The National Weather Service Northern Indiana weather forecast office has announced in-person and virtual training for volunteer storm spotters in March 2023. The sessions train volunteers to participate in the agency’s Skywarn storm spotter program. They help the NWS issue appropriate severe weather warnings by providing essential information not available via technology such as radar and weather satellites.
The Northern Indiana office plans in-person training in:
- Dowagiac, Michigan, March 6, 6 p.m. ET
- Wabash, Indiana, March 15, 6:30 p.m. ET
- Paulding, Ohio, March 20, 6 p.m. ET
- Albion, Indiana, March 28, 6:30 p.m. ET
In addition, the office will provide the same information through online webinars:
- March 1, 6 p.m. ET
- March 10, 11 a.m. ET
- March 25, 1 p.m. ET
Registration for all of the above in-person and virtual sessions is available now on the NWS website.
If you’ve had the training before, you’ll want to know that the NWS recommends that spotters take the class at least once every three years. I take it annually to see the latest changes in the program and to refresh my memory.
Among other benefits, the training helps spotters know the difference between scary looking but benign weather phenomena and truly dangerous weather that the NWS needs to know about immediately.