TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (WAND) - A presentation was given on the Taylorville EF-3 tornado that struck on December 1, 2018.

In a collaboration with the National Weather Service, a Q&A session was part of the event. Following that, a storm spotter training class was conducted. 

"We feel so strongly we hit the gold standard for this response. I think the community needs to know what happened," Chief Mike Crews said. 

"I just hope it reinforces that we be prepared," the fire chief added.

Their message this year is to be prepared every month. That's why the NWS said the weather spotting class is designed to help people understand what kind of weather people are looking at. James Auten is a meteorologist with them. 

"Radar doesn't show us what's going on on the ground," Auten said. "It only shows us what's inside the storm. So, we need ground truth and spotters are that ground truth." 

Kevin Eason has taken a weather spotting class before. He was in attendance. He recalled how the radar looked when a severe weather warning was pushed. He hopes people don't take warnings for granted. 

"Those sirens ... don't take it as a light joke. Don't go outside looking for something. Get to a safe spot," Eason said. 

Weather spotting classes are free and open to the public. They are typically held from March to mid-April.Â