skywarn

What is SKYWARN?

SKYWARN is the National Weather Service (NWS) program of trained volunteer weather spotters. Storm spotters come from many walks of life, including firefighters, law enforcement, amateur radio operators, and the public. SKYWARN storm spotters provide important ground truth information to NWS meteorologists who make critical warning decisions during severe weather, and help the NWS perform its primary mission to save lives and property.

Note: This is not storm chaser training. A storm spotter is a volunteer service conducted primarily from fixed locations such as from home, work, or around your community. The National Weather Service does not endorse or encourage the use of storm spotter training for storm chasing.

📢 Storm Spotter Resources & Quick References

Keep an Eye Out	What to Report
🌩️ Cloud Features	Report: Rotating wall clouds, funnel clouds, and tornadoes. Important: Confirm rotation and report direction/distance. Do not get tricked by low-hanging scud or shelf clouds.
💨 Damaging Winds	Report: What was damaged and the extent of damage. Indicators: Snapped/uprooted healthy trees, downed power poles/lines, structural damage.
🧊 Hail	Report: Any size. Severe threshold is 1" (quarter-sized) or larger. Reference: Report the largest size. Use coins, sports balls, a ruler, or caliper for measurement.
🌧️ Flooding	Report: Notable or unusual flooding only. Focus: Impassable roads, property/life threats, and rapidly rising waterways.
❄️ Snow	Report: Depth of snow before any melting occurs. Essential: This one can be tricky due to factors that can result in inaccurate measurements, so it's best to be prepared before snow begins. Set up a board, such as plywood, baking sheet, cutting board, or storage bin lid, away from trees or structures. Place a marker so you can find it if snow-covered. You may be able to measure from the surface of an elevated deck or flat hand rail if the wind is light. The key is to avoid under-measuring due to melting on some types of surfaces or over-measuring by sticking a ruler into grass. Take the average of three measurements and round to the nearest tenth of an inch. ➡️ Tips

Examples of Reportable Criteria

Reference imagery for real-time reporting. From left to right: Rotating Wall Cloud/Funnel Cloud/Tornado, Hail, Significant Wind/Wind Damage, and Flash Flooding.

Storm spotter visual examples: Tornado, Hail, Wind Damage, and Flooding

Reporting Guidelines

DO report what YOU observed:

What, When, and Where.
Specific damage or observation, and extent.
Be concise and factual.

DON'T report:

What you see on your radar app.
Extreme lightning or a mean-looking sky.
Minor events (ponding, light objects blown around).

Good Report Example: "I'm at the intersection of Highway 70 and Highway 31 in Calera. We had golf ball-sized hail and a couple pine trees blown down with the storm around 5:25 PM."

How to Report Severe Weather in central alabama

Phone: Call 205-664-3010 and select option 2. This is the best way to make urgent reports!
Social Media: Message or tag us via Facebook or X.
Central Alabama storm spotter chat: Must complete storm spotter training for access.
NWS Birmingham webpage: Storm Report Form.

🏅 Bonus points: Please include photos or videos with your social media reports if possible!

📚 Additional Learning Materials

NWS JetStream Weather School NWS Weather Spotter's Field Guide NWS Cloud Chart ALERT Amateur Radio Blog

🎓 Ready to Learn? View Our Storm Spotter Training On-Demand ⤵️

finished the training?

After reviewing the slides above, test your knowledge to earn your
Storm Spotter Certificate of Completion.

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NWS Alabama County Warning Area Map Expanded

🗓️ Free In-person Storm Spotter Classes

Date	Time (Central)	County / City	Location
Thursday, August 13, 2026	6:00 PM - 7:00 PM	Dallas / Selma	Wallace Community College Selma Hank Sanders Building - Room 112