SkyWarn® Information
SKYWARN®, started in 1970, is a program of the United States' National Weather Service (NWS). Its mission is to collect reports of localized severe weather. These reports are used to aid forecasters in issuing and verifying severe weather watches and warnings and to improve the forecasting and warning processes and the tools used to collect meteorological data. It consists of a network of severe storm spotters that observe weather conditions and make reports of severe weather to their local NWS offices. These spotters are trained by personnel from the local NWS offices each spring in advance of the coming severe weather season.
The Fort Worth NWS office maintains an amateur radio station
that is manned by amateur radio operators during times of severe
weather. This allows licensed amateur radio spotters to transmit their
severe weather reports directly to the NWS and receive up-to-date
severe weather updates even if regular communications are disrupted or
overloaded by the weather emergency. In Dallas County SkyWarn spotters
are provided by the combined RACES
groups within the county. Likewise in Tarrant County but it's the
County RACES. In Denton and Collin Counties it is the county ARES® groups.
Reference Information -
- Cloud Cowboy Reference Manual
- Basic Spotter's Field Guide
- Advanced Spotter's Field Guide
- Basic WSR 88D Radar Interpretation
- NWS's SkyWarn® Home Page
Additional Links -
- NWS Fort Worth Home Page
- NWS Regional Weather Radar
- Regional SkyWarn® School Schedule
- The SkyWarn® Program
- Weather Radio Information
We hope you find this information useful with your public service events and RACES/ARES® operations.
Garland RACES/ARES®
Informaton - 6/15/2005
2.10.2010 - Last updated 02.10.2010