The northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service (NWS) has published its complete schedule of 2017 in-person SKYWARN storm spotter training sessions.
The Fort Wayne session is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. at the Public Safety Academy: Ivy Tech South Campus at 7602 Patriot Crossing on the south side of Fort Wayne.
The NWS requests all participants to register in advance via on online form. If you know anyone who wishes to attend but does not have web access, please help them register with your connection or have them call the Allen County Office of Homeland Security at 260-449-4663.
The NWS recommends that all spotters complete the COMET® Program’s two-unit, MetEd SKYWARN Spotter Training Course before attending in-person training.
Both the online and in-person training are free of charge.
If you can’t attend the Fort Wayne session, consider attending one of the other sessions in neaby towns, including Huntington, Bluffton, Auburn, Defiance or Paulding. Dates and locations for all sessions throughout the NWS northern Indiana county warning area appear on the office’s website.
I’m often asked, “How often must I attend?” I attend the training every year, to make sure my knowledge is current and my memory of what to look for and what to report is refreshed before the next storm season. The National Weather Service Northern Indiana office expects all spotters to take the training at least every three years.