By Zac Chapman / Assistant News Director

Stearns County will be assembling four SKYWARN training sessions in March.

The first two sessions start next week as the first session is on Tuesday, March 7th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Belgrade Fire Department. The second training is on Wednesday, March 8th from 2-4 p.m. in the Sartell Public Safety Facility.

The third training will be on Tuesday, March 14th from 6-8 p.m. at the Albany Fire Hall while the last session will be on Tuesday, March 21st from 7-9 p.m. at the Paynesville Fire Department.

The National Weather Service says SKYWARN is a volunteer program with between 350,000 and 400,000 trained severe weather spotters countrywide who obtain critical weather information. These volunteers help keep their local communities stay safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the NWS.

The training includes:

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

The NWS encourages anyone with an interest in public service to join the Skywarn program. Individuals affiliated with hospitals, schools, churches and nursing homes or who have a responsibility for protecting others are also encouraged to become a spotter.

The trainings are open to anyone and are free to attend. Anyone interested must pre-register to reserve a spot.