FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
Soldiers, Airmen and civilians attended an important class March 14 at the Emergency Operations Center on Fort Eustis, Va.; a class that involved keeping an eye on the sky.
The SKYWARN Storm Spotter training teaches students how to become weather spotters so they can provide time-sensitive weather information. The training covered basic severe weather safety, thunderstorm development and storm structure, what storm information to report and how to report it.
According to the SKYWARN website, SKYWARN storm spotters help form a line of defense against severe weather. Spotters feel rewarded knowing their efforts can give the precious gift of time that can save lives.
"Participation in this class is a force multiplier," said Lorenzo Riddick, 733rd Mission Services Division director.
Anyone can become a SKYWARN storm spotter and help out their community. The 30 new storm spotters at Fort Eustis will help spot and report severe weather and increase weather-warning time, benefiting Joint Base Langley-Eustis, the National Weather Service and the Hampton Roads communities.
Warning data is important to get out to communities, but data and warnings are only as good as the information received from storm spotters, said Mike Montefusco, Wakefield, Va. NWS meteorologist and class instructor.
"The ground truth we get from our spotters is very important to protect life and property, which is an important tenant of the SKYWARN program," Montefusco said.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kraig Hartung, 93rd Signal Brigade training non-commissioned officer, attended the training because he thought it would be an asset for his unit.
"I gained knowledge about storms, how they form and their characteristics; things I never knew before," Hartung said.
Trained storm spotters on Fort Eustis will lead to increased warning times in the event of severe weather and ultimately save lives, said Mark Junghans, 733rd Mission Services Division emergency management branch chief.
For information on becoming SKYWARN Storm Spotter, visit http://www.stormready.noaa.gov/contact.htm