SKYWARN AT NWS WAKEFIELD VA
The Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in Wakefield VA serves 51 counties and 15 independent cities in central and eastern Virginia, northeast North Carolina, and the lower Maryland Eastern Shore. While the capabilities of the WSR-88D (NEXRAD) have enabled us to better detect severe weather phenomena, and provide increased warning lead time, we still need ground truth to supplement our warnings. This is where you come in! We need storm spotters to provide us with vital ground truth data, especially in rural areas of our county warning area. WFO Wakefield offers training sessions throughout the year, but are most often conducted in the spring and fall. For UPCOMING training sessions, click here. Those municipalities interested in scheduling a SKYWARN session can drop a note to the NWS Wakefield Outreach team. The NWS Wakefield SKYWARN network has grown to more than 2000 members. Both Basic and Advanced SKYWARN training is free of charge and is open to the public. BASIC SKYWARN training is HIGHLY recommended before taking the ADVANCED SKYWARN session. To become a SKYWARN volunteer, you must meet the following requirements: 1) Attend the "BASIC SKYWARN class". Basic training lasts about 2 hours, and provides the student with materials and background necessary to be a spotter. FOLLOW-UP TRAINING IS REQUIRED EVERY 3 YEARS TO MAINTAIN ACTIVE SKYWARN STATUS. Click to get a copy of the Basic Spotter's Field Guide here. (File is large...and may take a few minutes to download!!!) 2) Complete the SKYWARN Sign-Up Form - These forms provided at SKYWARN training give the NWS information we use internally to contact you during severe weather. In addition, your address information allows us to plot your location on our radar displays for real-time geographical access. Please note that we'll never share your personal information with anyone! 3) Attend the "ADVANCED SKYWARN class" (optional)- The ADVANCED SKYWARN session we offer builds upon principles taught in the BASIC session. Click to get a copy of the ADVANCED Spotter's Field Guide here. (File is large...and may take a few minutes to download!!!) Thank you for your interest in the SKYWARN program! What is SKYWARN Reporting Criteria? Click Here. |
ADVANCED SKYWARN  |
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| August, 2008 - | |||
| Day | City, State | Time |
Location |
| 6 (Wed) | Highland Springs, VA (Henrico County) |
6:00pm |
Henrico Theatre, 305 E. Nine Mile Rd. To Pre-Register, e-mail Anna McRay or call 804-501-7183 |
BASIC SKYWARN |
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| May, 2008 - Upcoming | |||
| Day | City, State | Time |
Location |
| 14 (Wed) | Chesapeake, VA (City of Chesapeake) |
6:00pm |
Fire Headquarters, 304 Albemarle Dr., To Pre-Register, e-mail Ruth Bigio or call 757-482-7513 |
| 20(Tue) | Louisa, VA (Louisa County) |
6:00pm |
1 Woolfork Ave, To Pre-Register, e-mail Mike Schlemmer or call 540-967-3491 |
| June, 2008 - Upcoming | |||
| Day | City, State | Time |
Location |
| 12 (Thu) | Richmond, VA (City of Richmond) |
6:00pm |
City of Richmond Police Training Academy (Training Room), 1202 W.Graham Rd. To Pre-Register, e-mail Anthony McLean or call 804-646-2504 |
| 18 (Thu) | Providence Forge, VA (New Kent County) |
6:00pm |
New Kent Conference Center, 11301 Pocahontas Trail. To Pre-Register, e-mail Spencer Cheatham or call 804-966-9618, ext.3. |
| 19 (Thu) | Hampton, VA (City of Hampton) |
6:00pm |
22 Lincoln St., City Hall, City Council Chambers, 8th Flr. To Pre-Register, e-mail Richelle Wallace or call 757-727-1070 |
NWS Wakefield Basic SKYWARN Training Presentations
Part
1 (3.3MB PDF File) and Part 2
(4.0MB PDF File).
(File is large...and may take a few minutes to download)
Click
this button to access the National Skywarn Homepage
Click here for an on-line Storm Spotter's Guide from the National Severe Storms Laboratory
Click here to learn more about the Community Collaborative Rain, Snow and Hail network, CoCoRaHS!
Click here for the NWS Wakefield Severe Weather page
For information on how your community can prepare
for hazardous weather, click
here to go to the National Weather Service StormReady site.