Storm Spotting

Participation is easy. 

1. While  joining our CARES Mailing List is optional, if you click on "Join Us" on the home page and send us your email address, we can contact you regarding SKYWARN activities and we’ll know you’re interested.
2. When threatening or severe weather comes  along, just try to be available and within radio range of a Van Zandt County Area CARE's Amateur Repeater or our GMRS Repeater and participate as needed.  Very  simple to do and your help may save a life.
3. Due to the wide radio coverage of the area, even a handheld radio (HT) can be used to report severe weather, so keep a ham or GMRS HT with you.  HTs can easily fit in a glove box, a purse, briefcase, or a  pocketbook.  HTs are also good due to their battery power and if the power goes out, you remain operational.  If you have base or  vehicle-based radio gear with external antennas that’s “icing on the  communications cake.”

What is Enhanced SKYWARN?  In the Van Zandt County & Kaufman County area, it is a new approach to a long-established National Weather Service (NWS) Program. Under this new approach, not only are Licensed Amateur (Ham) Radio Operators participants in SKYWARN, but also Licensed GMRS Radio Operators.  The result is more eyes and ears on the ground to report severe weather to the NWS.

To be clear, SKYWARN participants are NOT storm chasers.  SKYWARN weather spotters observe weather from the safety of their own location (home, work, outside activities, etc.) and report what they see to a  local SKYWARN Coordinator who forwards the spotter’s information on to  the National Weather Service.  The SKYWARN Coordinator’s role is to be available by radio, receive spotter reports, ensure that information  reported is accurate, and provides such information to NWS in a timely  manner.

SKYWARN training and orientation provides participants:

• Basics of thunderstorm development.
• Fundamentals of storm structure.
• Identifying potential severe weather features.
• Information & standardized descriptive terminology to report.
• How to report information.
• Basic severe weather safety.
  
  So while training is not mandatory, it is highly recommended.  A local SKYWARN Orientation Session is planned for the near future.  If you wish  to get a head start on SKYWARN education and training, various  opportunities exist here:
  In-Person SKYWARN Education Sessions by State Available occasionally during the year
  
  On-Line Storm Spotter Training

The NWS says:  “In most years, thunderstorms, tornadoes and lightning  cause hundreds of injuries and deaths and billions in property and crop  damages.  To obtain critical weather information, the National Weather  Service (NWS) established SKYWARN® with partner organizations. SKYWARN® is  a volunteer program with between 350,000 and 400,000 trained severe  weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities  safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the  National Weather Service.

Although SKYWARN® spotters provide essential information for all types of weather  hazards, the focus is reporting on severe local thunderstorms. In an  average year, the United States experiences more than 10,000 severe  thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes.

Since the program started in the 1970s, the information provided by SKYWARN® spotters, coupled with Doppler radar technology, improved satellite and  other data, has enabled NWS to issue more timely and accurate warnings  for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash floods. SKYWARN® storm spotters form the nation’s first line of defense against severe  weather. There can be no finer reward than to know that your efforts  have given your family and neighbors the precious gift of time–minutes  that can help save lives.”

Anyone can participate in SKYWARN;  however, those that have radio communications skills, weather awareness,  and some basic training are often better equipped to support the  program.  That’s where Federally-licensed Amateur (Ham) Radio Operators  came into the picture long ago.  Fast-forward to today’s world and we now have new licensed radio services that bring additional  communications capabilities. 

GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) is an FCC (Federal Communications Commission) licensed radio service  which is heavily oriented toward families and communications between  individuals.  GMRS is NOT Citizens Band (CB) Radio or based on cellular technology.  In the NWS says:  “In most years, thunderstorms, tornadoes and lightning  cause hundreds of injuries and deaths and billions in property and crop  damages.  To obtain critical weather information, the National Weather  Service (NWS) established SKYWARN® with partner organizations. SKYWARN® is  a volunteer program with between 350,000 and 400,000 trained severe  weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities  safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the  National Weather Service.

While Amateur Radio, due to its global  communications capability, requires more technical skills, a passing  grade on one or more FCC tests for a single user license, and an awareness of international  communications rules, GMRS usage requires NO testing, the FCC license  costs only $35, and is good for 10 years, and, one license cover the whole family..  So for many with a need for  less technical, alternative, non-commercial, non-business  communications, GMRS is a good option.  Due to the nature of the radio  frequencies used by GMRS, it tends to be somewhat more localized in  coverage and range, though the use of radio signal repeaters can extend  coverage areas.  This is especially true in the case of Van Zandt & Kaufman, which has an extensive network of linked repeaters.

Amateur & GMRS Radio Operators stand should-to-shoulder in support  of our communities and special events like…SKYWARN

So if you are already an Amateur or GMRS Radio Operator, join us in SKYWARN.  If you are not already a radio operator, contact the Canton Area Radio Emergency Services (CARES) to learn more about how radio can be fun for you, your family, and provide avenues of service to your community.

SKYWARN® spotters are not by definition “Storm Chasers.” While their functions and methods are similar, the spotter stays close to home and  usually has ties to a local agency. Storm chasers often cover hundreds  of miles a day. The term Storm Chaser covers a wide variety of people.  Some are meteorologists doing specific research or are gathering basic  information (like video)  for training and comparison to radar data. Others chase storms to  provide live information for the media, and others simply do it for the thrill. Storm Spotting and Storm Chasing is dangerous and should not be done without proper training, experience, and equipment.

The CARES trained SKYWARN® spotters of Van Zandt County take positions, sometimes assigned positions, in their communities and reports to the local SKYWARN Net Operator wind gusts, hail size, rainfall rates, and cloud formations that could  signal a developing tornado. Although SKYWARN® spotters can provide  essential information for all types of weather hazards, the main  responsibility of a SKYWARN® spotter is to identify and describe severe local storms.

The most important thing to remember in storm spotting is “Don’t become a  victim yourself.”  No storm report is worth endangering your family or  yourself.  Personal safety is paramount. Storm spotters normally operate two people to a vehicle, one to drive and one to spot. In rural areas of our country that's not always an option so safety first is and should always be at the top of any storm spotter's list and concern.

You must be certified by attending the mandatory training held each year and have a way of communicating storm reports to the NWS. Within Van Zandt County, our storm spotting is handled by volunteer members of our CARES organization. We accept volunteers who are Licensed Amateur Radio Operators, Licensed GMRS Radio Operators, Citizens Band Radio Operators, and those with Fire, Police, and other services.  We will post location, dates and times on this web site about attending  training classes offered by CARES and/or the NWS several months in advance when possible. You are always welcome to submit a email request for information about SKYWARN® Training Classes.

The annual Van Zandt County SKYWARN® Training is conducted at our CARES monthly meeting location. Training class(s) are typically held in late February, and covers:

• Basic severe weather safety
• Basics of thunderstorm development
• Fundamentals of storm structure
• How to report information
• Identifying potential severe weather features
• Information to report
• And, in some cases, a "Communications 101" 

                class for the "NEW" radio operator

SKYWARN® training is free of charge and typically runs about 6  hours broken into two 3-hour blocks. The program is broken into multiple  lessons that have something to offer citizens at every level - from  beginner to advanced. Be sure to check back around the first of the year  for more information about the upcoming storm spotter training. Remember, our citizens depend on storm spotters for added notices of warning during severe weather. Being a storm spotter is one of the best volunteer positions within your community. Come become a Storm Spotter Volunteer today.