SKYWARN® and severe weather: watch, warning, and how to get involved

Weather radar is powerful, but it looks at the sky from miles away and it cannot see a funnel cloud touch down, measure the hail on your lawn, or tell a warning meteorologist that water is over the road on Route 9. For that, the National Weather Service relies on people on the ground - a volunteer network called SKYWARN®. This page explains what it is, what the weather terms actually mean, how to find your local spotter net, and how to join. The training is free, and you do not need a radio license to start.

What SKYWARN is

SKYWARN® is a volunteer program run by the National Weather Service with local partner organizations. Trained spotters report what they see - tornadoes, funnel clouds, damaging wind, large hail, flooding - to their local NWS forecast office, giving the meteorologists ground truth that radar alone can't provide. Those reports feed directly into the warnings that reach everyone else's weather radio and phone. There are between 350,000 and 400,000 trained spotters across the country, and the NWS actively wants more.

Spotters are not storm chasers. The job is to observe from a safe place and report accurately - not to drive toward the storm. Good spotting is boring on purpose.

Watch vs. warning vs. advisory - the words that matter

These three words are the heart of weather safety, and mixing them up is the most common - and most dangerous - mistake people make.

• Watch - conditions are favorable for severe weather to develop. The ingredients are in place; be ready. A Tornado Watch means the atmosphere could produce tornadoes in the next several hours over a wide area. You don't need to take cover yet, but you should know where you'd go and keep a weather radio on.
• Warning - the hazard is happening or is imminent in your immediate area. Act now. A Tornado Warning means a tornado has been spotted or shows on radar - take shelter immediately, do not wait to confirm it yourself.
• Advisory - a less severe situation that can still cause trouble if you're careless: a Wind Advisory, a Winter Weather Advisory. Use caution, adjust plans.

The reliable memory trick: watch = the ingredients are on the counter; warning = it's already in the oven. A watch says be ready; a warning says go.

Finding your local SKYWARN net

Here's the part that surprises newcomers: there is no single national SKYWARN frequency. Severe-weather nets are organized locally, almost always on amateur radio 2-meter repeaters, and coordinated by area radio clubs and the emergency-communications volunteers (ARES) working with the nearest NWS office. When severe weather threatens, a net control operator "activates" the net and spotters check in with reports.

To find yours:

1. Ask your local NWS Weather Forecast Office - each office coordinates spotter activity for its area and can point you to the local SKYWARN group. Find your office through the weather radio finder, which identifies the station and office covering your county.
2. Contact a nearby amateur radio club or ARES group - they run the nets and will know the exact repeater frequency, offset, and tone.
3. Search a repeater directory for "SKYWARN" or "weather net" in your county - many list the designated severe-weather repeater.

Because the net rides on the ham bands, reporting by radio means holding an amateur license - which is a lower bar than most people think: the Technician exam is 35 public questions with no Morse code, and a simple handheld 2-meter radio is enough to check into a local net.

How to get involved - free, starting today

You do not have to key a microphone to be part of this. Here is the ladder, from zero to active spotter:

1. Take the free spotter training. The NWS offers SKYWARN spotter classes - about two hours, in person or online - covering thunderstorm basics, how to identify severe features, what to report, and how to stay safe. There is no cost and no experience required. Search "[your state] SKYWARN training" or ask your local NWS office.
2. Get a weather radio and know your county code. A SAME weather radio wakes you for the warnings that matter; look up your county's frequency and alert code and program it. This is the one piece of gear every spotter and every household should have.
3. Learn what actually gets reported. The NWS wants specific things: a tornado or funnel cloud, hail about the size of a quarter or larger, wind gusts near 58 mph or any wind damage, and flooding. You can report these to the NWS by phone or online even without a radio license.
4. If you want to report by radio, get licensed. A Technician license and an inexpensive 2-meter handheld put you on the local SKYWARN net, where your reports go straight to the people writing the warnings. Many spotters start exactly here.

Storm spotting is one of the few forms of emergency preparedness where you protect your whole community, not just your own household - and it begins with a free two-hour class and a weather radio.

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