Storm spotter training will be held Thursday, April 7 at 6:30 pm in Decorah at the Decorah Fire Station. Training is free and open to the public and lasts about 2 hours. Topics covered are listed below.
First Half
- Information about NWS La Crosse
- Importance of storm spotters
- Sources of weather information
- NWS outlooks / watches / warnings
- Spotter activation
- Thunderstorm basics: ingredients, formation, life cycle, types
- Squall lines / shelf clouds
- Supercells
- Hail
- Damaging winds: downbursts, bow echoes, derechos
- Flooding
- Lightning
Second Half
- Wall clouds
- Funnel clouds
- Tornadoes
- Storm spotting challenges
- Spotter reporting procedures & guidelines
- Spotter safety
- Interactive quiz
There are also several on-line storm spotter training modules and reference materials available:
- Role of the Skywarn Spotter - COMET Module
- Skywarn Spotter Convective Basics - COMET Module
- Spotter Course - COMET Module
- Weather Spotter's Field Guide (Updated June 2011) (PDF)