ARCADIA — DeSoto County residents will have a chance to take part with the National Weather Service to keep track of serious weather conditions. Under the Skywarn program, citizens can learn how to observe dangerous conditions, how to distinguish severe weather events, and how to report the information to NWS.

Such information is important, says DeSoto County’s Emergency Manager Doug Christ, because it not only helps NWS confirm data from their own weather instruments, but can identify conditions of which NWS was not aware. NWS is the agency that issues weather alerts and warnings when serious conditions — such as tornadoes and hurricanes — may occur.