Severe Weather Awareness Weeks in 2009
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| MINNESOTA: April 20-24. |
NORTH DAKOTA: April 20-24 |
Advanced Spotters' Field Guide http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/adv_spotters.pdf
Basic Spotters' Field Guide http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/basicspot.pdf
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2009 Spotter Training Sessions
Skywarn talks are being re-scheduled for the last week in April through May if you can host a skywarn class.
Updated as of: Apr 28, 2009.
Spotter classes are free of charge and open to the public. Please contact your County Emergency Manager to learn about SkyWarn in your area or to schedule a class in the future.
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| FEBRUARY |
| Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 Wild Rice Electric, MN
8 am
Mahnomen County
Done!
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6 |
7 |
| 8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
| 15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
| 22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
| MARCH |
| Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 Newfolden, MN
0930 am
Marshall County
Done!
|
| 8 |
9 |
10 |
11 Pembina County, ND 6 pm
Done!
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12 |
13 |
14 |
| 15 |
16 |
17 Fergus Falls Firehall Advanced
Done!
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18 Fergus Falls Firehall Advanced
Done!
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19 Cavalier County 6pm
Done!
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20
CANCELLED
Norman County 1pm
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21 |
| 22 |
23
CANCELLED
Crookston Advanced and Basic 630 pm
Kiel Auditorium - 630 pm
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24
CANCELLED
Polk County 630 pm (Basic and Advanced)
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25
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26
CANCELLED
Grant County, MN
ADVANCED @ Barrett Legion Hall 6 pm
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27 |
28 |
| 29 |
30
CANCELLED
Walsh County, Grafton 630pm
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31
CANCELLED
Cass County Fargo Public Works 630 pm
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| APRIL |
| Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
| |
|
|
1 |
2
CANCELLED
Grand Forks County GF PD 630 pm
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3 |
4 |
| 5 |
6
CANCELLED
East Grand Forks, MN
EGF Fire Dept
6:00pm
Polk County
|
7 |
8 |
9
CANCELLED
Wadena County
TBD
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10 |
11 |
| 12 |
13
CANCELLED
Richland County (Colfax) 7 pm
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14 |
15
CANCELLED
Nelson County 7 pm
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16
CANCELLED
UND/AMS Advanced @ NWS 7pm
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17 |
18
CANCELLED
Fargo Hamfest 9am
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| 19 |
20 |
21
CANCELLED
Lake of the Woods, MN
6:00 pm
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22
CANCELLED
Clay County, MN
1pm and 6:00 pm
|
23 |
24 |
25 |
| 26 |
27 Nelson County
7pm at Michigan Civic Center
DONE!
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28
Traill County HIllsboro Courhouse 7pm
Cancelled by EM
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29
Sargent County
630 pm
DONE!
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30 NO Skywarn talks this day |
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| MAY |
| Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
| |
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
| 3 |
4 Wadena County
630-930pm Basic and
Advanced at MN St.
Community Tech. College -- DONE!! 26 in attendance
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5 NO Skywarn talks this day |
6 Cass county
Fargo Public works building
630 pm
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7 NO Skywarn talks this day |
8 |
9 |
| 10 |
11 Polk County --Crookston
on the UMC campus in Keihle Hall on second floor -- 630-930pm (basic and advanced) |
12 Lake of the Woods
6pm |
13 Larimore 7pm |
14 Grant County
6 PM |
15 |
16 |
| 17 |
18 Roseau County (Roseau) 1pm and 6pm |
19 Roseau County (Warroad) Noon and 6pm |
20 Beltrami County |
21 Grand Forks County 630pm |
22 |
23 |
| 24 |
25 |
26 Polk County -- Fosston at
the Embassy Senior Center at 3rd and Eaton -- 630-930pm. (basic and advanced) |
27 Polk County -- Fertile in the
City Hall Auditorium. 630-930pm (basic and advanced) |
28 West Fargo PD Skywarn - 5pm- Advanced |
29 |
30 |
| 31 |
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Frequently Asked Questions About SkyWarn
What is SKYWARN?
Skywarn (formed in the early 1970s) is the National Weather Service (NWS) program of volunteer severe weather spotters. Skywarn volunteers support their local community and government by providing the NWS with timely and accurate severe weather reports. These reports, when integrated with modern NWS technology, are used to inform communities of approaching severe weather. The focus of Skywarn (and of the NWS) is simple...to save lives and property.
Since the mid 1990s, the WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar) has provided valuable information to area forecasters...with better detection of severe storm phenomena and more accurate and timely warnings. However, even with the advance in technology... "ground truth" is still a very important part of the warning process. "Ground truth" is what is actually occurring. Is the storm tornadic? Is it producing large hail? How about damaging winds? Most of the "ground truth" is provided by trained storm spotters (through Skywarn)...or the "eyes of the NWS."
Who Are SKYWARN Severe Weather Spotters?
SKYWARN spotters across North Dakota and Minnesota consist mainly of amateur radio operators, emergency response officials, and trained public responders. The vast majority of those involved are volunteers who provide this valuable public service. These Spotters donate their time and equipment to help us (the NWS) get warnings out to the public, and to get public reports of severe weather back to the NWS ...by any means possible.
How can I get involved?
Every year the National Weather Service in Grand Forks conducts both "basic" and "advanced" spotter training classes. Individuals are taught the basics of thunderstorm development, storm structure, what constitutes severe weather, and how to report this information. Advanced classes consider more extreme storm features to look for and where to find them. Additional information on reporting and basic severe weather safety are also covered.
Each class, Basic and Advanced, is a multi-media presentation which includes detailed video. Classes are typically scheduled back-to-back on the same evening. Each class typically takes around 75 minutes, with about a 15 minute break for questions and refreshments. New Spotters are encouraged to attend the Basic Class while veteran Spotters may chose to attend the Advanced Class. To find out when a class will be given near you, Click Here.
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| Area Contacts for SkyWarn or Amateur Radio Information |
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Contact your local County Emergency Manager in North Dakota or in Minnesota for location and time of the SKYWARN training in your county this spring.
For additional information on the SKYWARN program, contact Gregory.Gust@noaa.gov
The National Weather Service will typically issue a warning for one or both of the following reasons; Doppler radar detects severe weather or SKYWARN spotters report severe weather. If a warning is issued for your location, you are in danger and need to seek shelter.
The biggest supporters of the SKYWARN program are emergency response officials and amateur radio operators. One of the best ways to get involved is to talk with an amateur radio operator. If you have a scanner, tune in to a local amateur radio SKYWARN net (see list below) to get a feel for what is involved.
Amateur Radio Networks
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| Amateur Radio SKYWARN Frequencies in: |
Northwest Minnesota
- Barnesville MN - 147.060+ MHz
- Bemidji MN - 145.450- or 146.730- MHz
- Crookston MN - 147.120+ MHz
- Detroit Lakes MN - 146.820- MHz
- Fergus Falls MN - 146.640- or 444.200+ MHz
- Fisher MN - 146.700- MHz
- Karlstad MN - 145.470- MHz
- Lengby MN - 147.270+ MHz
- Northome MN - 146.760- MHz
- Park Rapids MN - 147.300+ MHz
- Thief River Falls MN - 146.850- MHz
- Wadena MN - 147.330+ MHz
- Walker MN - 147.390+ MHz
- Wannaska MN - 147.090+ MHz
- Warroad MN - 147.090+ MHz
- Williams MN - 147.000- MHz
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Eastern North Dakota
- Barney ND - 146.610- MHz
- Carrington ND - 146.670- MHz
- Cavalier ND - 147.150+ or 446.525- MHz
- Devils Lake ND - 146.880- MHz
- Fargo ND - 145.350- (Tone 123) or 146.970- MHz
- Grafton ND - 146.760- MHz
- Grandin ND - 146.760- MHz
- Grand Forks ND - 146.940- or 147.390+ MHz
- Gwinner ND - 145.110- MHz
- Horace ND - 146.715- or 443.750+ MHz
- Leeds ND - 147.000- MHz
- Lisbon ND - 147.000- MHz
- Lakota ND - 146.820- MHz
- Langdon ND - 146.790- or 441.525+ MHz
- Maddock ND - 147.240+ or 442.250+ MHz
- Mayville ND - 146.910- MHz
- Petersburg ND - 146.820- or 443.950+ MHz
- Rock Lake ND - 147.300+ MHz
- Valley City ND - 146.790- MHz
- Wahpeton ND - 147.375+ or 443.800+ MHz
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Most of these sites can be linked together. In times of severe weather, this "link" allows amateur radio operators at the NWS in Grand Forks to communicate with those directly affected by the storm. The callsign for the NWS in Grand Forks is NoGF. Amateur radio operators are a vital part of the NWS severe weather warning program.
Amateur Radio Clubs
Amateur Radio Links
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