There's probably a better word than "spawning" for the title, but it made a good alliteration! The subject of this post is something of a follow-up to last week's series of Severe Weather Awareness articles. We get the occasional question from viewers and site visitors as to how they can play a role in making weather observations, or in becoming a spotter during severe weather episodes.

The best answer to that is usually to become trained via the Skywarn program that is tied into the nearest National Weather Service office, and those of you who are interested in doing so will have several opportunities in the coming months, as our Raleigh NWS personnel have a series of Skywarn training sessions scheduled around the viewing area. We are lucky to have an especially high-quality group of NWS employees nearby, and I'm certain that the classes would be both informative and very enjoyable for anyone with a strong interest in meteorology and severe weather in particular.

Both Basic and Advanced sessions are on the schedule, and classes will be held in the next several weeks at a number of locations throughout central NC including Asheboro, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Goldsboro and Fuquay-Varina. For more information, including the specific schedules and venues, see the list at

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rah/skywarn/#training