National Weather Service Forecast Office

SKYWARN™

Source of Information for Emergency Managers & Storm Spotters

Fall 2008 SKYWARN™ Spotter Training Sessions have concluded

***Spotter cards will be available by the end of the year***

What is Skywarn™?

Skywarn™ is a nationwide network of volunteer weather spotters who report to and are trained by the National Weather Service (NWS). These spotters report many forms of significant or severe weather such as Severe Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Hail, Heavy Snow, and Flooding.

The staff at NWS Forecast Office Albany is responsible for issuing local forecasts and Severe Weather Warnings for much of eastern New York, southern Vermont, western Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. Skywarn™ Spotters provide an invaluable service by providing ground truth on the atmosphere we observe from radars, satellites and reporting stations. These spotters act as our eyes and ears helping to provide better forecasts and severe weather warnings.

Check out the National SKYWARN™ Homepage

National SKYWARN™ Recognition Day

How to Join?

Joining is easy. All that it is required is an interesting 3 hour training session. The training courses are offered during the year and are held throughout our county warning area. Sessions are announced on our NOAA Weather Radio Stations and are posted on this web site.

The spotter network is usually activated whenever there is a threat of severe weather, this is usually preceded by the issuance of a Severe Thunderstorm Watch, Tornado Watch, Flood Watch or some other type of watch. Skywarn™ reports can be relayed from whatever your location may be, whether that's at your office, on the road or in your neighborhood. Information is relayed to the NWS via volunteer ham radio operators.

Skywarn™ News

Spotters are asked to report any occurrence of severe weather to your Skywarn™ EC, Skywarn™ Net Controller or directly to us at the NWS. These reports are of tremendous importance to us since they firmly tell us what the weather is like at the ground and aid us in understanding what we are seeing on our radar and satellite images. If you see any of the following eight types of events, please call us! These events are considered emergency traffic on the Ham network, please relay them to the NWS immediately.

Tornadoes, Water Spouts, Funnel Clouds and Wall Clouds (either rotating or not).

Damaging Winds that down trees, large limbs and power lines or any wind producing property damage.

Hail of any size

Lightning that produces damage, injury or death.

Flooding, Ice Jams, Bankfull Rivers or Streams.

Measured Rainfall that exceeds 1.0 to 1.5 inches in a 4 hour period.

Freezing Rain (all occurrences).

Snowfall that exceeds 4 inches in a 24 hour period.

Any other event that you feel may help us determine the severity of storms.

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Federal Emergency Management Agency