SKYWARN™ FAQ

1. How do I join SKYWARN™?
2. Where can I find classes?
3. Why is this list of local groups incomplete?
4. Who is the owner of this website?
5. What is SKYWARN™?
6. When is storm season?

How do I join SKYWARN™?

Each National Weather Service office around the country is the primary point of contact for each local SKYWARN™ program. You should direct your inquiries to the office that serves your area, or check out http://www.skywarn.net/skywarnlinks to see if a local group has already registered with us. We, at this website, do not have a view into every local organization, and are not equipped to handle locally specific queries.

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Where can I find training classes?

In some cases, we might have it already listed in http://www.skywarn.net/classes - this listing is maintained when local administrators send us an announcement of a SKYWARN™ class or event. You can also check in http://www.skywarn.net/skywarnlinks for when that group normally offers classes, or you contact the local administrator of that group. If you do not see a group or class in your area, direct your inquiry to the nearest National Weather Service office that serves your area.

Just a reminder, SKYWARN™ training varies from region to region around the country. The National Weather Service provides this training as a means for spotters to accurately identify weather events. There is no legal obligation on their part for your safety in weather events - you're on your own. Training is for your educational benefit only.

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Why is this list of local groups incomplete?

It is only as good as the what the SKYWARN™ community contributes - as we have volunteer spotters for the National Weather Service, this web site is run by volunteers.

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Who is the owner of this web site?

The SKYWARN™ community generates the information you see on this web site. Chris Knauer, KB9CCR, runs the web, e-mail, and domains from a couple of servers, providing a free service to the SKYWARN™ community. It started in 1995 as a one page web site into dynamic site of chat, bbs, databases with around a 1000 user sessions a day visiting, or communicating with each other.  Timothy Tonge, KA0MWA, is the new webmaster and will be maintaining the site on a daily basis.

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What is SKYWARN™?

Quite simply, it is trained volunteer spotters for the National Weather Service. Some volunteers are also known as "chasers", who get in the vehicle to track storms, but it is not encouraged by the National Weather Service.

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When is storm season?

In the United States, the peak starts at the beginning of April in the southern states to mid-June in the upper Midwest. But severe storms, including tornadic storms, can occur anytime of the year.

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