Organized by the National Weather Service (NWS) in the early 1970s, the Skywarn Program is a concerted effort to organize professional and amateur weather watchers to help provide early warnings to the public about tornadoes and other hazardous weather conditions. You do not have to be a qualified meteorologist to join the Skywarn Program, which hires people who can train you to be a storm spotter. Many people who are amateur radio operators have been particularly enthusiastic volunteers to the Skywarn. Organizations such as the American Relay Radio League (ARRL), the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES), and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) all work with the NWS, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to help save lives with the Skywarn Program.