The effects of severe weather are felt every year by many Americans. In most years, thunderstorms, tornadoes and lightning cause hundreds of injuries and deaths and billions of dollars in property and crop damages. To obtain critical weather information, the National Weather Service (NWS) established SKYWARN® with partner organizations. SKYWARN® is a citizen volunteer program with between 350,000 and 400,000 trained severe weather spotters. SKYWARN® storm spotters are citizens who form the nation's first line of defense against severe weather. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.

Although SKYWARN® spotters provide essential information for all types of weather hazards, the main responsibility of a SKYWARN® spotter is to identify and describe severe local storms. In an average year, the the United States experiences more than 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes.

Since the program started in the 1970s, the information provided by SKYWARN® spotters, coupled with Doppler radar technology, improved satellite and other data, has enabled NWS to issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash floods. Storm spotters play a critical role because they can see things that radar and other technological tools cannot, and this ground truth is critical in helping the NWS perform our primary mission, to save lives and property.

Many people ask how they can become a member of SKYWARN. In most cases, SKYWARN isn't really something you join, but instead is a concept based on having citizen volunteers help their community and the NWS by observing and reporting hazardous weather occurring in their area. Anyone can be a storm spotter and submit reports directly to the NWS. If you are interested in becoming a member of an official local SKYWARN storm spotter network, you'll probably want to contact your city or county/parish emergency management office for information. Many communities have organized networks of storm spotters, often made up of amateur radio operators, fire departments, law enforcement or other volunteers. These local networks may have very specific training and membership requirements, so check with your local officials to see how you might be able to get involved.

Every year, NWS Shreveport conducts SKYWARN classes within our coverage area of 48 counties/parishes in Southeast Oklahoma, Southwest and South Central Arkansas, Northwest, Northeast, and Central Louisiana, and East Texas. These classes are usually held in October and November and again between January and the end of March. A listing of upcoming SKYWARN classes can be found under the Training Schedule tab above. Each class is free and open to all ages. There is no pre-registration (except for virtual classes), and you do not have to be a resident of a specific county/parish to attend any of our SKYWARN classes.

The SKYWARN presentation covers severe thunderstorm characteristics, cloud formations, identifying the different threats associated with severe storms, how to report, and basic weather safety. We strongly recommend everyone attend a SKYWARN presentation at least once a year to refresh on these concepts. We do not issue Spotter IDs.

How do I become a member of SKYWARN?
In most cases, SKYWARN isn't really something you join, but instead is a concept of using volunteer storm spotters to provide critical information to local communities and to the NWS, and that’s what has driven the storm spotter program since it began decades ago. Your community may have an organized storm spotter network that uses the name SKYWARN, and you should contact your local emergency manager to find out what formal spotter networks are in place near you, and how you might be able to get involved.

I took the online SKYWARN courses offered by COMET/Meted. Does that qualify me as a local spotter for your office.
Yes, taking the national online course qualifies you to report to our office as a trained SKYWARN spotter. We know many people who wish to be help and to be a storm spotter aren't always able to attend one of our in-person classes. COMET is a cooperative program between the National Weather Service and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). Anyone who completes this online course, passes the associated quiz with a score of 70% or better, and watches a video provided by the National Weather Service in Blacksburg will be qualified as a trained SKYWARN spotter. Please click here to proceed to the training. Please click here for the NWS Blacksburg video.

When you have completed the training, passed the test with a 70% or better, and watched the video, please email our Warning Coordination Meteorologist. Also, in your email, in addition to a small note stating you completed the training and video, please include the following:

What is my spotter ID number? Do I get an ID card?
NWS Shreveport does not issue spotter ID numbers of spotter ID cards. If you moved here from an area covered by another NWS office and they issued a spotter ID number and/or a spotter ID card, you can let us know when you report severe weather to us or register as a spotter in our area.

Do I need an amateur radio license to be a storm spotter?
Not necessarily. It depends on your community and how involved you want to be. You don't have to be an amateur radio operator to make a severe weather report, but many spotter networks are made up of dedicated amateur radio operators who use radio to coordinate their local network and relay reports to the NWS. If you're interested in learning more about amateur radio, visit this site.

When are your SKYWARN classes?
We host numerous SKYWARN classes between January and the end of March and again in October and November. You do not need to be a resident of the county/parish the class is in to attend. The schedule can be found here.

Where do I register for a SKYWARN class?
NWS Shreveport does not require registration for any of our in-person SKYWARN classes, unless requested by the host. Some local groups or organizations may want their members to register with them before they attend, so we suggest you check with your group leader(s) if you're attending as part of a group. We will ask that you sign in at the class so we can get a record of how many people attended.

For virtual classes (not streamed on Facebook Live), registration is required so a unique link can be emailed to you that allows you to join at the date and time of the webinar (class). All registration links for virtual SKYWARN classes can be found on our Training Schedule page.

What is presented at a SKYWARN class?
The SKYWARN class covers topics related to severe thunderstorm characteristics, cloud formations, identifying the different threats associated with severe storms, how to report severe weather, some basic radar interpretation, and basic weather safety. We strongly recommend everyone attend a SKYWARN presentation at least once every two years.