Important guidelines for SKYWARN nets
"A quiet conference, with transmissions limited to reporting criteria, is a huge asset. This makes it easier to place a report or for the NWS to contact stations and linked systems directly." "Be aware that NWS radio operators may be working several radios and spotter nets across the warning area. Too much noise or unnecessary transmissions may force the NWS operator to mute or turn down the audio on the offending station in order to take other reports. Then when the offending station or net actually needs to transmit a report, the NWS operator may not hear it." "The National Weather Service Radio Operator has top priority with the exception of a report that includes a threat to life and/or property. If you hear WX5FWD or Weather Service make a call, stand by."
NWS Fort Worth Hazardous Weather Outlook
This is a link to the latest Hazardous Weather Outlook for the areas covered by the NWS Fort Worth office. I recommend checking this at least daily and pay special attention to the statements about potential spotter activation.
NWS Fort Worth SKYWARN Program
"Every year, NWS Fort Worth conducts over 40 SKYWARN classes within our coverage area of 46 counties in North and Central Texas. These classes are usually held between January and March, before the spring severe weather season." "SKYWARN® is a citizen volunteer program with between 350,000 and 400,000 trained severe weather spotters. SKYWARN® storm spotters are citizens who form the nation's first line of defense against severe weather. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service" "Since the program started in the 1970s, the information provided by SKYWARN® spotters, coupled with Doppler radar technology, improved satellite and other data, has enabled NWS to issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash floods. Storm spotters play a critical role because they can see things that radar and other technological tools cannot, and this ground truth is critical in helping the NWS perform our primary mission, to save lives and property."
WX5FWD SKYWARN Team
"The WX5FWD SKYWARN™ team are volunteer radio operator liaisons for the Fort Worth National Weather Service (NWS) North Texas SKYWARN™ Spotters. During SKYWARN events, you are reporting information to our team and the NWS warning forecasters. Three goals of a storm spotter are to safely observe, identify and report conditions. Weather spotters provide what's called "ground truth" to the National Weather Service and emergency weather management. Spotters are needed because, while radar is very good at helping the National Weather Service see what's going on in the upper atmosphere, it's unable to detect what's actually happening on the ground because of the curvature of the Earth. Knowing the "ground truth" about a weather event from the location can be the deciding factor to issue a warning."