Dates/ venues for this year’s CANWARN storm spotter training.
From: Geoff Coulson
Hello to everyone and welcome to Spring 2011. While the weather won’t be very spring-like in the coming days, it is again time to let everyone know of the dates/venues for this year’s CANWARN storm spotter training. 2010 had its share of damaging spring and summer storms that had two significant events…the nocturnal tornadoes and downbursts of June 6 in Southern Essex County (Leamington/ Harrow) and the Midland and Washago tornadoes of June 23. Training sessions will again be held across the province and in some locations for the first time as we try to expand the number of watchers in Central and Northeastern Ontario. Randy Mawson will again be doing the training in the Southwest, I’ll do the venues in Southcentral Ontario, Peter Kimbell will handle the East and Northeast and Serge Besner will be doing the training in Northwestern Ontario.
Please feel free to pass these dates/ venues along to others you think may be interested in coming out for the training. As in previous years, Randy, Peter, Serge and myself will be looking forward to renewing ties with long-time volunteers and welcoming those who are coming out to the training for the first time. As I have stated a number of times over the last few years, CANWARN volunteers continue to be an integral part of Environment Canada’s severe weather watch/warning program. I’d like to thank those of you who sent in timely observations of severe weather last season and to those of you who sent or phoned in observations of fog, freezing precipitation and snow accumulations during this past winter. All of these observations are gratefully received by the operational forecasters in the Ontario Storm Prediction Centre.
So without further delay, please find below the dates/venues that have been confirmed so far. Additional dates/venues for Eastern, Northeastern and Northwestern Ontario will be added in coming updates. I’d request again this year if you could RSVP to me which session you plan on attending so I can get a rough ideas for numbers at each venue. Once again, thank you for being part of the CANWARN program and for helping to keep your local communities aware of severe weather.
On a final note, over the years a few people have approached me to hold a Toronto training session during a weekday evening since they can’t make Saturday mornings. The main Toronto session will be on Saturday, May 7th but if there is sufficient response to me about an evening session in Toronto as well, I have tenatively set aside Wednesday, May 18th at 7 PM here at our headquarters at 4905 Dufferin St. I will confirm if this Toronto evening session is a go in later training updates.
April 12th – 7 PM – Sarnia – Kinsmen Centre Oakroom Room 656 Lakeshore Road
April 13th – 7 PM – London – 4 Points Sheraton Hotel 1150 Wellington Road
April 16th – 9 AM – Hamilton – Nash Auditorium Wilcox Building Chedoke Hospital on Sanatorium Road (free parking available
across from the Wilcox building)
April 18th – 7 PM – Leamington – Kinsmen Recreational Complex 249 Sherk St (parking lot access off of Ellison St.)
April 27th – 7 PM – Kitchener – Bingemans Conference Centre – Ballroom E – 425 Bingemans Centre Drive
April 30th – 9 AM – Orillia/Rama – Rama Community Hall 5896 Rama Road (across the street from CasinoRama)
May 5th – 7 PM – Peterborough – Peterborough Public Library (boardroom on lower level) 345 Aylmer St. North
May 7th – 9 AM – Toronto – Environment Canada Headquarters 4905 Dufferin St.
May 7th – 9 AM – Ottawa – Nepean Sailing Club – 3259 Carling Ave. Nepean
May 12th – 7 PM – Dufferin County – Dufferin County Museum at the corner of Highway 89 and Airport Road
May 14th – 9 AM – Renfrew – venue to be determined
May 28th – 9 AM – Sudbury – Lionel E. Lalonde Centre 239 Montee Principale in Azilda (15 km west of Sudbury)
May 29th – 1 PM – Espanola – Pinewood Inn 378 Centre St
May 30th – 7 PM – Sault Ste. Marie – Venue to be determined
May 31st – 7 PM – Timmins – Venue to be determined
June 1st – Timiscaming Shores – time/venue to be determined
June 2nd – 7 PM – North Bay – OPP Communications Centre – 877 Gormanville Road
June 13th – 7 PM – Thunder Bay – McIntyre Building Rm. 195, Confederation College, corner of William and Edward Streets
Other Northwestern Ontario venues (Fort Frances/Emo, Kenora, Dryden)…training to take place June 14 to 17…exact dates and venues to be determined.
