J.J. Pickle Campus hosts free SKYWARN session - University

J.J. Pickle Campus hosts free SKYWARN session - University: "Ham radio operators represented a large proportion of the 250 who attended. Ham radio is important to weather reporting because operators are part of a wide, reliable communication network. When the weather starts to look bad, ham radio operators broadcast the conditions they see. Local media outlets listen to ham radio broadcasts to stay on top of developing weather.

Storm chasers from the Texas Severe Storms Intercept team also attended the training. Their mission is to put warnings out faster by reporting severe weather as it happens.

'Chasers will go out and meet the weather, run along with it. We do our own forecasting and give reports as we go,' said Jeff Draper, a Volente firefighter and storm chaser.

Chase team member Shane Hale said storm chasers are often firefighters.

'You're crazy to run into a burning house; you're crazy to run into a tornado,' Hale said."