BUFFALO, N.Y. — In cooperation with CDC guidelines and recommendations from National Weather Service senior leadership, the National Weather Service office in Buffalo has moved all spring storm spotter training coursework online for 2020.
All in person training classes that were scheduled from March to May have been cancelled. Instead, there are three online sessions that will be offered beginning in mid April.
By attending one of these classes, you will be registered as a local storm spotter and learn how you protect your community during weather emergencies.
Anyone can become a certified Skywarn storm spotter through this NWS program. For those interested in participating, registration is required prior to the scheduled online class.
Registration is free and each class is expected to last one to two hours. Each class is the same, so you only have to register and attend one class, but each class has a separate registration form
NWS Buffalo Storm Spotter Training Online Schedule:
During a SKYWARN Spring Training session, attendees will learn about the technology used in severe weather forecasting and how springtime natural disasters form.
Attendees will also learn what to report and how to report those observations to the NWS. Topics discussed in the spring session include severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flash floods.
And Western New York has already experienced two rounds of severe storms this spring. A late March system downed power lines in northern Erie County and brought 68 mph winds to the Buffalo airport. And just this past week severe storms uprooted trees in Chautauqua County.
