Skywarn spotter training
Skywarn is the volunteer severe-weather spotter network the National Weather Service depends on. Training is free, quick, and gets you an official spotter ID.
What Skywarn is
Skywarn is a program run by the National Weather Service that trains volunteer severe-weather spotters. Trained spotters call in ground-truth reports of hail size, wind damage, funnel clouds, and tornadoes — filling in the gaps between what radar can see and what is actually happening at the surface.
There are approximately 350,000 trained Skywarn spotters across the US.
What the training covers
- Thunderstorm anatomy (updraft, downdraft, RFD, mesocyclone)
- Cloud types and features (wall cloud, shelf cloud, mammatus, scud)
- Tornado identification and lifecycle
- Hail measurement (with real-life size comparisons)
- Straight-line wind damage indicators
- How to safely observe storms
- How to report to your local NWS office
- What NWS forecasters actually need to hear
How to sign up
- Visit weather.gov/skywarn or your local NWS office site
- Find the "Skywarn training" or "Spotter training" page
- Look at the upcoming class calendar for your area
- Register — most classes are free; some require a small fee for materials
- Attend the 2-3 hour session (in-person or online)
- Receive your Skywarn spotter ID number
Online vs in-person
Many NWS offices now offer online Skywarn training via Webex or Zoom, especially during off-season. Content is the same. In-person is better for the Q&A and for meeting your local Skywarn coordinator.
How to report
Each NWS office has a specific way they want reports:
- Direct phone call to the office
- Local Skywarn amateur radio net (147.xxx frequency)
- mPING app — smartphone reporting
- NWSChat — for verified spotters and broadcast meteorologists
- Twitter/X to your local NWS office handle (@NWSNorman, @NWSJacksonMS, etc.)
Being a good spotter
- Report facts, not interpretations. "Golf-ball hail" beats "big hail."
- Include your location — county and cross streets minimum.
- Report the time of the observation in local time.
- Do not put yourself at risk to get a report.
- Continue to observe from a safe distance if you can.