Skywarn

There was at least one question about one of my serious stickers. All my
stickers ARE serious, I selected them for a reason.

I am talking about my Skywarn sticker. Skywarn is a real program sponsored by the National Weather Service. The NWS does a pretty good job, and they have access to all sorts of high tech gizmos -but gizmos are not always enough. They still need human spotters.

This is where Skywarn comes into play. It would cost a left testicle to hire
enough NWS staff to cover all the spotting needs. So, the NWS uses volunteers.
Skywarn spotters are NOT those crazy people that try to get as close to tornados
as possible, all they do is report what they happen to see. The professional
storm chasers are scientists, the amateur chasers are adrenaline junkies.
Skywarn spotters are just regular people with cell phones that have the bat line
to the local NWS office in case they see something.

The NWS provides a training class to all volunteers, where they teach you
what to look for. The class takes one day, and it is very interesting. You learn
what to look for in clouds that might warn of a tornado getting ready to spawn.
You can then call the NWS office, and they will watch the doppler radar where
you are. They might even issue a warning, because you called in. That warning
might give someone enough time to get into a safe place before the twister hits.

Many Skywarn spotters are ham radio operators, but it is NOT required. You
can phone in your reports. If you want to learn more about Skywarn in your area,
contact the local office of the National Weather Service nearest to you.