Perry County, Mo. offers classes for Storm Spotters

PERRY COUNTY, Mo. (KFVS) - New classes are being offered around Perry County for people who want to help with severe weather alerts.

From spotting a storm or operating an amateur radio, community members can now learn how to alert professional weather personnel about dangerous conditions.

Which is why Perry County is encouraging people to get involved in weather related communication classes.

“So we are now entering our storm season where we will be experiencing severe weather such as severe thunderstorms and tornadoes," said Andrew Bohnert, interim director of the Perry County Emergency Management Agnecy. “We are wanting our community to be better prepared by sharing this information with one another. So we can all work together in times of an emergency.“

By offering radio and storm classes, instructor Barry Doyle hoped to expand the weather notification network.

“I’m teaching the Amateur radio class,” he said. “In order to get amateur radio operators licensed in Perry County and the surrounding counties.”

Students like Eric Clements feels taking the class allows him to give back and help as much as he can within his community.

“Am radio operations is good knowledge to have, it’s good to know what the authorities and emergency responders are doing in the community. And that’s just my part to help out and be a storm spotter.”

Anyone in the community is welcome to attend these classes. They are open for everyone from emergency responders to average citizens.

New classes are offered throughout the year with open enrollment and are free of charge. You can learn more here: https://www.weather.gov/pah/spottertraining

Copyright 2020 KFVS. All rights reserved.