The National Weather Service Recognizes SKYWARN Spotters

Saturday, December 7th, has been designated SKYWARN Recognition Day.  This annual event is cosponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and the National Weather Service (NWS).    

SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) celebrates the contributions that volunteer SKYWARN spotters make to the NWS, and to the communities that they serve during significant weather events. 

There are an estimated 3000 trained SKYWARN storm spotters in the 32 counties of eastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas served by the NWS Office in Tulsa.  These volunteers come from all walks of life, but most are affiliated with their local law enforcement agencies or fire departments and a number of them are also amateur radio operators.  Most of these spotters attend annual training conducted by the NWS, which is designed to help them safely navigate severe storms and to correctly interpret what they see in the storm clouds. Their observations and timely reports are invaluable to our severe weather warning program and the National Weather Service Office in Tulsa thanks all of these volunteers for their hard work! 

If you are interested in becoming a storm spotter, you can contact our Warning Coordination Meteorologist for more information. 

There is a national storm spotter check-in map, which displays all the participating storm spotters across the country.  You can check-in anytime before 1800 December 7th. 

Visit the national SKYWARN Recognition Day website for more information about this event.