One activity that many hams take part in that I have not yet mentioned on this site is weather spotting. This is not the same as storm chasing which is much more dangerous. Skywarn is a concept that promotes cooperation between communities and the national weather service. The national weather service has a lot of technology and have a pretty good idea of what is going on by looking at the radar maps and other computer images, but there is no substitute for someone actually being there and telling them what is going on at a given time.

While anyone can be a weather spotter and reports can be made via telephone or email, the most efficient way for storms to be tracked and spotted is by ham radio operators. The reason for this is that everyone who is out spotting the storm from different vantage points and in different places along the storm’s path can stay informed as to what is going on, where the storm is, and other details that are nice to know when you are out in a vehicle during a severe storm. The other benefit to this is that often times the weather service office will have a ham radio operator (or invite one in during the situations) that is able to talk directly to the spotters in the field rather than having to make phone calls, etc.

This increases the speed of the communication and the consistency of the information being shared (everyone hears it at the same time and from the same person) and makes storm spotting much safer for the spotters. For many people this alone is enough reason to get a ham radio license. Even if you don’t plan to be in the field spotting, it is a good way to stay on top of the situation and know what is going on.