The most active time for severe weather events in South Texas is between the months of March and June. These events can cause potential loss of life and property and can also impact your entire community. These weather events include severe thunderstorms, lightning strikes, hail, flooding and tornadoes.
But you can help lessen the toll taken by severe weather by becoming a trained spotter through the National Weather Service’s Skywarn classes.
The local NWS office located in Corpus Christi has announced dates for local residents of Calhoun County and the surrounding areas to attend training sessions that will allow citizens to learn about what signs to watch for during possible severe weather. The courses also allow spotters to report crucial data back to the National Weather Service such as tornado touchdowns and hail size.
Spotter classes are given out free to the general public.
Spotters play a critical role in the warning system used to alert residents of severe weather events that cannot be detected by radar, such as a tornado touchdown or funnel clouds.
The class schedule for the local area is as follows:
Corpus Christi: Wednesday February, 22nd at Texas A& M CC, NRC Building Room 1003 at 9:00 a.m.
Freer: Thursday, February 23rd at Freer VFD, 402 South Main at 7:00 p.m.
Laredo: Monday, Febuary 27th at Texas A&M Intl Student Center Room 236 at 2:00 p.m.
Laredo: Monday, Febuary 27th at Texas A&M Intl Student Center Room 236 at 6:30 p.m.
Port Lavaca: Wendsday, February 29th at Commissioner’s Court 211 S. Ann Street at 3:00 p.m.
Port Lavaca: Wendsday, February 29th at Commissioner’s Court 211 S. Ann Street at 7:00 p.m.
Bishop: Tuesday, March 6th at City Hall, 203 E. Main Street at 3:00 p.m.
Kingsville: Wendsday, March 7th at Kleburg County EOC- Courthouse Basement at 2:00 p.m.
Robstown: Thursady, March 8th at Calderon Building, 710 E. Main Street at 6:30 p.m.
Kingsville: Thursday, March 15th at St. Martin’s Church, 715 N. 8th Street at 7:00 p.m.
Corpus Christi: Thursday, March 22nd at Mount Olive Lutheran Church at 7:00 p.m.
Robstown: Friday, March 23rd at Richard M. Borchard Fairgrounds at 9:00 a.m.
Beeville: Monday, March 26th at 111 N. St. Mary’s Street, Suite 201 at 6:00 p.m.
Don’t have the time or not able to visit these classes? There is also an online version of the Skywarn training courses that can be taken at the web links below:
https://www.meted.ucar.edu/training_module.php?id=817
https://www.meted.ucar.edu/training_module.php?id=816
For more information please visit the Corpus Christi NWS website or download this free PDF which includes the dates and times of the physical courses as well as contact information for each date/location:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/rtimages/crp/wcm/SkywarnSchedule2012.pdf
