Weather Spotting is an integral part of Emergency Services. Most local larger scale emergencies are due to changes in the environment around us; ice-storms, flooding, winds, fires, etc. The Spokane County ARES - RACES groups have many members who also are qualifed in Weather Spotting which assists the National Weather Service (NWS) in building more accurate weather-picture of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. These Amateur radio operators receive simple training from the NWS either in person at a public session, or via an on-line course. The training consists of helping people learn the differences in weather conditions, what to look for, and how to accurately report it to the NWS.
Being a Weather Spotter is not a requirement to be a member of ARES - RACES, but it is encouraged.
SKYWARN® spotters provide essential information for all types of weather hazards, the focus is reporting on severe local thunderstorms. In an average year, the United States experiences more than 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes. The primary representative for SKYWARN® is Mary Wiese (AA7RT), and her assistant is Bob Wiese (W7UWC).
If you wish to make contact with Mary or Bob, please use the Contact Form.
Click here for more information on Weather Spotter Training.
Go directly to the On-Line Training.
Report Severe Weather conditions to the NWS using their facebook page.