SKYWARN Newsletter #214

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Hello to all...

SKYWARN Training Update...

SKYWARN Activation Report for 2/6/04...

SKYWARN Strategy Meeting for Coordinators and Net Control Stations...

New Marine WX Course Offerings from NWS Taunton....

Federal Disaster Aid Made Available for December 5th-7th, 2004 Major Storm...

Emergency Communications Workshop in Hingham, Mass. on April 3rd, 2004...

***Newsletter Issued 2/29/04.

SKYWARN Training Update...

As of this SKYWARN Newsletter writing, we have 10 SKYWARN training

sessions confirmed and 7 more sites left to booked. The confirmed

schedule list can be seen below:

The following is an update on SKYWARN training for year 2004. Further

updates will be posted on the web site as needed.

04/15/2004 7-10PM American Red Cross-Greater Hartford Chapter

Thurs. 209 Farmington Avenue

Farmington, CT

04/19/2004 7-10PM Manchester Community College

Mon. Manchester, CT

04/24/2004 1-4PM Miller's River Educational Center

Sat. 100 Main Street

Athol, Mass.

05/06/2004 7-10PM Walpole Town Hall/Senior Center

Thurs. Walpole, Mass.

05/15/2004 Noon-3PM Braintree Town Hall

Sat. Braintree, Mass.

05/20/2004 7-10PM Martin Middle School Auditorium

Thurs. 131 Caswell Street

East Taunton, Mass.

05/22/2004 Noon-3PM North Kingstown, RI Library

Sat. North Kingstown, RI

05/25/2004 7-10PM Ipswich High School

Tues. Ipswich, Mass.

06/02/2004 7-10PM Smithfield High School Media Center

Wed. Smithfield RI

06/07/2004 6:30-9:30PM Boston Museum of Science

Mon. Boston, Mass.

Listed below are 7 more sites that will be booked over the next

couple of weeks:

1.) Outer Cape (Provincetown to Chatam area)

2.) Sturbridge-Southbridge, Mass. Area

3.) Keene, NH Area

4.) Merrimack, NH

5.) Billerica-Chelmsford, Mass. Area

6.) Williamsburg, Mass.

7.) Attleboro, Mass.

To get more frequent updates of the SKYWARN Training Schedule as sites

get confirmed, please see the link below:

http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo/trsched.htm

SKYWARN Activation Report for 2/6/04...

SKYWARN was formally activated on Friday February 6th to monitor the

potential for icing damage to trees and power lines over interior

Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. The Echolink and IRLP "New

England Network" system was utilized to gather reports from various

parts of the region that were affected by snow and ice.

Snowfall of 2-6" was common across the region. Icing amounts fell

just below the Winter Storm Warning criteira with amounts averaging

1/4" of icing across the region. Holden, Massachusetts had 3/8" radial

ice accretion from this event. A brief period of rain and warmer

temperatures occurred for a couple of hours before getting slightly

colder and resulting in freezing rain conditions across much of

Western and Central Massachusetts. Reports came in from Spotters

on the 146.94-Mount Tom, 146.985-Greenfield, 145.37-Templeton,

146.97-Paxton, 146.64-Waltham and 147.000-Soapstome Repeaters.

Coordinators involved were Ray Weber-KA1JJM, Eric Tuller-N1QKO,

Jim Bernotas-N1VMH for Western Massachusetts, Tom Pratt-N1KKY and

PJ Howe-N1PJ for Central Massachusetts and Roger Jeanfaivre-K1PAI

for Connecticut.

MEMA Framingham HQ monitored the event until 9 PM through the efforts

of Eastern Massachusetts Section Emergency Coordinator Mike Neilsen,

W1MPN. Situation Reports (Sitreps) were passed between MEMA Framingham

and NWS Taunton, Mass. throughout the event. No reports of damage

occurred from the wet snow and ice across interior Massachusetts.

The activation gave us the opportunity to utilize the new PC in a

weather event. We were able to coordinate with ARES and SKYWARN

Coordinators via the AOL Instant Messenger program, utilize the same

PC to go on to the New England Network via Echolink, watch radar

images and monitor email for any spotter reports. In addition, HF

contacts were made on 75 Meters via the Massachusetts ARES/RACES/

SKYWARN frequency of 3943 KHz. From NWS Taunton, we were able to

contact MEMA Framingham, AA2T-Jerry Rogich from Leominster EMA and

HF Net Control Station, WA1R-Marc Stern, HF Net Manager/Net Control

Station from Framingham, Mass. and Frank O'Laughlin-WQ1O, Cape

Cod ARES District Emergency Coordinator.

While no damage occurred, the activation proved to be a good exercise

of new and improving capabilities at the WX1BOX-NWS Taunton Ham

Station. Special thanks to all those who participated in this SKYWARN

Activation and provided reports to NWS Taunton as the reports are

always very much appreciated.

SKYWARN Strategy Meeting for Coordinators and Net Control Stations...

The first of two SKYWARN Strategy Meetings for SKYWARN Coordinators,

Net Control Stations and Alternate Net Control Stations will be

Saturday March 6th, 2004 at 10 AM at NWS Taunton. The following is

the meeting agenda and a meeting minutes/summary will be posted to

the email list in a future newsletter:

I.) 2004 SKYWARN Presentation

II.) SKYWARN Training 2004

A.) Review any remaining sites that need to be planned out.

III.) NWS Open House

A.) Discuss with NWS whether or not an Open House will be done in

2005.

IV.) Discussion on Continued Utilization and Better Coordination

of Echolink and IRLP Nodes

A.) Discuss current usage of Echolink and IRLP nodes.

B.) Discuss better coordination and utilization of nodes to

reflectors for specific operations.

C.) Make components of a plan to link up much of the region with

various nodes during an event.

D.) Discuss "failover" from these nodes to HF and other

frequencies where applicable.

V.) Discuss Liaison Paths for the Various Regions

A.) Review liaison paths for each region so that Net Controls &

liaisons can always have a path to NWS Taunton and vice-versa.

B.) Document the liaison paths for the NWS Taunton Operations area

to give new operators a better idea on where to look for

reports in given areas.

C.) Make sure neighboring regions know where to go to gather

information on weather that maybe moving toward their region.

VI.) Email and IM Usage for NWS Reporting

A.) Discuss utilization of IM software for reporting from non-Ham

spotters as needed.

B.) Discuss utilization of 2 new email addresses for reports into

NWS Taunton where Amateur Radio Operators could forward

reports.

VII.) Storm Ready Program Update

A.) Latest update on what towns and cities are getting involved

Storm Ready.

B.) Plan for future towns and cities to join the Storm Ready

Program.

VIII.) Updated Status on NWS Taunton Ham Station Operations

A.) Update on utilization of the Icom IC-735 HF Radio.

B.) Discuss installing battery backup power for the Ham station.

C.) Discuss any other enhancements for the station.

IX.) Any other NWS Topics

X.) NEXT DATE FOR THE SKYWARN STRATEGY MEETING

New Marine WX Course Offerings from NWS Taunton....

To expand Weather Awareness and Weather Spotting over marine areas,

NWS Taunton has begun offering a Marine WX Course to enhance mariners

abilities to detect significant/severe weather, take shelter quickly

and report information of interest to NWS Taunton over marine areas.

The first class was already held in Newport RI on Saturday February

28th, 2004 at the Newport Library. The next classes will be held at

the following locations:

Beverly Mass. on March 6th from 11 AM-2 PM at the Jubilee Yacht Club

on 126 Water Street in Beverly Mass.

Plymouth Mass. on March 31st from 6:30-9:30 PM at the Plymouth Community

Intermediate School, 117 Pond Road in Plymouth, Mass.

Unlike the SKYWARN Training classes, this class is specifcially geared

towards the Mariner and Marine observations. In addition,

pre-registration is required for this course. To pre-register, please

contact Frank Nocera, Marine Program Leader, at 508-823-1900 x: 411

or via email at frank.nocera@noaa.gov

A link providing a description of the course contents can be found

at the following link off of the NWS Taunton Forecast Office Home

Page:

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/marineWxCourse.html

It is hoped to offer a similar number of courses in different parts

of the Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island Coast line each year.

The courses would be held roughly around the same time that these

classes are going to be held this year which is prior to the Spring

and Summer time boating season.

Federal Disaster Aid Made Available for December 5th-7th, 2004 Major Storm...

The following information came from the MEMA Reports monthly

Newsletter produced by the Massachusetts Emergency Management

Agency MEMA. This report can also be seen via the web-site at

the following link:

http://www.mass.gov/mema

A separate SKYWARN Activation Report on this Major Nor'easter will

be sent out by the end of March. Below is the article from the MEMA

Reports Newsletter:

FEMA announced that Federal Disaster Aid would become available to the

Massachusetts communities hardest hit by the December 6- 7, 2003

snowstorm. The assistance was authorized under an emergency declaration

issued by the President after a review of the agency’s analysis of

Governor Mitt Romney’s request for federal assistance. The declaration

covers counties that received record or near record snowfall. The 12

counties that are eligible for federal funding include Essex,

Middlesex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Worcester,

Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden and Berkshire Counties. Under the

emergency declaration, as with the Presidents Day 2003 Storm,

reimbursement will be provided to local governments, state agencies,

hospitals, colleges and eligible private non-profits for 75% of the

total eligible costs of equipment, contracts and personnel overtime,

related to emergency protective measures dealing with the snow for a

continuous 48-hour period designated by each applicant. These are the

crucial hours when work crews clear snow emergency routes and roads to

critical facilities to permit passage of emergency vehicles. Related

emergency protective measures such as sanding & salting, search &

rescue, and shoveling out fire hydrants will also be eligible for

reimbursement. The locations and dates for Federal Disaster Aid

Workshops are available at www.mass.gov/mema.

Emergency Communications Workshop in Hingham, Mass. on April 3rd, 2004...

Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Workshop Saturday April 3rd, 2004:

There will be an Emergency Communications Workshop on Saturday

April 3rd, 2004 from 9:00 AM-4:00 PM at the South Shore Educational

Collaborative; 90 Industrial Park Road, Hingham, Mass.

This session is being put on by the ARES Section Staff through the

efforts of Metro Boston ARES District Emergency Coordinator,

KB1EKN-Mark Duff. This Emergency Communications Workshop will provide

the background and information to serve Amateur Radio Operators when

they need to respond to a communications emergency. It will feature an

Introduction and Conclusion to Emergency Communications, and five

1-hour training sessions on topics including:

Overview of Eastern Massachusetts ARES-RACES-SKYWARN Programs

Basic Overview of ICS

Net Operations

NTS Traffic Message Handling

Go Kits

Interactive Exercises on Field Operations

This training will also feature a 1-hour lunch that will be provided at

no coerced cost to any Amateur who attends the session.

The presentations will be given by other Amateur Operators well versed

in the topics listed above. The training will be a worthwhile endeavor

not just for emergency communicators but for anyone who is an Amateur

Radio Operator, and wants to learn more about the hobby.

Preregistration is requested but is not required in case anyone would

like to attend at the last minute. We will, however, accept any

preregistrations after that day or any walk-ins as long as space

permits.

Directions to South Shore Educational Collaborative (SSEC):

90 Industrial Park Road, Hingham, Ma.

N42. 10. 521’

W70. 54.791’

From the north follow Rt. 3 south to Exit 15. Sign says South

Hingham-South Weymouth. At the stop sign at the end of ramp,

turn left on Derby St. toward South Weymouth. Go 1/8 mile; sign on

left says South Shore Park. Take left on Industrial Park Rd. South

Shore Educational Collaborative is down about ½ mile on left.

Parking is to the left of the building.

From the south follow Rt. 3 north to exit 15, South Hingham

South-Weymouth. Stay to the right at end of ramp on to Derby St.

following the sign to South Weymouth. Go over Rt 3 and drive 1/8 mile;

sign on left says South Shore Park. Take left on Industrial Park Rd.

South Shore Educational Collaborative is down about ½ mile on left.

Parking is to the left of the building.

For any additional information and to preregister for the workshop,

please contact:

KB1EKN-Mark Duff emgmgt@comcast.net

W1MPN-Mike Neilsen w1mpn@ema.arrl.org

This training should be a worthwhile endeavor for anyone interested in

learning more about emergency communications and amateur radio in

general.

That's all for this edition of the SKYWARN Newsletter.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)

ARES SKYWARN Coordinator

Southeast Massachusetts ARES District Emergency Coordinator

SEMARA ARES Emergency Coordinator

Pager #: (508) 354-3142

Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)

Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)

Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)

Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com

http://users.rcn.com/rmacedo

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