The Pacific County Emergency Management Agency will host the National Weather Service as they present a free SKYWARN weather spotter training class Monday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m. in the Board of County Commissioners Meeting Room located at 1216 W. Robert Bush Drive in South Bend.

SKYWARN is a concept developed in the late 1960s that was intended to promote a cooperative effort between the National Weather Service and local communities, according to a statement from Pacific County Emergency Management Agency Director Scott McDougall.

The emphasis of the effort is often focused on the storm spotter, an individual who takes a position near their community and reports wind gusts, hail size, rainfall, and cloud formations that could signal a developing tornado. Another part of SKYWARN is the receipt and effective distribution of National Weather Service information.

The National Weather Service has more than 70 local Weather Spotters who provide observations to the emergency management agency and the National Weather Service. This information is relayed to a Warning Coordination Meteorologist, who is responsible for administering the SKYWARN program in the local area. Pacific County is served by the Portland Forecast Office.

The training will cover basics of thunderstorm development, fundamentals of storm structure, identifying potential severe weather features, information to report, how to report information, and basic severe weather safety.

The class will last about two hours. If you have any questions contact McDougall at 360-875-93338 or email smcdougall@co.pacific.wa.us.