Skywarn

Skywarn or SKYWARN is a common in several states network of volunteer weather spotters who have made it their mission to inform the public through their coordinated weather observations spatially accurate and timely information on extreme weather events such as storms. There is usually a close cooperation with the relevant meteorological services, media and various other partners, in the case of Skywarn Germany, a company founded on 16 October 2003 club based in Osnabrück, is particularly noteworthy TorDACH.

The warnings on the nature and severity of the storm, in contrast to the mostly widely precaution spatially and temporally extensive storm warnings from the weather service that will only addressed to those people who are actually and directly threatened by a storm. This has the advantage that the warnings for the individual are more usable than a comparably unspecific storm warning with long lead times and an associated uncertainty as to when and whether the storm will eventually adjust. Last but not least These kinds unspecific warnings are often ignored.

Skywarn is against this background not to be understood as a rival to the weather services and their storm warnings, but as an important supplement to existing weather warnings that may not be as precise as the observations made on the spot by all standards. However, also the number and density of the observation network of spotters is critical, with Skywarn Germany is currently under construction.

In the U.S., Skywarn, however, is already established and very active with thousands of weather observers for several decades.

Other severe weather warning systems

• Other severe weather warning systems are Meteo Alarm and WIND Meteo Media.