Storm Spotter Training

In Oklahoma, it's not a question of if severe storms and tornadoes will threaten, but when. To help get ready for the upcoming severe weather season, the National Weather Service will conduct storm spotter training in Little Axe on Friday, February 11th beginning at 6:30 PM.

The training is free and open to the public, and will be held at the Little Axe Community Center.Rick Smith, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Norman Forecast office will conduct the training, which is designed to give storm spotters the information they need to be able to safely observe severe storms, and to report their observations to city officials and the National Weather Service. Even with radar and other technological advances over recent years, forecasters at the National Weather Service still rely heavily on trained storm spotters to provide ground truth information. The presentation will also include information on storm safety, severe weather climatology and other interesting facts related to springtime weather in Oklahoma.

One way for the National Weather Service to gather the information from trained storm spotters is through the local office of emergency management and the amateur radio volunteers that support emergency operations. The South Canadian Amateur Radio Society supports the local area. You can learn more about amateur radio by visiting their web page at www.w5nor.org or by calling the Norman Office of Emergency Management at (405) 292-9780.

David Grizzle, the City of Norman Emergency Management Coordinator, will also be available to address any questions or concerns regarding severe weather operations for the City of Norman and to provide information on how citizens can be a part of the severe weather operations effort.

For more information concerning the storm spotter training contact Pam Sharp at the Little Axe Community Center (405) 292-9770 or David Grizzle at the Norman Office of Emergency Management (405) 292-9780