Skywarn is a concept developed in the early 1970s that was intended to promote a cooperative effort between the National Weather Service and local communities. The emphasis of the effort is often focused on the storm spotter, an individual who takes a position near their community and reports severe weather phenomena such as high wind gusts, hail size, heavy rainfall, and tornadoes. Another part of Skywarn is the receipt and effective distribution of National Weather Service Warning information.

The organization of spotters and the distribution of warning information typically lies with a civil defense or emergency managment agency within the state or community. This agency could also be a local police or fire department. Skywarn is not a formal club or organization. However, in some areas where emergency management programs do not perform the function, people have organized Skywarn groups that work independant of a parent government agency and feed valuable information to the National Weather Service. While this provides the radar meteorologist with much needed input, the circuit is not complete if the information does not reach those who can activate sirens or local broadcast systems.

Skywarn spotters are not storm chasers. While their functions are similar, the spotter stays close to home. Storm spotting is dangerous and should not be done without proper training, experience and equipment. The National Weather Service conducts spotter training classes at the request of emergency management agencies and local spotter groups.