National Weather Service Looking For Storm Spotters In Buffalo

If there is one thing that we learned in the last winter season is that weather in Western New York is dynamic and can change at a moment's notice. The 2022-23 winter has been a weird one, to say the least, with multiple massive snow storms, an ice storm, a few wind storms, and an earthquake.

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The Buffalo office of the National Weather Service was essential in helping the people of Western New York track and manage the various storms that hit the area. NWS has a considerable infrastructure to support it gather data and disseminate information to the people who need to know in the area.

Now officials from the National Weather Service are seeking to add a few more Storm Spotters to its SKYWARN network.

SKYWARN™ is a national effort to save lives during severe weather emergencies with an expanding network of trained weather spotters. The services performed by SKYWARN™ spotters have saved many lives. The National Weather Service has a number of devices for detecting severe thunderstorms. Included in these are Doppler radar, satellite, and lightning detection networks. However, the most important tool for observing thunderstorms is the trained eye of the storm spotter.
-NWS Buffalo

If you are interested in becoming an NWS Storm Spotter, then the process to get trained is pretty easy and free. You just need to sign up for one of the training sessions that are running through May 2023. There are in-person and virtual sessions that are happening all over the region.

Virtual Sessions

• Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 7 pm - Online
• Thursday, April 20, 2023, 7 pm - Online
• Monday, May 1, 2023, 10 am - Online

In-Person Sessions

• Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 7 pm - Lockport, New York
  Warren J. Rathke Public Safety Training Facility
  5574 Niagara Street Ext, Lockport NY 14095
• Wednesday, May 10, 2023, 6 pm.- Buffalo, New York
  Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Branch Library
  1324 Jefferson Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14208

All of the sessions require preregistration on the National Weather Service Website. You can find a link to that here.

You can also find a full list of the different training sessions here on the SKYWARN website.