The Buffalo office of the National Weather Service, in cooperation with Cattaraugus County Emergency Services will be conducting a SKYWARN spotter training seminar at the Cattaraugus County Emergency Services Office, 303 Court St, in Little Valley, NY on Thursday May 11, 2023 at 7:00 PM.  Use the back parking lot at the County Center Building in Little Valley, entrance will be marked with signage.

SKYWARN is a national effort to save lives during severe weather emergencies with an expanding network of trained volunteer weather spotters. SKYWARN spotters support their local community and government by providing reports of severe weather directly to the National Weather Service in Buffalo by phone using the NWS spotter hotline, or by online reporting. The services performed by SKYWARN spotters have saved many lives.

The National Weather Service has a number of devices for detecting severe thunderstorms, including Doppler radar, satellite, and lightning detection networks. However, the most important tool for observing thunderstorms is the trained eye of the storm spotter. By providing observations, SKYWARN spotters assist National Weather Service staff in their warning decisions and enable the National Weather Service to fulfill its mission of protecting life and property. Storm spotters are, and always will be, an indispensable part of the severe local storm warning program.

The basic training session provides a brief overview of the National Weather Service organization and our responsibilities, severe weather safety, and basic severe weather meteorology including how thunderstorms, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flash floods form.

Anyone can become a severe weather spotter for the National Weather Service. SKYWARN training is free and open to the public.

For further information, you can call the National Weather Service at (716) 565-0204 ext. 223.

Registration is required. The registration form link and more information about SKYWARN is available on the NWS Buffalo website at http://www.weather.gov/buf/Skywarn 

On the Web:
NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov
National Weather Service: http://www.weather.gov
National Weather Service in Buffalo: http://www.weather.gov/buf