 | |
| Formation | 1965 |
|---|---|
| Type | Government organization |
| Purpose | Severe weather spotting |
| Headquarters | Silver Spring, Maryland |
Region served | United States |
Membership | Volunteer |
Official language | English |
| Staff | >300,000[1] |
| Website | NWS Skywarn |
Skywarn (sometimes stylized as SKYWARN) is a program of the National Weather Service (NWS). Its mission is to collect reports of localized severe weather in the United States. These reports are used to aid forecasters in issuing and verifying severe weather watches and warnings and to improve the forecasting and warning processes and the tools used to collect meteorological data. Reports are also used by local emergency managers and public safety organizations.
Skywarn consists of a network of severe storm spotters who observe weather conditions and make reports of severe weather to their local NWS offices. These spotters are regularly trained by personnel from the local NWS offices. In many areas, classes are conducted each spring in advance of the coming severe weather season.[2] Many SKYWARN spotters use methods to communicate with one another during severe storm events. A notable example of this is through the use of amateur radio nets, which is still an important method since severe weather can significantly disrupt local telecommunications systems. The program began in 1965, and counts over 300,000 active trained spotters.[1]
- ^ a b "NOAA NWS SKYWARN® Weather Spotter Program". Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Catalog. CitizenScience.gov. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ "NWS Jackson, MS - SKYWARN: Spotter Information". National Weather Service. March 3, 2006. Archived from the original on October 11, 2006. Retrieved April 21, 2008.