Edwin L. "Bo" Wriston, Director
Wirt County Office of Emergency Services
Elizabeth, WV Phone 304-629-3735
Wirt County OES will be hosting a National Weather Service SKYWARN "Weather Spotter" Class on Wednesday, June 26 at the Wirt County Courthouse. Start time is 6:30 p.m. The class is free and open to the public.
Due to fiscal constraints, NWS Charleston's travel/outreach budget is limited this year. As such, this might very likely be the one and only Spotter class that NWS can instruct this year for our area. As such, we offered to hold it here in Wirt as it is centrally located for Wood, Ritchie, Calhoun, Roane, and Jackson counties in an effort to make it as available as possible to residents of the MOV.
The effects of severe weather are felt every year by many Americans. To obtain critical weather information, NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, established SKYWARN® with partner organizations. SKYWARN® is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.
Although SKYWARN® spotters provide essential information for all types of weather hazards, the main responsibility of a SKYWARN® spotter is to identify and describe severe local storms. In the average year, 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes occur across the United States. These events threatened lives and property.
Since the program started in the 1970s, the information provided by SKYWARN® spotters, coupled with Doppler radar technology, improved satellite and other data, has enabled NWS to issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash floods.
SKYWARN® storm spotters are part of the ranks of citizens who form the Nation's first line of defense against severe weather. There can be no finer reward than to know that their efforts have given communities the precious gift of time--seconds and minutes that can help save lives.
Who is Eligible?
NWS encourages anyone with an interest in public service and access to communication, such HAM radio, to join the SKYWARN® program. Volunteers include police and fire personnel, dispatchers, EMS workers, public utility workers and other concerned private citizens. Individuals affiliated with hospitals, schools, churches, nursing homes or who have a responsibility for protecting others are also encouraged to become a spotter. |
