Steps to Becoming a Certified Weather Spotter

Last updated 6 hours ago. Our resources are updated regularly but please keep in mind that links, programs, policies, and contact information do change.

A weather spotter's description of hail or a flooded road can fill a gap in what radar tells forecasters. The National Weather Service (NWS) uses its SKYWARN volunteers' observations when making decisions about severe-weather warnings.

Becoming a useful spotter means learning which details to notice and how to get them to the local office in a safe, accurate report. Local offices control training recognition and reporting methods, so finishing a national online course may still leave a local class to take.

What being a weather spotter means

SKYWARN is nationwide, but recognition of its training is handled locally. The agency's instruction, The SKYWARN Weather Spotter Program, said there was no national training standard as of its August 17, 2022, effective date.

The instruction gives local NWS officials authority over the training curriculum, methods and recognition process. Treat a certificate as evidence of the training its issuer recognizes, and confirm the serving office's requirements rather than assuming a single national qualification.

SKYWARN volunteers report severe thunderstorms as well as heavy snow, heavy rain and flooding. Their contribution is an observation from the ground, rather than an attempt to replace the forecast.

NWS encourages anyone with an interest in public service to participate, including private citizens and people responsible for protecting others. Interest and careful observation are a useful starting point; the training supplies a shared way to describe what happened.

An amateur radio license is not required to make a weather report, although radio operators help many local networks relay reports. Before buying equipment, ask the local office which reporting methods it uses.

Cheyenne, Wyoming, opens its public spotter classes to people with no prior experience or training.

1. Find the office serving your area

To find the local NWS office, visit weather.gov and enter your location in the top left corner, as the agency instructs. The local office can help with upcoming classes when a training schedule is missing. Start there rather than choosing a class solely because its advertisement promises a certificate.

NWS says class schedules vary by office and training is not typically offered throughout the year. Albany, New York, lists in-person and virtual courses on its SKYWARN page and posts registration links as courses are finalized. Check the actual class listing for the format and sign-up instructions before making travel plans.

Albany recommends spotting for adults, welcomes middle and high school students at training with a parent or other adult, and normally awards certificates to participants age 16 or older. Its younger certificate applicants with special circumstances are evaluated case by case. For a younger volunteer, ask the office about attending training and participating safely instead of assuming that another office's age rule applies.

2. Choose training the local office accepts

NWS spotter training is free and typically lasts about two hours. The basic topics include thunderstorm development, storm structure and recognizing potentially severe weather features. Training also covers what to report, how to send a report and basic severe-weather safety. The practical skill is distinguishing a meaningful observation from a dramatic-looking cloud or an uncertain guess.

The free online MetEd SKYWARN course includes the Role of the SKYWARN Spotter and SKYWARN Spotter Convective Basics modules. Convective Basics covers severe-thunderstorm observation, reporting procedures, safety and identifying storm features. Use the national SKYWARN page to reach its online training, then confirm which courses the local office accepts.

Some offices also ask participants to take a local class to learn about weather unique to their area. The NWS New York office requires an office-hosted SKYWARN class to earn its certification and spotter identification card. An online course can be a good preparation step without completing the local enrollment process.

3. Complete enrollment and save the reporting instructions

After its class, the New York office assigns a spotter identification number and adds the participant to its SKYWARN database. Boston/Norton issues cards at in-person classes with the reporting phone number and criteria, but no individual spotter number.

The NWS Charleston, West Virginia, office records volunteers' location and contact information at training and provides instructions on what and when to report. At the end of a class, confirm that any requested registration is complete and save the reporting number or form. Ask whether a certificate or identification card is supplied, and keep it with the instructions rather than treating it as the whole task.

4. Make the report useful to forecasters

NWS asks reports to identify the observer, describe the event, give the time it happened and locate the event using familiar roads or landmarks. The location of the weather may be different from the observer's position, and the event time may be earlier than the call.

The NWS Weather Spotter's Field Guide asks for the largest hailstone and any damage, using a ruler or comparisons with familiar coins or balls rather than marbles. Give the size that can be supported by the observation, without making it sound more precise than it is.

For wind, the field guide recommends estimated or measured speed and damage reports, and says a detailed description of damage or moving objects is often more useful than a speed estimate. NWS reporting guidance specifically asks spotters to distinguish estimated wind gusts from measured ones. A damaged tree or structure can be described without pretending that it supplies an exact wind reading.

For flooding, the field guide asks about affected roadways, rivers or streams, approximate water depth, whether water is standing or flowing, whether it is rising or falling, and damage. Describe what is visible from safety; getting closer to obtain a better measurement is not the objective.

A wall cloud is a localized, persistent lowering from the rain-free base of a thunderstorm, and not every wall cloud rotates. A funnel cloud is a funnel-shaped cloud associated with rotating air that is not in contact with the ground.

For wall clouds, the guide asks whether they are rotating and how long they have existed; for funnel clouds, it asks observers to watch for organization, persistence and rotation. NWS tells observers to express uncertainty when unsure and to report what has happened or is happening, rather than what they think will happen. A cautious description gives the forecaster more to work with than an unsupported label.

Boston/Norton accepts reports by the phone number supplied at training, its online form, and hazardous-weather information through its Facebook or X accounts. Use the channels and reporting criteria supplied by the office serving the event location.

5. Put safety ahead of the observation

The Charleston office says reports can come from home, the office or the road without travel to a particular location, and should be made from a safe place. Storm chasing is not the starting requirement for this volunteer role. The NWS field guide makes the safety of the observer and others the first priority.

The guide warns against trying to walk or drive across flooded roads or downed power lines. A useful report is never a reason to cross an unsafe route.

In its beach lightning-safety example, NWS tells people hearing thunder to go to their car rather than an open picnic shelter and wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before returning. Pause the observing task when staying outside would conflict with the safety guidance.

6. Confirm refresher training and a new office’s requirements

Albany strongly recommends attending live training or an online webinar at least once every two years. Ask the serving office how often to refresh training and keep its contact details with the reporting instructions.

Nashville, Tennessee, tells class participants living elsewhere to contact their own office because reporting methods can vary.

After a move, contact the new NWS office before assuming an old course or spotter number completes its process. The useful question is not simply whether a certificate has been earned, but whether the observer is prepared to send that office an accurate report when it matters.