Spotter trainings are now online, while community weather sessions will be held in person to boost awareness and safety.
I got into spotter training about eight years ago. It’s pretty cool because trained spotters report severe weather to the National Weather Service. I even take a refresher course every year. It’s fun to be in a room full of other weather enthusiasts. But guess what? This year, all the spotter sessions are online.
Mike Bardou, a meteorologist with the NWS in Chicago, mentioned they’re trying something new this year. They want to reach more people and raise awareness about weather safety. So, the in-person sessions will focus on local hazardous weather and how to stay safe during those events.
The community weather preparedness trainings kick off next month. The advanced spotter trainings will still be virtual. Mike said these are for folks who want to dive deeper into storm spotting and learn more about thunderstorms.
This year is kind of a test run to see how well this new approach works. They’re hoping it helps build a Weather Ready Nation. If you want more details, check out weather.gov/lot/spotter_talk.
