Flagler County Reports Record Attendance At Skywarn Storm Spotter Class

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Flagler County, FL – Flagler County Emergency Management is reporting record attendance at its most recent Skywarn Storm Spotter training session.

72 people attended the January 31 class at the Emergency Operations Center in Bunnell. The class of eager severe weather watchers was taught by Angie Enyedi, assistant warning and coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

“It is so important for us to have well-trained volunteers, because Flagler County is located within the gap of the nearest Doppler radar towers,” said Flagler County Emergency Management Chief Jonathan Lord. “These storm spotters serve as the local eyes of the National Weather Service.”

Since 1995, Flagler County and the NWS have coordinated Skywarn Spotter classes. During 2017, 181 severe weather reports were made by storm spotters to the NWS. Area storm spotters were also able to give information during Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Irma in 2017.

“More than 2,000 residents have received this training in the past 23 years,” said Flagler County Emergency Management Technician and class organizer Bob Pickering. “Storm spotter reports from Flagler County to the National Weather Service have included: waterspouts, hail, wall clouds, flooding, and even developing tornadoes before they could be detected by weather radar.”

After the Storm Ready Program’s inception in 1999, Flagler County was the first county in the state to be “Storm Ready” certified. In order to be certified, you must meet certain training and information criteria.

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