That’s one reason the Cullman County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) offers “storm spotter” training classes: they’re a way to increase public safety when severe weather pays a visit, while engaging local residents to serve as the agency’s on-the-ground eyes and ears.
EMA will get a jump on this year’s stormy season by hosting a free awareness and weather safety class this evening at the Colony Education Complex. The class will also provide basic tornado spotting techniques, with help from the Huntsville office of the National Weather Service.
The class is open to any Cullman County resident who’s interested, and doesn’t require any prior training, said EMA Director Phyllis Little.
“It’s for anybody,” said Little. “All you have to do is show up. The National Weather Service will have a meteorologist who teaches the class, and people will learn the basics of weather — how to identify different kinds of cloud formations and what they mean, and how to report the severe weather information that they observe.
“It’s the first class we’ve ever held at Colony, and we are really happy about getting to host it out in communities that bring these classes into people’s neighborhoods throughout the county. If people know what to look for, then they can call us and report it, and that ends up being a great help to us when the whole county’s getting hit by bad weather.”
Tonight’s class, which will last approximately two hours, begins at 6 p.m. For more information, visit cullmanema.org or call 739-5410.
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