Are you ready for the monthly siren tests that freak out non-Minnesotans? Severe weather season is imminent, and knowledge is power when it comes to keeping yourself and your loved (or even just liked) ones safe.

Stearns County Emergency Management is facilitating training sessions for Skywarn: the National Weather Service storm spotter program.

Skywarn Storm Spotter Training in Central Minnesota

The training classes are:

  • Sunday, March 17th from 2pm to 4:30pm at St Mary's Church in Upsala (email MorrisonCoSkywarn@yahoo.com)
  • Tuesday, March 26th from 5pm to 8pm at the SCSU Wick Science Building (email rhumphrey@stcloudstate.edu)
  • Wednesday, April 3rd from 2pm to 4:30pm AND from 6pm to 8pm in the Stearns County Service Center in Waite Park (email Robert.brezinka@stearnscountymn.gov)
  • Monday, April 15th from 7pm to 9pm at the Hutchinson Event Center in Hutchinson (email Kevin.mathews@mcleodcountymn.com)
  • Tuesday, April 2rd from 1pm to 3:30pm AND from 6pm to 8pm at the Emergency Operations Center in Willmar (email melissa.kaisner@kcmn.us)

The classes are FREE, but do require you to register ahead of time.

The full non-metro schedule can be found here.

The classes will teach you the basics of thunderstorm development, fundamentals of storm structure, identifying potential severe storms, how to report storm information, and basic severe weather safety.

The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above-normal temperatures for Spring. El Niño will transition to La Niña by this summer after a relatively neutral spring.

Translation from the nerd talk: *shrugs shoulders*

Be prepared and attend one of the free classes taking place in central Minnesota in the coming weeks.

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