Weather Spotters

We are currently seeking volunteers to be SKYWARN Weather Spotters for the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Sacramento. Weather Spotters act as the eyes of the National Weather Service, reporting severe weather to forecasters to improve warnings and forecasts. We are especially interested in people who live at higher elevations (2000 feet and above) and in rural areas. These areas have few spotters, while urban locations are generally well covered.

Spotter training classes are offered periodically at various locations in the area. The training is taught by National Weather Service forecasters and takes approximately 2 1/2 hours. The classes are generally offered on week-nights. We strongly encourage volunteers to attend these classes to become weather spotters.

The online Spotter Exam can be taken by those who wish to become weather spotters, when in-person training classes are not immediately available. It is recommended that volunteers take training classes when they are offered, for more comprehensive training in weather spotting. If you take the online exam, please review the educational resources first, including the Basic Spotter Guide. Additional information will be mailed after you pass the exam.

After becoming a spotter, please sign up for the E-Spotter program below. This allows information to be sent through the Internet. Please be aware that these reports will not immediately notify the forecasters, so they may not be seen until several days after the event. Telephone calls to our toll free number (available in spotter packages), should be used for urgent information. Less critical and timely information (for example, rainfall amounts less than half an inch, very small hail pellets) can be sent as E-Spotter reports.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Sacramento will be conducting Weather Spotter Training for Butte County residents on Saturday, May 19th. This training will enable interested adults to be become volunteers for Project SKYWARN™, which helps keep local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service. The training is free and will take place from 10:00 am and 12:00 PM at the Veterans Memorial Hall, 554 Rio Lindo Ave, in Chico. This is a special event, and will have an additional presentation covering the unusually strong and long lived tornadoes which struck the Butte/Glenn County area a year ago, on May 25th. If you need more information on the training, send an e-mail to Eric.Kurth@noaa.gov.

We will also be conducting spotter training for Stanislaus County residents. The training is free and will take place from 10:00 am and 12:00 PM at the Regional Fire Training Center, 1220 Fire Science Lane in Modesto. This training is co-sponsored by the Modesto Regional Fire Authority and Stanislaus ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services). Residents outside of the county are also welcome to attend.