SKYWARN SPOTTER PROGRAM

The impacts of hazardous weather are experienced by many Americans each year. To obtain critical weather information, NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS), part of the US Department of Commerce, established SKYWARN with partner organizations. SKYWARN is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep our local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.

Doppler Radar Coverage

This area is on the border of three NWS offices. Marion County is a part of the Jacksonville area. Lake County is a part of the Melbourne (southeast of Orlando) area, and Sumter is a part of the Ruskin (south of Tampa). Each location has Doppler radio; however this area is some distance from all three radar sites and the radar is not very effective below 5,000 feet above sea level. This means that the weather offices can see that something may be happening and has to depend on the SKYWARN spotter program to tell them what is happing. The spotter will then contact the NWS office and the County Emergency Manger in regarding high winds, hail, large amounts of rain, and tornadoes. This information is incorporated into their information and reports are issued to AM/FM radio stations, TV stations, weather radios, and local/state emergency management.

Transferring your Skywarn ID from another State to Florida

There is a SKYWARN coordinator for each NWS office. On the NWS Office page, you will find the name and a way to contact that individual. Please contact that person with your current SKYWARN information and expect a reply within two weeks.

Skywarn at the Ruskin Office on the Web

Web Site: http: weather.gov/tampa/skywarn

Twitter: @NWSTampaBay, check out #flwx hash tag

Do you have a weather station?

Citizen Weather Observer Program (http://wxqa.com)
The Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP) is a public-private partnership with three goals: 1) to collect weather data contributed by citizens; 2) to make these data available for weather services and homeland security; and 3) to provide feedback to the data contributors so they have the tools to check and improve their data quality
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow Network (http://www.cocorahs.org)
Volunteers working together to measure precipitation across the nation.

The Spotter Network (SN, https://www.spotternetwork.org) is a system that utilizes storm spotter and chaser reports of location and severe weather in a centralized framework for use by coordinators such as emergency managers, SKYWARN and related spotter organizations, and the National Weather Service.

Spotters who register must first pass an online test of storm structure and basic meteorology in order to use the system. All reports are also reviewed for quality control purposes.

This network may, also, be used for quickly passing severe weather information. For Sumter County the member network is Tampa Bay, FL (NWS/TBW).

Sumter SKYWARN is a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador. The Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador™ initiative is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) effort to formally recognize NOAA partners who are improving the nation’s readiness, responsiveness, and overall resilience against extreme weather, water, and climate events. As a WRN Ambassador, partners commit to working with NOAA and other Ambassadors to strengthen national resilience against extreme weather. In effect, the WRN Ambassador initiative helps unify the efforts across government, non-profits, academia, and private industry toward making the nation more ready, responsive, and resilient against extreme environmental hazards. Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) is a strategic outcome where society’s response should be equal to the risk from all extreme weather, water, and climate hazards.

The WRN Ambassador initiative is a:

WRN Ambassadors serve a pivotal role in affecting societal change — helping to build a nation that is ready, responsive, and resilient to the impacts of extreme weather and water events.
To be officially recognized as a WRN Ambassador, an organization must commit to:

Promoting Weather-Ready Nation messages and themes to their stakeholders;
Engaging with NOAA personnel on potential collaboration opportunities;
Sharing their success stories of preparedness and resiliency;
Serving as an example by educating employees on workplace preparedness

As a WRN Ambassador, you will serve as a change agent and leader in your community. You will inspire others to be better informed and prepared, helping to minimize or even avoid the impacts of these natural disasters.
To support your efforts, NOAA can:

Provide outreach content about creating a Weather-Ready Nation;
Explore innovative approaches for collaboration with your organization;
Assist with StormReady®/ TsunamiReady™ opportunities for communities;
Recognize your organization as a WRN Ambassador; and
Share the WRN Ambassador logo for your use.

Building a Weather-Ready Nation requires more than government alone. It requires the entire Weather Enterprise to provide information for better community, business, and personal decision making, and innovative partnerships across all segments of society. We must involve everyone in an effort to move people – and society – toward heeding warnings, taking action, and influencing their circles of family, friends, and social network to act appropriately.

The WRN Ambassador initiative is the connecting hub of a vast network of federal, state, and local government agencies; emergency managers and city planners; researchers, the media; the insurance industry; nonprofit organizations; the private sector; and many others who are working together to address the impacts of extreme weather on daily life.

Together we will inform and empower communities, businesses, and people to make pre-event decisions that can be life-saving and prevent or limit devastating economic losses. We are a nation of many communities, and it is only through connected communities that we will achieve this goal.

Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador Brochure (pdf)

Amateur Radio Emergency Services Association (ARES) SKYWARN SPOTTER PROGRAM "NOAA logo® are registered trademarks of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, used with permission.”
Home Activities Weather Radios Dept of Health Exercise FLA Hurrx Exercise Villages Hurricane Expo Hurricane Center Exercise ARES SET Exercise HFOH Expo HFOH Bike Rides ARES Clothing ARES Communications Plans ARES Contact ARES Events Planned ARES Membership ARES Mission Disaster Preparation Basic Disaster Concepts Disaster Risks Family Preparation Fires-Structural Hurricane Power Outage Severe Weather Tornadoes Emcomm Resources New Villages Resident Radio Frequencies SAR-Net Emcomm Organizations Emcomm Info Packet Personal Go Kit Comm Go-Kit Activation-What to Expect Deployment: Hospital Deployment: Shelter Deployment: POD6 Deployment: POD8 Deployment: Safety/Welfare Deployment: Windshield Survey Evening Debriefing Emcomm Training Auxcomm Class Guide to Nets Nets Scripts Emcomm Digital Tools APRS Systems Mobile Radio iPhone Android APRSISCE32 Trackers Winlink Global Email Winlink Express Winlink TNC's FLDigi Software Forms ICS Comm Forms HICS Comm Forms Incident Action Plan National Traffic System ARRL Form Links SKYWARN Spotter Program NWS Office Spotter Tools SKYWARN Net SKYWARN Training Weather Reference Weather Radio County Phone Alerts Surrounding Counties	Local Spotter Program The impacts of hazardous weather are experienced by many Americans each year. To obtain critical weather information, NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS), part of the US Department of Commerce, established SKYWARN with partner organizations. SKYWARN is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep our local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service. Doppler Radar Coverage This area is on the border of three NWS offices. Marion County is a part of the Jacksonville area. Lake County is a part of the Melbourne (southeast of Orlando) area, and Sumter is a part of the Ruskin (south of Tampa). Each location has Doppler radio; however this area is some distance from all three radar sites and the radar is not very effective below 5,000 feet above sea level. This means that the weather offices can see that something may be happening and has to depend on the SKYWARN spotter program to tell them what is happing. The spotter will then contact the NWS office and the County Emergency Manger in regarding high winds, hail, large amounts of rain, and tornadoes. This information is incorporated into their information and reports are issued to AM/FM radio stations, TV stations, weather radios, and local/state emergency management. Transferring your Skywarn ID from another State to Florida There is a SKYWARN coordinator for each NWS office. On the NWS Office page, you will find the name and a way to contact that individual. Please contact that person with your current SKYWARN information and expect a reply within two weeks. Skywarn at the Ruskin Office on the Web Web Site: http: weather.gov/tampa/skywarn Twitter: @NWSTampaBay, check out #flwx hash tag Do you have a weather station? Citizen Weather Observer Program (http://wxqa.com) The Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP) is a public-private partnership with three goals: 1) to collect weather data contributed by citizens; 2) to make these data available for weather services and homeland security; and 3) to provide feedback to the data contributors so they have the tools to check and improve their data quality Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow Network (http://www.cocorahs.org) Volunteers working together to measure precipitation across the nation. The Spotter Network (SN, https://www.spotternetwork.org) is a system that utilizes storm spotter and chaser reports of location and severe weather in a centralized framework for use by coordinators such as emergency managers, SKYWARN and related spotter organizations, and the National Weather Service. Spotters who register must first pass an online test of storm structure and basic meteorology in order to use the system. All reports are also reviewed for quality control purposes. This network may, also, be used for quickly passing severe weather information. For Sumter County the member network is Tampa Bay, FL (NWS/TBW). Sumter SKYWARN is a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador. The Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador™ initiative is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) effort to formally recognize NOAA partners who are improving the nation’s readiness, responsiveness, and overall resilience against extreme weather, water, and climate events. As a WRN Ambassador, partners commit to working with NOAA and other Ambassadors to strengthen national resilience against extreme weather. In effect, the WRN Ambassador initiative helps unify the efforts across government, non-profits, academia, and private industry toward making the nation more ready, responsive, and resilient against extreme environmental hazards. Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) is a strategic outcome where society’s response should be equal to the risk from all extreme weather, water, and climate hazards. The WRN Ambassador initiative is a: WRN Ambassadors serve a pivotal role in affecting societal change — helping to build a nation that is ready, responsive, and resilient to the impacts of extreme weather and water events. To be officially recognized as a WRN Ambassador, an organization must commit to: Promoting Weather-Ready Nation messages and themes to their stakeholders; Engaging with NOAA personnel on potential collaboration opportunities; Sharing their success stories of preparedness and resiliency; Serving as an example by educating employees on workplace preparedness As a WRN Ambassador, you will serve as a change agent and leader in your community. You will inspire others to be better informed and prepared, helping to minimize or even avoid the impacts of these natural disasters. To support your efforts, NOAA can: Provide outreach content about creating a Weather-Ready Nation; Explore innovative approaches for collaboration with your organization; Assist with StormReady®/ TsunamiReady™ opportunities for communities; Recognize your organization as a WRN Ambassador; and Share the WRN Ambassador logo for your use. Building a Weather-Ready Nation requires more than government alone. It requires the entire Weather Enterprise to provide information for better community, business, and personal decision making, and innovative partnerships across all segments of society. We must involve everyone in an effort to move people – and society – toward heeding warnings, taking action, and influencing their circles of family, friends, and social network to act appropriately. The WRN Ambassador initiative is the connecting hub of a vast network of federal, state, and local government agencies; emergency managers and city planners; researchers, the media; the insurance industry; nonprofit organizations; the private sector; and many others who are working together to address the impacts of extreme weather on daily life. Together we will inform and empower communities, businesses, and people to make pre-event decisions that can be life-saving and prevent or limit devastating economic losses. We are a nation of many communities, and it is only through connected communities that we will achieve this goal. Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador Brochure (pdf)
Last Update: 06/28/2018 © Copyright Sumter County ARES. All Rights Reserved.