SKYWARN Spotter Training program
GeneralDarlington County Emergency Management Department presents a SKYWARN Spotter Training program at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 21 at 1625 Harry Byrd Highway, Darlington.
What is the SKYWARN program? In the average year, 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes occur across the United States and are experienced by many people. In the 1970s, the National Weather Service (NWS) started SKYWARN® to get hazardous weather information from people in the local communities. This volunteer program has nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters. SKYWARN® spotters provide lots of information for all types of weather hazards, but the main responsibility is to identify and describe severe local storms (thunderstorms, floods, and tornadoes) quickly and accurately.
Since the program started, the information provided by SKYWARN® spotters, along with NWS forecasting tools, has aided to issue better and faster warnings, protecting lives and property. SKYWARN® storm spotters are part of the first line of defense against severe weather. There can be no finer reward than to know that their efforts have given communities the precious gift of time–seconds and minutes that can help save lives.