I am a certified and active member of the National Weather Service SKYWARN® program attached to the Ruskin NOAA center. During severe weather alert/conditions SKYWARN Amateur Radio Operators like myself can be activated to assist in effort of reporting and emergency communications.
What is SKYWARN®
The impacts of hazardous weather are experienced by many Americans each year. To obtain critical weather information, NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, established SKYWARN® with partner organizations. SKYWARN® is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.
Please see http://www.weather.gov/tbw/wx4tor for information on amateur radio networks and frequencies