SKYWARN

"Skywarn isn't uniquely an amateur radio program," he said.

Instead, the ESWD relies heavily on voluntary observers, many of whom are organized in national and regional associations (e.g., national Skywarn associations).

"There were microbursts on the 3rd that the Skywarn folks investigated,'' she said.

* Complete training in the basic core areas of hazardous materials (Hazmat), Skywarn (the National Weather Service's warning system), crime scene procedures, interview and interrogation techniques, and crime prevention programs.

In middle school, Johns received his amateur radio license and became an official SKYWARN Storm Spotter for the Johnson County Office of Emergency Management.

Recently he leveraged his expertise with HAM radio to help coordinate SKYWARN, a National Weather Service program.

Volunteers in the Skywarn program will be taught about weather events similar to those listed in the Severe Weather Spotter's Guide.

Fransen has served on the NOAA Education Council and the NWS Networking and Mentoring Committee, and she co-led the NWS Skywarn program.

Algieri said many of the CMARA members are also Skywarn severe weather spotters, reporting to the National Weather Service.

A Skywarn spotter in Auburn recorded rainfall as heavy as 1.36 inches in just 30 minutes.

Macedo, ham radio emergency services Skywarn coordinator for the past 18 years, said ham radio operators played a vital role in warning the public on June 1, 2011.

BRIMFIELD - The images of the June 1, 2011, EF-3 tornado that ripped through parts of town drew knowing nods from the approximately 60 people who attended yesterday afternoon's National Weather Service Skywarn training session at Hitchcock Free Academy.