It's only been a couple of days since the last Manitoba blizzard, and yet the Emergency Coordinator for Steinbach is already looking ahead to the summer storm season.

Denis Vassart says their Storm Ready team will be watching the sky from the first Wednesday in May until the last Wednesday in September. Vassart relies on between 20 and 25 people each

(Steinbach storm, July 4, 2015)year. He says they lose about six people each year and so he is again looking for people to sign up.

Spotters must be residents of Steinbach or live within a ten kilometre radius of Steinbach. Each team consists of four members that is on call for one week per month. When needed they will be notified by weather radio, text or telephone and asked to watch the sky for signs of severe weather developing. The spotters then contact the Emergency Operations Centre team, local radio outlets and Environment Canada if severe weather is imminent.

Should a tornado touch down in Steinbach, spotters may be asked to do a preliminary damage evaluation of their designated area and report this information to the Emergency Operations Centre team so they can formulate a plan of action and keep the public informed.

"Last year was one of our busier years as far as sky watching goes," says Vassart.

However, he notes there weren't as many days spent watching radar last year because a lot of the summer storms happened at night. Meanwhile, he says weather often works in two year cycles and therefore he says because 2013 and 2014 were quiet and then 2015 was busier, 2016 could be another busy summer.

Vassart says Steinbach is the only Storm Ready certified city in Manitoba and probably Canada. He notes they continue to work with Environment Canada and Manitoba Emergency Measures to have it used across the province, instead of only a pilot project in Steinbach.

"I feel it's one of the things that helps make us better prepared," says Vassart. "If nothing else, getting people interested and up to speed and getting talking about weather and watching the skies for themselves."

A kickoff meeting will be held February 11th at the Steinbach Fire Hall. Vassart invites anyone to come check it out. He says if you don't know how to read radar or interpret cloud formations, that training is available.