The National Weather Service will organize a severe weather preparedness event at the Cape Fear Museum of History and Science on Saturday, June 12. This will be the first time Stormfest will be held in Wilmington. A previous event was held earlier this year in Raleigh.

The free event is open to the public and will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Meteorologists from local television stations - WECT, WWAY and News 14 Carolina - will be on-hand to talk about severe weather. WWAY will set up a mobile studio where visitors can learn how to be an on-air meteorologist. The National Weather Service will display its five-foot-tall cyclone simulator. Local hurricane tracker Mark Sudduth will present his state-of-the-art hurricane equipment.

Representatives from the local chapter of the American Red Cross, New Hanover County Emergency Management, the New Hanover County Public Library, New Hanover Regional Medical Center and the U.S Coast Guard will be stationed throughout the museum to discuss hurricane preparedness and offer severe weather safety tips.

Meteorologists from the National Weather Service’s Wilmington Forecast Center will train the public to become official weather watchers through its SKYWARN spotter training during the event. The training teaches citizens about severe weather often seen in the Eastern Carolinas, how to identify cloud features associated with severe thunderstorms and tornadoes and how to report severe weather to the National Weather Service.