Ventura County Sheriff's Department

On April 15, 2010, the National Weather Service will be conducting a Weather Spotter Training and Recruitment Talk. The training session will be held in the Hall of Administration Lower Plaza Assembly Room at the Ventura County Government Center at 800 South Victoria Avenue in Ventura, California. The spotter talk will begin at 6:30 PM and last to approximately 8:00 PM.

As part of the National Weather Service StormReady certification process, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services and the City of Oxnard Fire Department will be the co-hosts of this local Weather Spotter Training event.

“The County of Ventura and the City of Oxnard are enhancing their jurisdictions abilities to receive and disseminate storm related information from the National Weather Service,” said Erin Edinger, Alert and Warning Coordinator for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services.

To be recognized as StormReady, a community must: establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center; have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and to alert the public; create a system that monitors local weather conditions; promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars; and develop a formal all-hazards plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.

The National Weather Service Spotter Program is a volunteer organization of people with an interest in the weather. Whenever significant weather is occurring, weather spotters call in a report to the National Weather Service office in Oxnard.

“These reports provide important ground truth for forecasters, which improves forecasts and warnings,” said Eric Bolt, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “As a trained weather spotter, you can provide an invaluable service to the National Weather Service.”

The training session will last about 90 minutes, including a question and answer session at the end. Information presented will include detailed information about various severe weather hazards, as well as some background information about the National Weather Service. Reservations are not needed to attend the training and participants do not need to have weather equipment to become an official weather spotter for the National Weather Service. New weather spotters will receive a personal spotter ID number and a packet with weather spotter instructions.

Date & Time: April 15, 2010 6:30 PM

Unit Responsible: Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services

Administrator Preparing Release: Cynthia Elliott, OES Program Administrator (805) 654-3655

Follow-up Contact: Cynthia Elliott, OES Program Administrator (805) 654-3655

Approved By: Laura Hernandez, Assistant Director of Emergency Services

Date of Release: April 8, 2010