Last Wednesday, a SKYWARN class was held by the Department of Public Safety at the St. Mary’s County Lexington Park Library to train and register citizens in the area to become official storm spotters.  Many locals came to the library for this three hour class to learn all the basics of severe weather and storm spotting.

SKYWARN storm spotters are citizens who are becoming the Nation’s first line of defense against severe weather.  It is a program and key partnership of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service.  Participants that came for the evening were educated on almost all weather types and how to react to each of them.  With that knowledge, it is the spotter’s duty to report and relay the weather information to weather hotlines and forecasters.  

Public Safety Director Dave Zylak The Bay Net Photo by Daniel Gross

“I see a strong support for the community,” said speaker David Manning, looking into the audience, as he taught the evening class.  “We can never have too many spotters.”  Manning is from the National Weather Service and is a Warning Coordination Meteorologist.  Manning grew up in Portland, Maine but has now lived in St. Mary’s County for the past five years.  “I’ve really very much enjoyed the area and all the challenges we see here in St. Mary’s County,” said Manning.  “There’s days that I still just scratch my head when I look and see what the tides are doing and say, 'it’s not supposed to be doing that’.”

During the class/ training Manning gave details about severe weather patterns and the dangers people face because of them.  “Hundreds of people in U.S. die each from weather related accidents,” said Manning.  He also gave much National Weather Service terminology throughout the class such as winds gusts, funnel clouds, and the difference between a watch and a warning.

As a SKYWARN spotter, the volunteer has to have completed this Basic I course and must have a serious interest in SKYWARN involvement.  The spotter is responsible for contacting certain officials to update them on weather situations in their area.  They must also make direct contact to those in the chain of command to alert them of any severe weather patterns so that they are able to relay the information to other officials and forecasters. 

Launching the event for the evening was Public Safety Director for St. Mary’s County, David Zylak.  “I certainly hope you all learn something this evening,” said Zylak.  “I know I plan on learning something."

Seeing the number of participants attending the class, many learned something that night as they registered to become a SKYWARN spotter.