Sometimes a storm will be an hour away, and I'll be able to spend about 40 minutes doing other things, rather than wasting times driving around. Other times storms are very spontaneous giving little or no warning, but these tend to be the exception rather than the norm. When monitoring Skywarn, it is possible to tell whether or not the net is active. Generally a net becomes formally active when a warning is issued for that particular county. Just because the net is in standby mode doesn't mean that there isn't the potential for weather activity.
Reports still come in, and the storm sometimes hits before the net is upgraded if it is moving fast.
If there is a single beep, the net isn't activated at all and the repeater is open to normal use. Normal - Normal channel During weather situations, don't forget to scan the usual emergency frequencies such as police and fire. Also, please bear in mind that unless you have had some sort of training from the NWS, don't go out during a storm unless you have a reason to. The ability to contact Skywarn is essential, should you get in trouble or need to report a storm. As a spotter, I usually stay home as well, unless there is a lot going on and additional reports are needed.