Since the launch of the Skywarn program in the 1970s, the
National Weather Service says nearly 290,000 people have been
trained across the U.S. to report severe thunderstorms,
hailstorms, floods, tornadoes and their damage. The agency says
that information — along with Doppler radar, improved satellite
information and other data — has allowed it to provide more
timely and accurate warnings for the 10,000 severe
thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes that
hit nationwide each year. A free, two-hour class is all it takes
to become a spotter. Spotters once all were ham radio operators,
but cellphones and other technology now allow far more people to
participate, meteorologist Frank Rivette told a class of about
20 people on a recent Saturday at the Jefferson Parish Public
Library in Metairie. During and after last Sunday's hailstorm in
the New Orleans area, people uploaded photos of hailstones to
the weather service's Facebook page for New Orleans. Rivette
said spotters should report hail when