Local Amateur Radio groups and the National Weather Service offer SKYWARN Spotter training

The Lake County Amateur Radio Emergency Services Group (ARES), The Lake County Amateur Radio Association and the National Weather Service (NWS) will be sponsoring a SKYWARN Spotter training course on Thursday, November 4 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Lake County Administration Building, room 233, 315 W. Main St., Tavares, Florida.

The free training course, led by Arlena Moses, Meteorologist from the NWS office in Melbourne, is recommended for all public service personnel, amateur radio operators and members of the general public who have an interest in reporting weather events. No reservations or prior weather knowledge is required for this course.

SKYWARN is a concept developed in the late 1960s, and was intended to promote a cooperative effort between the NWS and local communities. The program focuses on the storm spotter, an individual who takes a position near their community and reports wind gusts, hail size, rainfall, and cloud formations that could signal a developing tornado. Another part of SKYWARN is the receipt and effective distribution of NWS information.

For more information about the SKYWARN training, call Ted Luebbers, Lake County ARES Public Information Officer at (352) 343-8344 or log on to www.skywarn.org/about.htm.

For more information about amateur radio in Lake County log on to www.k4fc.org or www.n4fla.org.