The National Weather Service Office in Charleston, S.C., in conjunction with the Chatham Emergency Management Agency, will be offering a Weather Spotter Training class on Thursday.

The cost of the training is free, but space is limited.  If you are a weather enthusiast and are interested in this great opportunity to serve your community, be sure to reserve your spot by Wednesday.

Weather spotters have served as the “eyes” of the National Weather Service for more than 60 years, assisting in the process of warning their communities of potentially hazardous weather.

Although the National Weather Service utilizes cutting edge technology such as Doppler radar and high resolution satellite imagery, nothing has proven more effective than the human eye to observe and report adverse weather.

This training session will last approximately 90 minutes and will focus on preparing individuals to report severe weather including funnel clouds, tornadoes, hail, damaging wind and flooding rainfall.  In addition, the importance of weather safety when observing and reporting critical weather will be discussed.

To reserve a seat for the training, contact Dustin Hetzel at (912) 201-4500 or djhetzel@chathamcounty.org by Nov. 5.