Storm-spotters class Wednesday

Jefferson County emergency personnel are preparing for severe storm and tornado season by hosting a storm-spotters class Wednesday evening at the VFW in Fairfield.

According to Jefferson County Emergency Management coordinator Jerry Calnon, the free class will begin at 6:30 p.m. and conclude between 8:30 and 9 p.m.

During the class, a National Weather Service meteorologist will provide facts and show graphics, photos and videos of storms and storm damages. He also will describe what to look for before, during and after a storm and how to report information to officials.

Those who attend the class are eligible to register as Skywarn spotters for the National Weather Service. While Doppler radar is a good tool for seeing severe weather in a thunderstorm, it is the storm spotters who can see and report a tornado ?right there? so people can be warned of its approached.

Calnon reminded currently registered storm spotters they must attend a class biennially to maintain their status.

Calnon is hoping to organize a formal group of local storm spotters to watch and report severe weather in the county. He intended to form the group last year, but was delayed because of the flooding.

?I hope to get the ball rolling this year,? he said.

Having an organized group of weather spotters can help the county become a National Weather Service Storm-Ready County, and the designation can reflect favorably on insurance rates, he added.

Calnon also is in the process of setting up a Web site where county residents with unlisted telephone numbers or cell phones can register to receive CodeRED alerts.

The CodeRED system, which allows officials to issue information by calling phone numbers throughout the entire county or in targeted areas, is in operation, but only listed, hard-line phone numbers currently can receive the calls.

Calnon is working on an agreement to have a registration site set up, and ?it won?t take long once the agreement is made.?

For the complete article, see the Thursday, March 5, 2009, Fairfield Ledger.