MARION COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – Are you someone whose livelihood revolves around the weather, or just maybe a meteorological fanatic? If so, you might be interested in participating in the next Skywarn Weather Spotter workshop.
These events are held fairly regularly and are a joint operation between the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (which runs the Alert Marion weather alert system) and the National Weather Service’s Jacksonville office. It’s a free, intensive two-hour training at the MCSO Emergency Operations Center in Ocala that plugs participants into a network of amateur weather watchers who know what they’re looking for when it comes to potential severe weather.
Participants will learn:
- Basics of thunderstorm development
- Fundamentals of storm structure
- How to identify potential severe weather features
- What information to report
- How to report information
- Basic severe weather safety
The next Skywarn Weather Spotter workshop will be on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, from 6-8 p.m. If you’re interested, you should register now through the Alert Marion site, because these seminars tend to fill up quickly.
The MCSO Emergency Operations Center is located at 698 NW 30th Ave. in Ocala.