On a rainy night in September, Raymond and Christin Albert evacuated their home in Forward Township when water from the Connoquenessing Creek began to rise.

However harrowing their experience was, the Alberts were not alone in the loss of their property due to record flooding that month.

Unlike most, however, Christin Albert had been busily communicating on a ham radio network when her husband of

30 years abruptly stopped her.

"Guess what, sweetheart," Raymond Albert said to his wife. "Your radio's being shut off."

But Christin hadn't been chatting idly with friends. She had been mediating a radio operators' network for the National Weather Service - coordinating an effort to warn others of the severe conditions that hours later would claim her mobile home, lifting it off its foundation and depositing it several feet away.

The Alberts, who now live in Jackson Township, are among about 3,000 state residents who participate in the Skywarn program. More than 150 of the volunteers live in Butler County.

Skywarn is a severe-weather spotting service in which volunteers supply eyewitness reports to the weather service, according to Rich Kane, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Moon Township. The weather service is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also known as NOAA.

Referred to as "ground truth" by meteorologists, the reports provide specific details, allowing the weather service to confirm conditions detected with radar, satellite and other technology.

"Many times, for instance, we could be here looking at a snow band coming off the lakes," Kane said. "It might look to me like it's waning, about to expire, but a Skywarn reporter will say, 'I just got 3 inches of snow from a snow band.' You can't tell how heavy it's snowing until you get that ground truth.

"If we put out a (severe weather) warning for Butler County, people take notice. But if we have reports of large hail, baseball-size hail or golf ball-size hail, you can believe people will (get a clearer picture of the conditions)."We do have a lot of great advance scientific technology, but you can't replace humans spotting the severe weather on the ground for you. They're invaluable."Kane said calls from individual spotters are often enough to shift the attention of meteorologists, whose reports might aid communities as far away as Philadelphia."I can tell you for a fact our sister offices downstream are looking at the severe weather (reported by our spotters) because they could be the next one under the gun," he said, explaining that the region's weather usually moves from west to east due to the jet stream."Another important thing is elevation differences. People at the top of a mountain may have 4 inches of snow; below they might have an inch. We're not going to know that unless we have Skywarn spotters telling us."Kane said about 40 percent of the spotters are amateur radio operators.

The radio groups communicate reports via ham radio, but other spotters relay reports by telephone, he said.The Alberts, who belong to the Butler County Amateur Radio Public Service Group, are among the radio operators. The group is made up of licensed operators who communicate via two-way radios like the ones often used by truck drivers and police officers.Although the Alberts have an electronic home weather station to help them keep track of changing conditions, Kane said the Skywarn training includes learning to evaluate weather by sight.Wind speeds between 25 and 31 miles per hour, for instance, are indicated by large branches in motion and a whistling sound through telephone wires.Wind speeds between 55 and 72 miles per hour might damage chimneys and TV antennas and blow down larger limbs and branches.These kinds of visual signs, coupled with inexpensive rain gauges, make it easy to volunteer, Kane said. "Really you don't need anything - just some enthusiasm and interest in severe weather."

"Anybody can do it," agreed Kevin Berry of Penn Township, a Skywarn spotter and treasurer of the Butler County Amateur Radio Association, another club for ham radio operators."If you can sit and look out a window and recognize how big a piece of hail is - or watch a rain gauge - you can be a Skywarn observer. All you need is the inclination, really."Although Berry, like many spotters, relies on his own observations when watching weather, he also uses his proximity to the Butler County Airport to access precise data about his neighborhood.By using ham radio equipment, Berry can tune in to information from the airport's automated weather observation system, or AWOS, to report exact data on wind direction and velocity, cloud conditions, barometric pressure - even the compass directions of lightning.

While reporting weather conditions is educational and allows radio operators to use their skills and equipment, Berry cited community service as the underlying motivator.Radio operators are already part of the disaster services network nationwide, often providing a way to communicate when other means fail or service lapses, Berry noted. So Skywarn seems like a logical extension, he said.The Alberts, also proponents of volunteerism, agreed with Berry. "This country as a whole wouldn't survive without its volunteers," Raymond Albert said. "Volunteers don't quit at 40 hours and they don't ask for any more pay."Having seen the impact of weather firsthand, the Alberts say they now approach their Skywarn service with a new perspective: one based on the outcome of their efforts."We've volunteered for (about) 18 years - never being the person on the other side," Christin Albert said of learning firsthand what storms can do.

"I can probably handle (working around rising water levels) in the future, but I don't know if I can go out and be around extremely flooded areas right now," she said, noting her role in Skywarn normally involves radio communication more than "going mobile" and surveying areas, which her husband prefers to do.Raymond Albert said although he has no problem entering high-water areas, he has found a new respect for the damage water can do. "I'll be quicker to (take action) - quicker to tell people 'You have to get your ass out.' "Raymond Albert's newfound sense of urgency is endorsed by Kane, who maintains the Skywarn spotters protect the public."If you look at the number of tornadoes dating back to early the 1900s, the numbers reported each year have constantly increased. We're basically to 1,000 or so (in the country)," he said."Then, you look at the number of deaths by tornadoes. That's decreasing," he said, speculating the trend is due to improved detection through technology as well as the weather-watching volunteers."Skywarn was formally formed in the '60s or '70s after a tornado outbreak. We quickly realized there is no replacement to having these people in the field," Kane said."They definitely save lives and they protect property, because people take precautions based on our warnings. Our goal is to save lives and protect property."