes or who
have a responsibility for protecting
others are also encouraged to become a spotter.
How Can I Get
Involv NWS has 122 local Weather Forecast
Offices, each with a Warning Coordination Meteorologist, who is
responsible for administering the SKYWARN® program in their local area.
Training is conducted at local offices and covers:
Classes are free and typically are
about five hours long. This includes both the basic & advanced
courses. To find out when a SKYWARN® class will be conducted in your local area, check out our
SkyWarn Classes page.
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The
SKYWARN® program in Palm Beach County is coordinated locally by
Maurice Dake, Amateur Radio call-K9EE and coordinates all SKYWARN®
activities in Palm Beach County. In 2009, due to the size of Palm Beach County, Maurice Dake and Robert Molleda -NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist, created the Western Palm Beach County SKYWARN® program. This is to provide better service in and from the western communities know as the “Glades”. Ray Ruby Amateur Radio Call-WX4PBC is the current
coordinator for the Glades area SKYWARN® which includes assisting
Hendry and Glades Counties.
Ray has recently been appointed Assistant Palm Beach County
SKYWARN Coordinator. Many
SKYWARN® volunteers are licensed amateur radio operators.
These “ham” operators provide real time data to the Palm Beach
County SKYWARN repeater and the Palm Beach County Emergency Operations
Center or EOC. You do not need to be an amateur radio operator to
become a part of the SKYWARN® program. We hope to see you at an up-coming class and become a SKYWARN™ volunteer.
Please
note :
neither PBC SKYWARN® or the National Weather Service promote
Download the PBC SKYWARN Information brochure. ________________________________________________________________________________________ PBC SKYWARN On FACEBOOK
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The
effects of severe weather are felt every year by many Americans.
To obtain critical weather information, NOAA's
