About Us

Welcome to SF Bay Area SKYWARN®, also known as “SFO SKYWARN®”. We are an all-volunteer organization of trained weather spotters. SF Bay Area SKYWARN is a separate entity from the National Weather Service, and in no way represents the National Weather Service, its staff, products, or services.

The SKYWARN® program was founded in the 1970s and is a volunteer organization dedicated to reporting severe weather events to the National Weather Service, and communicating with emergency response teams and organizations. Our main mission, with respect to impactful weather events that affect the SF Bay Area, is as follows:

  • BEFORE: provide information to the public about near-term impactful weather events.
  • DURING: continue to provide the latest updates to the public, and submit storm reports to the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Monterey, CA (NWS MTR). Also, provide backup emergency communications services in the event of power or other infrastructure outages.
  • AFTER: report storm damage to NWS MTR, and continue to provide backup emergency communications services as needed.

In addition to our main mission, we also provide assistance during environmental disasters of all kinds, whether due to natural or human causes. For example, we may activate during earthquakes, wildfires, floods, etc. These are all problems that occasionally impact the SF Bay Area. In this regard, the SF Bay Area SKYWARN® group has a broader charter than other SKYWARN® groups. This is offset by the fact that, for much of the year, we are fortunate to enjoy mild and pleasant weather.

A large number of our members are Amateur Radio (“ham”) operators. Being a ham radio operator is not a requirement to be a member of SFO SKYWARN®, though it is strongly encouraged. It is easy to get the first-level Amateur Radio license, known as “Technician Class”. Although becoming a “ham” is not a requirement to join SFO SKYWARN®, members must complete the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Spotter training.

The NWS WFO in Monterey, CA (MTR) has a coverage area that includes eleven counties, namely: Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito counties. This corresponds to the coverage area of the SF Bay Area Skywarn group.

We utilize several modes of communication, including DIscord, ham radio repeaters, SMS, email, and HF nets. See the Resources page for information about training to become a NWS Weather Spotter.

Thank you for your interest.

73, Curt Kolovson, W6RQ
ARRL Santa Clara Valley Emergency Coordinator (EC)
South County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (SCARES) Member
Redwood City Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Member
SF Bay Area SKYWARN® Volunteer Facilitator