Why We Don't Accept Cash Donations

Every so often, someone kindly asks how they can donate to support the Skywarn Operators Console. We're genuinely grateful for the thought — but the answer is, and always will be, that we don't accept cash donations. We'd like to explain why.

The Real Cost Is Already Being Paid — By the Spotters

The Skywarn Operators Console exists to serve the Skywarn community: the spotters in the field and the operators running the Regional, Sectional, and County Skywarn nets. Take a moment to think about what those volunteers actually do.

Every one of them serves at their own cost. They buy their own radios, antennas, power supplies, mobile rigs, and weather instruments. They pay for their own fuel, their own training time, and their own gear maintenance. Nobody reimburses them.

And it goes beyond money. These operators deliberately put their equipment — and themselves — in the path of the very weather we're tracking. Antennas in high winds. Mobile stations near hail cores. Field spotters out in conditions when everyone else is heading for shelter. Damaged gear isn't a hypothetical for a Skywarn operator; it's an accepted part of the job.

Compared to that, writing software from a comfortable desk is easy. This program is our contribution to the effort — the same way a spotter's time, gear, and risk are theirs. Asking for donations on top of that just wouldn't feel right.

Want to Help? Here's Where Your Money Can Do Real Good

If you truly want to support this mission with your wallet, we have a better suggestion: find your local Skywarn group and donate to them.

Local Skywarn organizations can always use the help. Your donation could go toward:

• Repeater maintenance and upgrades that keep nets on the air during severe weather
• Training materials and spotter classes
• Equipment for net control stations
• Helping a spotter replace gear lost to the very storms they were reporting on

Your local National Weather Service office or amateur radio club can usually point you to the Skywarn group serving your county or region. That's where your generosity will make a real, direct difference in keeping communities safe.

Thank You

To everyone who has offered to donate: thank you. It means a lot to know the software is valued. The best payment we could ask for is knowing the Console is on screens in net control stations and spotter vehicles when the weather turns bad — doing its part while you do yours.

Stay safe out there, and 73.