The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA – The National Weather Service will offer free SkyWarn weather spotter training next month in Dayton and Walla Walla.

Weather spotters trained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) are key volunteers who assist the meteorologists by providing up-to-date information about storm activity.

Training in Dayton will be May 4 from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Columbia County Fire District 3 station at 111 Patit Road.

In Walla Walla, the training session will be May 5 from 7 - 9 p.m. in the County Public Health and Legislative Building at 314 W Main St.

Both training sessions are co-sponsored by Columbia County Emergency Management.

During the sessions, volunteers will learn how to observe cloud formations and other weather in this area. The Weather Service teaches how to determine which storms are potentially severe. Spotters use a special toll free number, amateur radio frequency, or the internet address to let the forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Pendleton know what is happening in their area. Meteorologists use this data as they issue severe weather warnings or statements to the residents of Columbia and Walla Walla Counties.

More information about weather spotter training is available by contacting the National Weather Service at (541) 969-7136, or go to weather.gov/pendleton.