News
Employees receive severe weather training
By Wendy Joan Biddlecombe | Hernando Today
Published: December 7, 2012
BROOKSVILLE - A small group of Hernando County Sheriff's Office employees and Hernando County Fire Corps members attended a National Weather Service SKYWARN training Thursday on how to identify and report severe weather.Published: December 7, 2012
The training, open to the public, was conducted by Daniel Noah, warning coordination meteorologist from the NWS' Tampa Bay office in Ruskin.
"Radar gives us good information but doesn't tell us what is happening on the ground's surface," Noah said. "Storm spotters need to be our eyes and ears on the ground."
Noah conducts the two-hour training program in every county in the greater Tampa Bay region at least once a year. Virtual training is also available on the SKYWARN website, www.skywarn.org.
"Anyone who is interested in the weather will find this training enjoyable," said Noah, explaining that the training covers types of hazardous weather, such as hurricanes and tornadoes with a "big focus on safety and how to report it." More than 290,000 trained volunteers across the United States provide storm reports through the SKYWARN program.
Over the last three years, Florida has seen 19 named storms during hurricane season. According to Noah, an average season sees only 12.
"Communities with SKYWARN teams are better protected communities," Noah said.
wbiddlecombe@hernandotoday.com (352) 544-5283