Start trainingThe course follows the order of an NWS SKYWARN class. Every lesson is free, and so are both certification exams. Read at your own pace and sit an exam when you feel ready, not when a calendar says so.
Pass either exam and your certificate carries a number anyone can look up on wxalerts.org, so a net controller or an emergency manager can check it without taking your word for it.
A video course and the full instructional library, then a short exam on what every spotter needs under a storm. Even if you have never made a report before, we can teach you.
A longer exam for spotters who want to go further, with twice the questions and twice the time. Advanced certification increases your confidence score on submitted reports, and tests your knowledge with more in-depth, college-level material.
Both exams are free. Each exam allows three attempts, at least 24 hours apart. Miss all three and there is a 30-day wait, then three more attempts open automatically.
Storms change and so does the guidance. Complete at least three CEs in any rolling 12 months and your certification stays current. Fall short and it lapses until you catch up.
The first eight modules run in the order an NWS SKYWARN class teaches: the spotter's role, how storms are built, what to look for, what to report and how to stay safe doing it. The last three go past what a two-hour class has time for, into radar, radio and the law.
Yours not here? Ask on Discord or through the contact page.
Yes. Every lesson, the video course and both certification exams cost nothing, and there is no paid tier waiting behind them. You need a free WxAlerts account to sit an exam and keep your progress.
No. General starts at what a warning is and who makes it, and a phone is enough to begin. You do not need to chase storms either. Reporting what you can see from where you already are is the job.
The course is structured closely to the NWS SKYWARN spotter classes, so the order and the core material will be familiar if you have sat one. It is a WxAlerts program, though. WxAlerts is not affiliated with the National Weather Service, and a WxAlerts certificate is not an NWS SKYWARN credential.
You get three attempts at each exam, at least 24 hours apart. If all three miss, there is a 30-day wait, then three more attempts open automatically. Use the gap to rewatch the video or reread the part of the library the questions came from.
Complete at least three continuing-education units in any rolling 12 months. Your certification stays current as long as you do.
Then another 30 minutes to test. You can go from zero to certified spotter in as little as an hour, and start submitting reports.
WxAlerts training is independently developed and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by NOAA or the National Weather Service.