(Radio Iowa) – The National Weather Service is offering four more storm spotter training sessions in Iowa this spring in hopes of recruiting more helpers to keep an eye on the sky. Emmet County Emergency Management Director Travis Sheridan says they’re offering a course next Tuesday (April 7th) at Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville. “This is offered to first responders and it’s offered to the general public,” Sheridan says, “so they can become aware on what storms look like in our area and how they develop and how to recognize potential threats, especially if you’re going to be a storm spotter.”
Sheridan says severe weather spotters are vital links in helping keep many thousands of people safe. “We need those storm spotters in our area because the National Weather Service does not see our atmosphere based off of radar,” Sheridan says, “and because our population in northwest Iowa is not high, they’re not going to put a multi-million dollar radar to fill that gap.” Iowa has already had multiple bouts with severe weather this year, and Sheridan says residents need to stay vigilant when the possibility of severe weather is in the forecast.
“The biggest thing is staying aware,” he says. “The National Weather Service has gotten really good at predicting when our weather is going to be really bad and they put us in forecast levels of three, four and five. So staying aware throughout the day and always paying attention.”
A storm spotter training session is also planned for this Thursday (April 2) in Exira, while two virtual sessions will be held on April 14th. Learn more at https://www.weather.gov/dmx/stormspotting
