Learn exactly what to look out for as a storm rolls into Cleveland Credit: Erik Drost/FlickrCC
Here in the Midwest, we don’t always behave like we should when faced with a tornado warning. Instead of heading to our basements with a radio and a helmet, we often run our dumbasses outside to our back yards to figure out if we can see any rotation in person.

But the best way to learn about severe weather is to get storm spotter training. The National Weather Service hosts storm spotter training classes in the Northeast Ohio area through the middle of May. In the class, students are taught the basics of storm development, how to identify potentially severe weather features and how to report their findings to the proper authorities.

Since radar can only show so much, local storm spotters often fill in crucial gaps for meteorologists. If a storm spotter can see the very beginnings of a funnel cloud that looks likely to turn into a tornado and get that information to the right people, they could potentially play a key role in saving lives during a severe storm.

Storm spotter classes are entirely free, but you will need to sign up in advance. A full schedule with registration links is available on the Cleveland National Weather Service site.

This article appears in Mar 23 – Apr 5, 2022.