For those of you who are interested in becoming an volunteer storm spotter here in Alabama, the first training session of the year will be held next week, on Tuesday January 25 in Jasper. The session is open to anyone interested, and there is no cost. The training session will be at the CHS building in downtown Jasper at 205 19th Street East.
The event is sponsored by the Walker County Amateur Radio Club, and if you are a licensed ham radio operator you can get additional information as you come into town on the 146.64 MHz repeater (no PL tone required). Jason Wright, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the Birmingham National Weather Service will be the speaker. Brian Peters of the ABC 33/40 weather team was the WCM for the Birmingham NWS office for many years before he joined us last year. We plan on having Brian teach both basic and advanced storm spotting each year at our Storm Alert XTREME show, which will be sometime in October at a location to be announced.
For those of you who have been trained before, it is always good to get a refresher course. In fact, I learn something new just about every time I hear Brian speak. At SKYWARN training sessions you will learn more about the atmospheric processes involved in thunderstorm formation, and small scale features in severe thunderstorms that are important to identify. The bottom line is that you will never look at a thunderstorm the same again after you have been trained.
You will also need your amateur radio license to get seriously involved in storm spotting; most local amateur radio clubs hold license classes, or you can simply get the study guide for the fairly simple multiple choice exam that is required. The communications gear needed is relatively inexpensive, and you will meet some wonderful people in the hobby.
The event is sponsored by the Walker County Amateur Radio Club, and if you are a licensed ham radio operator you can get additional information as you come into town on the 146.64 MHz repeater (no PL tone required). Jason Wright, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the Birmingham National Weather Service will be the speaker. Brian Peters of the ABC 33/40 weather team was the WCM for the Birmingham NWS office for many years before he joined us last year. We plan on having Brian teach both basic and advanced storm spotting each year at our Storm Alert XTREME show, which will be sometime in October at a location to be announced.
For those of you who have been trained before, it is always good to get a refresher course. In fact, I learn something new just about every time I hear Brian speak. At SKYWARN training sessions you will learn more about the atmospheric processes involved in thunderstorm formation, and small scale features in severe thunderstorms that are important to identify. The bottom line is that you will never look at a thunderstorm the same again after you have been trained.
You will also need your amateur radio license to get seriously involved in storm spotting; most local amateur radio clubs hold license classes, or you can simply get the study guide for the fairly simple multiple choice exam that is required. The communications gear needed is relatively inexpensive, and you will meet some wonderful people in the hobby.