Skywarn (TM)  Weather Spotters are a National Weather Service (NWS) team of volunteers, trained to observe and report significant weather. Weather spotters support their local community and emergency managers by providing the NWS with timely and accurate severe weather reports. These reports are an integral part of the NWS mission to help saves lives and property through flood and weather watches, warnings, and advisories.

Accurate and reliable weather information from the general public is often difficult to obtain. The NWS has found that trained weather spotters greatly improve information quality. The NWS works with other volunteer organizations in the Skywarn (TM) Weather Spotter program, such as Amateur Radio, the American Red Cross, and local emergency managers.

The NWS conducts Skywarn (TM) Weather Spotter training. Spotter training programs are usually established by the NWS through local emergency managers or other volunteer organizations.

The training consists of ways to recognize and report significant weather.

Skywarn (TM) Weather Spotter reports provide "ground truth" for NWS technologies, such as Doppler weather radar and satellite imagery. These reports, when integrated with all available weather information sources, help forecasters detect hazardous weather. Spotter reports also reinforce NWS warning messages. The NWS, media, and emergency managers use these reports, encouraging people to take proper action and get themselves, their family, their pets and livestock, and/or their employees and clients, out of harm's way.

We provide our area Skywarn (TM) Weather Spotters with a quarterly news bulletin. The bulletin, entitled Skywarn (TM) Spotter News, covers a spectrum of topics, including recaps of recent weather, weather education, seasonal articles and information on new technologies, among other subjects.

NOAA's National Weather Service Skywarn (TM) Weather Spotter Program Overview.