The National Weather Service in Anchorage is looking for volunteer weather spotters in South Central Alaska, the Mat-Su, the Copper River Basin, the Kenai Peninsula, Prince William Sound and surrounding areas, the Kuskokwim Valley and Delta, Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula, and the Aleutians and Pribilofs.

Volunteer spotters support their local community and government by providing the NWS with timely and accurate weather reports. These reports, when integrated with NWS Doppler Radar signatures, satellite,  and other data, can be critical in the issuance of weather warnings and advisories. This can save lives and protect property, which is the main mission of the NWS.

Volunteers help the NWS by reporting thunderstorms, hail, heavy rainfall, strong winds, heavy snow, freezing rain, flooding, etc. It must be stressed that we are looking for reliable and objective reports. When snowfall reports are inflated or hail sizes are exaggerated, for example, it can do more harm than good. It is imperative that volunteers are available to receive a call from the NWS, in the event we feel that something suspicious is happening in their area or to ask further questions on a report that you already gave to us.

In order to become an official NWS spotter, you need to attend a training session conducted by the NWS. It is about a 2 hour slide and video presentation about how to identify and report significant weather. You can also view an online PowerPoint presentation and take a quiz to become certified.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer spotter, click on the link below and fill out the form. If you have a report to send, click on the submit a spotter report link.

• New Spotter Form
  
  
• Public Spotter Training (Some pages may take a long time to load)
  • Public Weather Spotter Exam
  
  
• Marine Spotter Training (Some pages may take a long time to load)
  • Marine Weather Spotter Exam

Significant or severe weather in Southcentral Alaska may include:

1. Thunderstorms
2. Waterspouts
3. Hail
4. Winds of 40 mph or more
5. 1/2 inch or more of rain in 1 hour<

Urban and/or small stream flooding:

1. Roads closed due to high water
2. Roads impassible due to high water
3. Small streams overflowing their banks
4. Land slides

Winter weather:

1. Freezing rain or freezing drizzle
2. Thundersnow
3. 6 inches of new snowfall in 12 hours

Also report any unusual weather event

When making a report, include the following information:

1. Your name and/or spotter ID
2. Location and time of event
3. What you saw and any damage witnessed