The northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service (NWS) today announced new plans for volunteer storm spotter training as part of the NWS SKYWARN program.
The NWS office plans seven regional, multi-county spotter training sessions in 2014 (see the region map below). An NWS meteorologist will lead each regional session in person, rather than remotely via teleconference. The session for the region that includes Allen County, Indiana is scheduled to take place at Columbia City High School, 600 N. Whitley St., Columbia City, Ind. That session is scheduled for Feb. 18, beginning at 7 p.m. EST. The NWS will not conduct SKYWARN training in Allen County, Indiana in 2014 — not even the remotely-presented training the NWS provided in 2013.
Spotters and people interested in becoming spotters may attend any of the regional spotter training sessions listed on the NWS event calendar. It is not necessary to attend the session designated for your county. For example, residents of southern Allen County might prefer to attend the training that’s scheduled in Bluffton, Ind. Regardless of which session you plan to attend, NWS requests that you register in advance, using the appropriate link on the NWS event calendar. Registration is not required but the NWS encourages registration to help it assure that it has sufficient facilities, etc. for the number of people who attend.
For those unable to attend any of the regional spotter training sessions in 2014, the NWS plans multiple other training opportunities. For more information, please see an email message below from Michael Lewis, the warning coordination meteorologist at the northern Indiana NWS office. See also this PDF document that outlines the various training modalities that the NWS office has planned.
From: Michael.Lewis@noaa.gov [mailto:Michael.Lewis@noaa.gov]
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2013 12:10 PM
Subject: Spotter Training Continues!
The process of learning is a life-long journey and ceases never!
The National Weather Service will be hosting a series of spotter training programs beginning in February and continuing through March of 2014.
We will be using Social Media to engage the public (especially our spotters) YouTube to provide a series of spotter instructional videos, webinars at various times to answer spotter specific questions, and seven in-person training sessions throughout the area.
More details will be posted on the NWS Skywarn Page (http://www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx/?n=nwsnorthernindianaskywarnpage)
Registration for the live spotter training can be found on our Event Calendar http://www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx/program_areas/outreach/index.php
Additionally, there are several FREE MetEd Online courses that are beneficial to all spotters.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx/?n=online_spotter_training
Keep on learning!
Michael Lewis
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
NWS Northern Indiana
Sunday, October 6, 2013. The sun sorta came up, the birds stay in bed, and the skies opened up with rain, rain, rain. But none-the-less, a stalwart crew of foxhunters assembled in the Off-Track Betting Parlor at Lima and Washington Center roads for the October foxhunt. This enthusiastic (if damp) crew consisted of the team of Linda and Steve Nardin, W9’s LAN and SAN, the team of Annie and Jim Pliett, KA9YYI and K9OMA plus Carole and Al Burke, WB9’s RUS and SSE, and single hunter Robert Dean, KC9UHU.
The October 2013 Issue of the Allen County HamNews newsletter is now available for download using the link below. This and previous issues are also available for download by clicking the “Files” link in the main menu and then clicking “Newsletters.”
Sunday, September 8, 2013. The sun came up, the birds sang, and the weather was pleasant as an early fall day should be. And in the parking lot of the Off-Track Betting Parlor at Lima and Washington Center roads, there gathered a group of eleven foxhunters, intent for the activities that would occur that afternoon. The hunters consisted of the team of Jim and Annie Pliett, K9OMA and KA9YYI plus Carole and Al Burke, WB9RUS and WB9SSE, the team of Linda and Steve Nardin, W9LAN and W9SAN plus their grandson Alex, the team of Charles Ward, KC9MUT plus Fred Gengnagel, KC9EZP, and the team of Dave Spence, K9NDU plus Bob Dean, KC9UHU.