ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The National Weather Service — Pittsburgh Office will be teaching a Skywarn Spotter class at the Belmont County Emergency Management Agency Emergency Operations Center at 6:30 p.m. April 30.

The class is designed to educate the public on weather threats in the area, as well as strengthen the ties between the NWS and the local community. The more spotters the NWS has out there, the faster vital ground truth information gets to the NWS forecasters who make the decisions to issue life-saving weather warnings. A National Weather Service meteorologist will teach the class and bring related materials.

Year after year, reports from Skywarn observers have assisted the NWS in issuing timely warnings based on real-time reports throughout the 36-county warning area covering parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland. The NWS’s primary mission is to issue warnings to protect life and property.

The ground truth reports from Skywarn spotters are a vital link in using advanced radar data and meteorological skills to carry out their mission. Their observations also provide the NWS with information in compiling documentation of severe weather events and verification of warnings. These reports become part of the United States Storm Data publication, which is used by researchers and also provides climatological data on a wide variety of unusual weather phenomena, including statistics on death, injuries and property and crop damage.

Pre-registration is required as space is limited. To register, email the Belmont County EMA at emergency.management@co.belmont.oh.us. This free course is open to residents of Belmont County and surrounding counties in Ohio and West Virginia.