Storm spotter trainings canceled in Valentine, Mullen, other areas due to NWS staffing shortages

MULLEN, Neb. - As severe weather season ramps up, storm spotter trainings across Nebraska are being canceled due to staffing shortages at the National Weather Service (NWS).

The Hooker County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday that the training scheduled for April 23 in Mullen has been called off. The Valentine session, along with trainings in Big Springs, Hayes Center, and Ogallala, have also been canceled, along with others across the state.

While in-person sessions are being cut, online training remains an option.

“While the main role of a storm spotter is to be their community's first line of defense against dangerous storms, they also provide important information to NWS warning forecasters who make critical warning decisions. Storm spotters play a critical role because they can see things that radar and other technological tools cannot, and this ground truth is critical in helping the NWS perform our primary mission, to save lives and property,” the NWS writes on its website.

The staffing shortages are also affecting other key weather operations. The Omaha NWS office has suspended its twice-daily weather balloon launches, while North Platte has reduced its launches from two to one per day.