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Tornado Lookouts

Meteorologists use radar to forecast where tonadoes might form. But, the radar can't detect actual tornadoes. People are needed for that.

That's a problem because people without any training don't know what to look for in a storm. To solve this problem, the National Weather Service regularly trains volunteers for the SKYWARN program. Anyone who is interested can take the classes. SKYWARN spotters form a network across an area to let the NWS know what's happening with the weather. Meteorologists use spotter reports to issue tornado warnings.

Storm spotters are different than storm chasers. Spotters work in organized networks to observe severe weather for the NWS. They also only work in one area, usually their county.

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