The On-Line Buzzletter: Free Classes in Maryland to be a Severe Weather Spotter for the National Weather Service

Friday, March 29, 2019

Free Classes in Maryland to be a Severe Weather Spotter for the National Weather Service

As a meteorologist, I always encourage people to learn more about the weather, and the National Weather Service in Baltimore/
Washington is offering free classes to learn how to be a severe weather spotter for the SKYWARN program. Classes, dates and locations are below. - Rob

National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington

SKYWARN ®

To Submit a Weather Report

RAIN/SNOW/ICE REPORTS: LWX Spotters: you can now submit heavy rainfall (1"+), as well as snow and/or ice reports
at: https://goo.gl/forms/9617O51NiDXOvYwD2

Flooding, hail, wind or tornado reports: Call 1-800-253-7091
Other reports can be emailed to: lwx-report@noaa.gov

Upcoming SKYWARN® Classes
These classes are free and open to the public!

CLASS	DATE	TIME	COUNTY	LOCATION	REGISTRATION
Basic Classes
Basic	Saturday 03/30/2019	2pm - 4pm	University of Maryland	School of Public Health Building 4200 Valley Drive #2242 Room 1312 College Park, MD 20742	https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-basics-university-of-maryland-tickets-56894876106
Basic	Wednesday 04/03/2019	7pm - 9pm	Culpeper	Culpeper County Office of Emergency Services 14022 Public Safety Court Culpeper, VA 22701	https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-basics-culpeper-county-tickets-56511595704
Basic	Thursday 04/04/2019	6:30pm - 8:30 pm	Anne Arundel	Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management 7480 Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard Glen Burnie, MD 21061	https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-basics-anne-arundel-county-tickets-57749580550
Basic	Friday 04/05/2019	6:30 pm - 8:30 pm	Pendleton, WV	Franklin Community Building (Activity Room) 335 Mill Road Franklin, WV 26807	https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-basics-pendleton-county-tickets-58377566874
Basic	Tuesday 04/16/2019	7pm - 9pm	Loudoun	Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Training Center 16600 Courage Court Leesburg, VA 20175	https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-basics-loudoun-county-tickets-58291247691
Basic	Thursday 04/25/2019	6pm - 8pm	St. Mary's	Chesapeake Building 41770 Baldridge Street Leonardtown, MD 20650	https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-basics-st-marys-county-tickets-56381693162
Flood Classes
Flood	Monday 03/25/2019	6:30pm - 9pm	Harford	Harford County EOC 2220 Ady Road Forest Hill, MD 21050	https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-flooding-harford-county-tickets-55814056345
Flood	Tuesday 03/26/2019	6pm - 8:30pm	Frederick, MD	Frederick Senior Center 1440 Taney Ave Frederick, MD 21702	https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-flooding-frederick-county-tickets-55814238891
Flood	Wednesday 04/03/2019	6:30pm - 9pm	Albemarle	5th Street Albemarle County Building 1600 5th Street Charlottesville, VA 22902	https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-flooding-albemarle-county-tickets-56379168611
Flood	Thursday 04/18/2019	6pm - 8:30pm	Madison / Greene	Madison Fire Station 1223 N Main Street Madison, VA 22727	https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-flooding-madison-greene-county-joint-class-tickets-56379882747
Flood	Thursday 04/25/2019	6:30pm - 9pm	Charles	Charles County Government Building Commissioners Meeting Room 200 Baltimore Street La Plata, MD 20646	https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-flooding-charles-county-tickets-57442278401
Tropical Classes (Basics required as a prerequisite)
Tropical	Monday 05/06/2019	7 pm - 10 pm	Prince George's	Prince George’s County Office of Emergency Management 7915 Anchor Street Landover, MD 20785	https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-tropical-prince-georges-county-tickets-56982397886
Additional classes are still being scheduled. Please check back soon!

Important notes:
-Some Advanced classes require SKYWARN® Basics as a prerequisite.
-You may attend a class even if it is not in the county you reside in.
-Due to the high demand of classes we can not offer classes in every region every season.

What is SKYWARN®?

SKYWARN® is a national network of volunteer severe weather spotters. The spotters are trained by local National Weather Service Forecast Offices on how to spot severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail and flooding. In some parts of the country, spotters also report snowfall and ice accumulation.

Join SKYWARN®

Who I am

I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob

Rob's Book- Kindred Spirits: When a Spirit Befriends a Medium

ABOUT THE BOOK It's uncommon for a medium really get know a spirit so well that the living person considers the spirit a best friend. But that's exactly what happened to medium and paranormal investigator Rob Gutro. When Rob met his partner Tom in 2005, Ed's spirit came along for the ride. Rob never knew Ed in life, but Tom did. Now, Ed often communicates to Rob and has revealed his sense of humor, his heart, and helped solved the mystery of his passing.- Video short: VIDEO: https://youtu.be/_zUFsjrTrLg

Tracking Our Dog Rescue Assists

We work with Coast-to-Coast Dachshund Rescue (CCDR), Dachshund Rescue of North America (DRNA) and D.C. Weimaraner Rescues (DCWR) and Bonney Blue Rescue and foster or transport dogs as often as we can (and when they mix well with our 3 kids). Here's a list of the dogs we fostered or transported:

Gracie - Transported - a Beagle Mix adopted in western MD
2 Unnamed Dachshunds -Transported - rescued from a breeder (we watched for 3 days) sent on to permanent foster homes

Cooper#1 the Dachshund - Fostered - 2-26-09 -We fostered this lovable black and tan wire-haired, easy-going, lovable senior and he was Adopted by our friends Bob and Arlene in MD in April 2009

Buddy the Weimaraner - Transport 9-27-09 - We transported Buddy from no. VA to White Marsh, MD where we met Buddy's new mom Cathy from Philly.

Sprite the Dachshund -Fostered and We Adopted! 12-4-10 We picked up almost 14 yr old Sprite in Frederick, Md from a rescue transporter on 12-4-10 and we fostered him. We adopted Sprite in April 2011 when we learned of his heart murmur. (Sprite passed 7-8-13 at 16 1/2 years old)

Chance the Weimaraner - Rescue from shelter and Fostered- 6-10-12 - We freed Chance from the PG County Animal Shelter, and fostered through DC Area Weim Rescue. We covered his hip surgery and fostered Chance, while helping him walk again. He was adopted by our friend Whitney on 7-29-12. (Chance passed on 3-26-16)

Cooper#2 the Dachshund - Fostered 9-24-15 - We fostered this little guy and he was adopted by Shayne in MD after we had Cooper for just a couple of weeks.

Tuck (mix) - 5-7-13 - Transported Huck for Bonnie Blue Rescue. He came from a CT shelter, and we picked hi up in Baltimore and brought him to his new dad and mom, our friends Jon & Erin in VA

Tyler (Dachshund) - 12-17-12- FOSTERED & WE ADOPTED! We took in and fostered Tyler a 2 year old black and tan dachshund who came from a kill shelter in NC. Our friend Robert drove there and picked him up. (read the blog: First Night with Tyler the Foster from 12-17-12) - We realized how he bonded with our Weimaraner Dolly, so we adopted him in May 2013 through the rescue.

Charlie (Dachshund)- Rescue from shelter and transported to foster mom April in Md. *April adopted Charlie!*

Rocco (Dachshund puppy) -Rescue from shelter and transported, we brought to foster mom Kristin in Oct.
Abu - (Dachshund mix) - Rescue from shelter and transported to Emily for foster home in Delaware in Oct.

Doc, now Duncan (Dachshund mix)- Rescue from shelter

and transported to Katie for fostering. Duncan was adopted.

Reds - Rescue from shelter and transported - This long-haired, senior red Chihuahua to Katie for transport to a Senior dog rescue in Virginia

Happy and Sami - Transported from College Park, Md to Springfield, VA (Jan. 2013)

Gus - Worked with at Rescue Event - April brought Gus to us to appear at an adoption event at Pet Value, Gambrills, Md.

Max -Transported. Part of a transport from White Marsh, Md. to Bowie, Md. to foster mom April in southern Maryland.

JJ - Transport to adopting family This tiny 8 pound dog was transported from Washington, D.C. to Towson, Md. where we did a home visit and completed the adoption to a great family
Jethro- Home inspection for DASH Rescue to place this doxie/chihuahua mix.

Grayson - Worked with at Rescue Event -Worked with this 12 yr old senior Weimaraner at the Pet Valu, Gambrills, md adoption event!

Heath - Transported. 9-2014 a 10 year old black/tan dachshund we fostered for 3 days (who wound up being afraid of men- and went to another foster home.

Mack- Fostered 10-2014 **Adopted in Dec. 2014!**
fostered from Oct. 27 until he was adopted in Dec. from Connie and Poul.

Saylor - transport 12-14-14 (being fostered in Annapolis, Md thru DASH Rescue.) ~ 15lbs, 2 years, male/neutered, red smooth doxie, Heartworm negative (thankfully) & up to date on vaccines ___ sassy little man!

Dapple - Transported. 12-14-14 (being fostered in Annapolis, Md thru DASH Rescue.)is a black and tan dachshund with some dapple coloring, and also 2 years old, 14 lbs. female/spayed, silver-dapple smooth doxie.

Phillie - Transported. 5-2-15 A 12 yr old, sweet brown, smooth dog, to foster care because his parents "have 3 small kids and can't handle the dog." We brought him from White Marsh, MD to Alexandria, VA. (Going from NJ to TN where he is being fostered through Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue

Harry - Transported. 5-23-15 the black and tan/dapple, 6 year old dachshund from White Marsh, MD to foster mom, April, southeast of Washington, DC-

Trooper- Transported. 6-12-15 - This brown dapple, 2 year old dachshund came from a kill shelter in Alabama and was headed to NJ to a foster home thru DASH rescue.

Milo and Max 8-2-15 Fostered and Transported *Adopted 9-1-15* This senior pair of Dachshunds came from a divorced home in Indiana and were transported to us through Ohio and our friend Scott "Bear" Elliott and many others. Milo was fostered by our friend April.. and we fostered Max and our friend April fostered Milo. They were BOTH adopted by Cindy! Adoption Story: http://tinyurl.com/osz2px8 (Max passed 6-19-18 of heart failure)

Oscar - Transported 11-21-15 - This precious senior 9 year old mini-Dachshund was given up by his family because their daughter "developed allergies." (The girl should've taken Benadryl and dealt with it). We were the first transporter and it was a heart-wrenching event. Story: http://tinyurl.com/zzjp9ln

Otis -Home Visit - March 2016 - We did a home visit to Nancy who adopted this handsome little Dachshund Mix through Dachshund Rescue of No. America.

Cleveland and Tommy- Sept. 2016 - We had these guys overnight a couple of nights, and drove Tommy to York, PA for his foster home. We also got Cleveland to his foster home in Maryland. Both were 5 yr old, sweet, red smooth Dachshunds.

Coco and Hansel - Feb. 2017 - We drove up to Delaware together to get them. and then wound up later transporting them locally to their forever home.

Winnie and Tuck - Spring 2017- We placed this mom and son in forever homes in Virginia and Maryland.

Hercules - July 2017 - He didn't go through the rescue because we learned of him through a friend of a friend, and our friends Bob and Arlene were seeking to adopt, so they did!

Hayley- May 2018 - we got to free and transport a sweet little 6 pound dog named Hayley from the local county shelter. Hayley went to foster care with our friend Shelley who works for the Dachshund Rescue of North America (DRNA)

July 2018- We took in a Foster Dog named DASH! - our friend Shelley of Dachshund Rescue of North America told us about a little senior Dachshund/Chihuahua mix and we freed him from the Anne Arundel Animal Control Center on July 21, 2018. He was there since June 10, and the shelter ran out of room... so he had to be fostered immediately. 10 years old, 8 lbs. Birthday: Aug. 22. We ADOPTED Dash on Aug. 10^th!

Sophie - March 2021 - We transported this 7 year old cream colored French Bulldog from Alexandria, VA to Baltimore, Md. to a foster home for K9 Rescue of the Eastern Shore.

Friday, March 29, 2019

Free Classes in Maryland to be a Severe Weather Spotter for the National Weather Service

To Submit a Weather Report

Basic Classes

Flood Classes

Tropical Classes (Basics required as a prerequisite)

Additional classes are still being scheduled. Please check back soon!

What is SKYWARN®?

SKYWARN® is a national network of volunteer severe weather spotters. The spotters are trained by local National Weather Service Forecast Offices on how to spot severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail and flooding. In some parts of the country, spotters also report snowfall and ice accumulation.

Join SKYWARN®

Who I am

A Classic Country Music Station to Enjoy