Learn To Watch The Weather At WeHa Event

Town of West Hartford

WEST HARTFORD, CT — New Englanders are known for loving to watch the weather, but the West Hartford Emergency Management Office wants folks to do more than just look outside.

It's offering residents a course to teach them to "observe" the weather and look at it in a way that just might save lives.

The West Hartford Office of Emergency Management will host the National Weather Service’s SKYWARN Spotter Training Class on Tuesday, May 30, at the Elmwood Community Center,1106 New Britain Ave., from 6 to 8 p.m.

SKYWARN (https://www.weather.gov/box//skywarn) trains storm spotters to know what to look for in severe weather and how to report their observations back to the NWS.

They play a vital role in verifying with their observations what the NWS is seeing on radar and satellite during stormy weather and help to keep their local community safe during severe weather.

The NWS invites anyone with an interest in public service to join the SKYWARN program.

Volunteers include police and fire personnel, dispatchers, EMS workers, public utility workers and other concerned residents.

Individuals affiliated with hospitals, schools, churches, and nursing homes or who have a responsibility for protecting others are also encouraged to become spotters.

Participants will learn:

• Basics of thunderstorm development
• Fundamentals of storm structure
• Identifying potential severe weather features
• Information to report
• How to report information
• Basic severe weather safety

This is currently the only class being offered in Connecticut and is open to anyone interested and participants do not have to be a West Hartford resident to attend.

The class is free, but pre-registration is required.

Those interested in attending can register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/west-hartford-skywarn-weather-spotter-training-tickets-597918258607 For more information contact the West Hartford Office of Emergency Management at 860-561-8310 or OEM@westhartfordct.gov.