U.S. Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service Forecast Office
445 Myles Standish Blvd.
Taunton MA 02780

PRESS RELEASE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SKYWARN TRAINING

The National Weather Service (NWS) will be conducting a severe weather spotter training session, part of its SKYWARN program, in Rhode Island in May.

The class will be held on Tuesday May 13, 2008 from 7:00 PM.to 9:30 PM.

Community College of RI. Knight Campus.

400 East Ave. Warwick RI 02886

Room 1134 on the first floor.

The session is open to the public at no charge. Emergency managers, police, fire, and other first responders are especially encouraged to attend. Everyone age 16 and older who stays to complete the training will be able to become trained NWS weather spotters.

Each training session includes a two and one half hour computer-based presentation, which discusses the development of thunderstorms, the criteria for “severe” thunderstorms, as well as the cloud features associated with severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Additional information will be presented about winter storms and proper snow measurement. The session will also present the procedure for reporting weather information to the National Weather Service.

It is not necessary to pre-register for this training. However, if you have any questions about SKYWARN or the training sessions, please contact Bill Babcock, SKYWARN Program Leader, or Glenn Field, NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist, at

508-823-1900 during normal business hours.

By Martin Mendelson n1jma

SKYWARN Coordinator for RI

401-294-5585

email . n1jma@excite.com