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COLORADO SEVERE WEATHER NETWORK

SKYWARN® Trained Amateur Radio Support Team
Providing Ground Truth Under The Radar

Spotter Training Information

Spotter Training for the CSWN STARS Team is handled by National Weather Service Employees. A number of classes are scheduled each year, mostly in the spring. Classes are two to three hours long and the training is good for three years, at which point Spotters must take current training to re-certify for another three years. Both Basic and Advanced Spotter training is available.

Basic Spotter training is the minimum requirement for SKYWARN Spotters and covers the basics of severe weather identification and reporting. Advanced Spotter training covers more advanced topics such as radars, severe weather climatology, and weather science topics.

Either Basic or Advanced Spotter training may be used for three-year re-certification. Basic training is a pre-requisite for Advanced training.


Weather Safety Resources

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Grand Junction Spotter class schedule and registration.

Boulder Spotter class schedule and registration.

Goodland Spotter class schedule and registration.

Pueblo Spotter class schedule and registration.

Cheyenne Spotter class schedule and registration.

North Platte Spotter class schedule and registration.

Salt Lake City Spotter class schedule and registration.

SKYWARN® Training

Scroll through the Training to learn about the SKYWARN® Program and how you can contribute.


Basic Spotter Field Guide

Training Guides and Reference Materials

Additional Online Training Opportunities

A classroom training session by NWS employees is the preferred training method. In the event that transportation, accessibility, or scheduling issues prevent attendance in a classroom or scheduled online session, the following self-paced online training is an acceptable alternative to Basic Spotter training. Both courses must be completed for credit.



COMET: Summer Severe Weather (7 Courses)

Course Overview

Summer severe (convective) weather presents many challenges to the forecaster. This self-paced, distance learning course addresses the scientific aspects of a few of those challenges: buoyancy, shear and their interaction to create various types of summer severe weather phenomena (squall lines, bow echoes, supercells, etc. Summer severe weather is a complex interaction of synoptic and mesoscale forcing. As both mesoscale observations and model resolution improve, the forecaster needs a thorough understanding of this type of high impact weather phenomena in order to react properly during these rapidly evolving situations.

These self-paced modules discuss the basic principles of summer severe (convective) weather with the aim of improving the prediction of significant and severe convection.

Course Structure

There are two parts to this course:

Part 2 - Advanced Topics (time requirement: 10 - 14 hours)


  • Mesoscale Convective Systems: Squall Lines and Bow Echoes
  • A Convective Storm Matrix: Buoyancy/Shear Dependencies
  • A Mesoscale Convective Systems Matrix

    • Specific summertime mesoscale phenomena and cases
    • Sophisticated techniques that address mesoscale convective features

    Course Goal

    The instructional objective for this course is to provide a review of the following core concepts:

    • Buoyancy
    • Shear
    • Interaction of buoyancy and shear
    • MCS and other severe convective phenomena including heavy rain, hail, wind, and tornadoes

    When taking these online courses for initial training or re-certification, be sure to select the option to notify your local NWS office of course completion so that your Spotter training record may be updated.