By Ryan Duey

The National Weather Service is hosting multiple Storm Spotter training courses across Kansas to help people get prepped for severe weather this year.

People can attend Storm Spotter classes either in-person or online in the coming weeks to help locals learn how to prepare for and respond to severe weather. Each class is held in the evening hours and lasts around 90 minutes.

Each course is led by a NWS meteorologist who will teach attendees about thunderstorm development and structure and safety during thunderstorms. People will also learn the basics of how to report storm information.

Storm Spotter Courses in the area:

· Geary County at 7:00 pm on March 6th at the 4-H Senior Citizen Center

· Marshall County at 7:00 pm on March 7th at the Axtell American Legion

· Republic County at 6:30 pm on March 12th at the Belleville 4-H Building

· Cloud County at 6:30 pm on March 13th at the North Central KS Medical Center

· Clay County at 6:20 pm on March 14th at the Clay County Events Center

· Ottawa County at 7:00 pm on March 21st at the Ottawa County Courthouse

· Riley County at 7:00 pm on March 28th at Pottorf Hall in Cico Park

· Washington County at 7:00 pm on April 3rd at the Washington Fire Station

· Dickinson County at 7:00 pm on April 4th at the Herington Community Building

There are also 4 different Virtual Storm Spotter Courses. To find dates and times for the Virtual option and to get all other information visit https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/c82156f248964163b87ff425aad288d1.