SKYWARN:
The NWS went to a storm based warning system beginning October 1. Instead of issuing warnings by county, they will warn by creating a polygon or box ahead of the storm to define the warned area. By focusing on the true threat area, warning polygons will improve NWS warning accuracy and quality. Storm-Based Warnings will promote improved graphical warning displays, and in partnership with the private sector, support a wider warning distribution through cell phone alerts, pagers, web-enabled Personal Data Assistants (PDA), etc. More precision in storm reporting will be required. As a SKYWARN spotter give reports with an associated road intersection or street address...or even a mile post marker on an interstate or the turnpike. (This will be included in SKYWARN training in the future). This allows NWS to assign a LAT/LON to each report and place it in or out of the polygon. For more information visit:
http://www.weather.gov/sbwarnings/ 
