How to Become a Spotter

The National Weather Service trains spotter groups. However, spotter group organization is left to the local Emergency Management Director, or the Police or Fire Department. If you are interested in becoming a spotter, first check with these agencies to determine who serves as spotters in your area. If a local Amateur Radio or CB Radio group provides spotter support in your community, becoming an active member of that organization is your best route to becoming a storm spotter.

Many people who are fascinated by the weather have an interest in serving as a storm spotter. The National Weather Service needs real time reports of hail size, wind speed, and tornado development and known damage, in order to effectively warn the public. Even as new technology allows the Weather Service to issue warnings with more lead time, spotters will always serve as links between radar indications of severe weather and ground truth information.

Virtually every community has some form of spotter network. Often, local fire and Police department personel are trained to observe and report severe weather. Local Emergency Management Agencies also train and deploy spotters. The existence of easy 2-way radio communication and 24-hour operations are two reasons why these group make effective spotters.

Other groups that organize spotter networks include Amateur (HAM) Radio, Citizen's Band (CB), and the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). Again, 2-way radio communications is an important factor in using members of these groups as spotters.