First Responders, Amateur Radio Operators, and members of the public who are interested in becoming SKYWARN® storm spotters—and current spotters who wish to refresh their skills—are encouraged to save the date for Advanced Skywarn Spotter Training which will be presented at 6PM on April 16, 2024, at the City of Fargo Public Safety Building.

Information about other regional training opportunities, answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about SKYWARN, and NWS contact information, is available on the NWS WFO Grand Forks, ND SKYWARN page.

About Spotter Training

These multimedia spotter training presentations run 60 to 90 minutes in length, are open to the public, and are free of charge. Participants will learn about:

• Identifying & reporting severe weather
• Spotter safety
• Severe weather climatology in ND/MN
• Thunderstorm structure and threats
• And more…

The instructors are NWS Meteorologists.

About SKYWARN®

In most years, thunderstorms, tornadoes and lightning caused hundreds of injuries and deaths and billions in property and crop damages. To obtain critical weather information, the National Weather Service (NWS) established SKYWARN® with partner organizations. SKYWARN® is a volunteer program with between 350,000 and 400,000 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 focus is on reporting severe local thunderstorms. In an average year the United States experiences more than 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes.

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 your efforts have given your family and neighbors the precious gift of time—minutes that can help save lives. ¹

Please visit the Frequently Asked Questions About SKYWARN® section of the NWS WFO Grand Forks, ND page for more information about SKYWARN®.

SKYWARN® is a registered trademark of NOAA’s National Weather Service. Rules for the usage of the SKYWARN® name and logo are available on-line.

SKYWARN® Online

http://www.weather.gov/fgf/stormspotting

SKYWARN® Contact

nws.grandforks@noaa.gov