It's time to get prepared, spring storms and tornado season are sneaking up on us and they will be here before we know it.

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You probably know somebody who hops in their car the minute the first raindrop or tiny bit of hail hits the ground and starts chasing storms.  You have seen the damage on Meteorologist's vehicles after getting caught in the middle of a storm.

Have you ever wanted to do that, or at least know how a storm works, how to spot it, and determine if that cloud is really a tornado?

Now you can, you can learn to be a storm spotter, and the best thing about it, the classes are free and offered by the National Weather Service.

Here's what you can expect to learn in the two-hour class:

  • How to interpret radar signatures and different features on the radar.
  • Learn some of the precursors to when a tornado is getting close to forming with things like rotating wall clouds, and other signs.
  • Learn different cloud structures and what they mean.
  • Learn how to report those things to the NWS and why it's important to be able to help spot storms.

According to Mike Gittinger with the National Weather Service,

We take radar into account but a lot of times we often will take spotter reports into account because they'll see some things better and more clearly to help supplement what we're seeing in radar.

They offer classes in most towns in the Texas Panhandle and some in OK.

    • Wednesday, February 22, 2023, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Beaver County Emergency Management Beaver County Fair Pavilion - 1107 Douglas Ave. Beaver, OK 73932
    • Thursday, February 23, 2023, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Cimarron County Emergency Management Boise City PTC Building - 115 W Main St. Boise City, OK 73933
    • Thursday, February 23, 2023,6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Texas County Emergency Management Building - 2906 Tumbleweed Dr. Guymon, OK 73942
    • Tuesday, February 28, 2023, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Moore County Emergency Management Moore County Community Building - 1600 S Maddox Ave. Dumas, TX 79029
    • Wednesday, March 1, 2023, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Vega Fire Department - 901 Davis St. Vega, TX 79092
    • Tuesday, March 7, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Deaf Smith Emergency Management Hereford Civic Center - 1004 West 15th St. Hereford, TX 79045
    • Wednesday, March 8, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Canyon Fire Department Cole Community Center - 300 16th St. Canyon, TX 79015
    • Monday, March 20, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM CERT - Amateur Radio Group Perryton Sheriff Office Training Center - 511 South Ash St. Perryton, TX 79070
    • Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Shamrock Fire Department Fire Station - 400 N Main St. Shamrock, TX 79079
    • Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Emergency Management Dome and Convention Center - 1113 Bulldog Blvd. Borger, TX 79007
    • Thursday, March 23, 2023, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Dalhart Fire Department - 110 Denrock Ave. Dalhart, TX 79022
    • Monday, March 27, 2023, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Collingsworth County Emergency Management Wellington Fire Station - 1504 8th St. Wellington, TX 79095
    • Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Lipscomb County County Court House - 105 Oak St. Lipscomb, TX 79056
    • Thursday March 30, 2023 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Sherman County EMC Stratford EMS Building - 1109 Beaver St. Stratford, TX 79084

The Amarillo class is still pending and will be posted to the online schedule as soon as it is scheduled.

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Tornado and Wall Cloud Pictures From Monday, May 17th, 2021