The National Weather Service is offering its SKYWARN Spotter Training in Chatham on Thursday, December 5, from 6-8 p.m. The class is FREE and no pre-registration is required. The class will emphasis the following: 

• Basics of thunderstorm development
• Fundamentals of storm structure
• Identifying potential severe weather features
• Information to report
• How to report information
• Basic severe weather safety

Since the program started in the 1970s, the information provided by volunteer SKYWARN® spotters, coupled with Doppler radar technology, improved satellite and other data, has enabled NWS to issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash floods. SKYWARN® storm spotters form the nation's first line of defense against severe weather.