The National Weather Service (NWS) will hold a SKYWARN Severe Weather Spotter Training in Austin at 6:30 p.m. on March 7 at Crane Community Chapel, 1111 Ninth St. NE.

The class will last about two hours and will include a multimedia presentation. Training is intended for storm spotters or potential storm spotters, but is open to the public and free of charge. A review of recent and past severe weather will be included.

The NWS relies heavily on actual storm reports from spotters, which can include sheriff’s departments, local emergency management officials, police and fire departments, amateur radio operators, or anyone else that has attended one of these classes. These reports can prompt warnings that save lives.

Todd Shea, warning coordination meteorologist with the weather service in La Crosse, Wisconsin, organizes the training each year and encourages large groups and active volunteers.

“Accurate and timely reports of severe weather, by trained individuals, not only helps our office, but can save lives in the local community,” he said in a press release. “We always need more eyes to the sky.”

Mower County, as well as other areas of southeast Minnesota and northern Iowa, always needs more “ground-truth” weather reports to pass along to the National Weather Service.

Early registration is not needed for the March 7 session.

To view the training schedule, visit www.weather.gov/lacrosse/skywarn_schedule