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SKYWARN® Spotter Training – Collin County – Saturday, January 18, 2020

Saturday, December 21st, 2019 3:02pm CST

PlanoWeather.com will be attending the Collin County Spotter Training Sessions on Saturday, January 18, 2020 from 8:30AM-4:30PM. If you are interested in attending, it is open to the public. No advanced registration is required.

LOCATION
Collin College Central Park Campus
Conference Center
2400 Community Avenue
Community Ave & Taylor Burk Dr
McKinney, TX 75071

2020 Training Schedule for North Texas:
https://www.weather.gov/fwd/skywarnsch?sptrsch
https://www.weather.gov/fwd/skywarnmap

Forecasters from the National Weather Service in Fort Worth conduct storm spotter training sessions each year to help prepare spotters for the upcoming severe weather season. The NWS conducts the training at the invitation of local emergency management officials who organize the training and who, in most cases are responsible for maintaining their local storm spotter network.

The training sessions are typically about two hours long and cover fundamental information that every spotter needs to know, with a focus on safety, identification of key weather features and proper reporting procedures.

To learn more about SKYWARN®, go to: https://www.weather.gov/fwd/skywarn

SKYWARN Spotter Training – Collin County – Saturday, February 23, 2019

Sunday, January 6th, 2019 8:47pm CST

IMPORTANT – This event was originally scheduled for January 19, 2019 and has been cancelled/postponed/rescheduled for February 23, 2019 due to the government shutdown. The location has also changed from McKinney to Frisco.

PlanoWeather.com will be attending the Collin County Basic and Advanced Spotter Training Sessions on Saturday, February 23 from 8:30AM-4:30PM. If you are interested in attending, it is open to the public. No advanced registration is required.

Basic Session at 8:30 AM – 12 Noon
Advanced Session at 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM

LOCATION
Collin College:
Preston Ridge Campus
Conference Center
9700 Wade Boulevard
Frisco, TX 75035

2019 Training Schedule for North Texas:
https://www.weather.gov/fwd/skywarnsch?sptrsch
https://www.weather.gov/fwd/skywarnmap

Forecasters from the National Weather Service in Fort Worth conduct storm spotter training sessions each year to help prepare spotters for the upcoming severe weather season. The NWS conducts the training at the invitation of local emergency management officials who organize the training and who, in most cases are responsible for maintaining their local storm spotter network.

The training sessions are typically about two hours long and cover fundamental information that every spotter needs to know, with a focus on safety, identification of key weather features and proper reporting procedures.

New Page – NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio

Monday, March 12th, 2018 3:32pm CDT

PlanoWeather.com is now streaming NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio Station KEC56 162.400MHz to NOAAWeatherRadio.org. Streams can be accessed from the following page: https://www.planoweather.com/wxradio.php.

From NOAAWeatherRadio.org/about/: “WHY? NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio Saves Lives! Every citizen should own, or be near an active, alarm-ready Weather Radio. We know that’s not always possible, and this one example is sufficient: Millions of folks work in situations where Weather Radios aren’t available, but computers and mobile devices are handy. So. Here. We. Are.”

Our setup is using a Midland WR300 Weather Radio, connected to our weather station computer audio interface, encoded as MP3 audio using butt (Broadcast Using This Tool) at 32k bit rate and 22,050Hz sample rate, then streamed to the NOAAWeatherRadio.org Icecast server, where it is continually checked for quality and availability.

We strongly recommend that all homes have a NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio. In addition to the Midland WR300 used for this project, we own and recommend the Midland WR400 Deluxe NOAA Weather Radio.

Be a Force of Nature during National Severe Weather Preparedness Week

Monday, March 4th, 2013 9:32am CST

Be a Force of NatureThe Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) partnered to designate March 3-9, 2013, as National Severe Weather Preparedness Week, and is calling upon all Americans to Be a Force of Nature.

PlanoWeather.com is committed to Being a Force of Nature and pledges to do so by: knowing our risk, taking action, and being an example for our families and community by sharing the steps we took. Because we live in an area prone to tornadoes, flash floods, and severe thunderstorms, recent outbreaks have reminded us that this weather can strike anywhere and at any time.

Just last year, there were more than 450 weather-related fatalities and nearly 2,600 injuries. Each time severe weather threatens we hear stories of ordinary Americans who do the extraordinary to save loved ones – a mother protecting her children by shielding them from flying debris, a homeowner opening up his storm shelter to neighbors, neighbors helping a senior in a wheelchair get to a safe shelter, individuals ensuring friends are aware of the current watch or warning in their area.

Tornadoes struck approximately 46 states, caused over $1.6 billion in damage and nearly 70 fatalities. There were more than 935 tornadoes in 2012, with 206 in April alone. While April and May are peak months, tornadoes happen all year round.

Building a Weather-Ready Nation requires that every individual and community take action because severe weather knows no boundaries and affects us all. Be a Force of Nature by making a public pledge to be prepared at ready.gov/severe-weather.

What can you do to Prepare?
Knowing your risk, taking action and being an example by sharing your knowledge and actions through your social network are just a few steps you can take to be better prepared and assist in saving lives.

Know Your Risk: The first step to becoming weather-ready is to understand the type of hazardous weather that can affect where you live and work, and how the weather could impact you and your family. Every state in the United States has experienced tornadoes and severe weather, so everyone is exposed to some degree of risk. Check the weather forecast regularly and visit ready.gov/severe-weather to learn more about how to be better prepared and how you can protect your family during emergencies.

Pledge and Take Action: Be a Force of Nature by taking the Pledge to Prepare at ready.gov/severe-weather. When you pledge to prepare, you will take the first step to making sure that you and your family are prepared for severe weather. This includes filling out your family communications plan that you can email to yourself, putting an emergency kit together, keeping important papers and valuables in a safe place, and getting involved.

Obtain a NOAA Weather Radio, and check to see if your cell phone is equipped to receive Wireless Emergency Alerts and sign up for localized alerts from emergency management officials. Stay informed by having multiple sources for weather alerts – NOAA Weather Radio, Weather.gov, and Wireless Emergency Alerts. Subscribe to receive alerts at www.weather.gov/subscribe.

Be an Example: Once you have taken action and pledged to Be a Force of Nature, share your story with your family and friends. Create a video and post on a video sharing site; post your story on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, comment on a blog, or share through any other social media site. Technology today makes it easier than ever to be a good example and share the steps you took to help us achieve the vision of a Weather-Ready Nation.

Join us today and pledge to prepare for the severe weather in our area.

Information on the different types of severe weather such as tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flooding is available at www.weather.gov and ready.gov/severe-weather or the Spanish-language web site www.listo.gov.