The Highland County Emergency Management Agency will hold a weather spotter training event at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5 at the Highland County Administration Building, 119 Gov. Foraker Place, Hillsboro.

“As a trained weather spotter, you perform an invaluable services for the National Weather Service. Your real-time ground-truth observations of tornadoes, hail, wind and significant cloud formations provide a truly reliable information base for severe weather detection and verification,” a news release from Highland County EMA Director David Bushelman said. “By providing observations you are assisting the meteorologists at Wilmington in their warning decisions and enable the NWS to fulfill its mission of protecting life and property. Your spotter report can literally mean the difference between life and death.”

The class lasts 90 minutes to two hours and is led by a NWS meteorologist who will discuss techniques and safety for severe weather spotting. Once you attend the class, you are an officially trained spotter and can report severe weather to the NWS office.

Due to seating capacity, preregistration is required and there is a maximum limit of 60 for the class.

To register for the course, contact Bushelman at [email protected] or 937-393-5880.