*SKYWARN Newsletter #241


Hello to all....

 

NWS Taunton SKYWARN Training 2007 Schedule Update....

NWS Gray, Maine SKYWARN Training 2007 Schedule Update....

Hurricane Awareness Tour: P3 Hurricane Hunter Plane to visit Quonset State Airport in North Kingstown, RI on Monday 4/30/07....

New WX1BOX NWS Taunton SKYWARN Home Page Now Up and Running....

ARRL Letter Article: Severe Weather Puts Amateur Radio Volunteers to the Test....

ARRL Letter Article: Amateur Radio Volunteers Assist Following Severe Weather....

ARRL Letter Article: Amateur Radio Volunteers Support Tornado Relief Operation....

ARRL Web Article: Nor'easter Prompts Activity in Ohio and the Northeast....

ARRL Letter Article: Radio Amateurs Support Emergency Services, Forecasters in Ice Storm's Wake....

ARRL Letter Article: Ham Radio Volunteers Help in Wake of Colorado Snowstorm....

 

Newsletter Issued: 3/26/2007.

 

NWS Taunton SKYWARN Training 2007 Schedule Update....

 

To date, we have 9 SKYWARN training sessions booked in the NWS

Taunton County Warning Area and an additional 7 sites will be booked.

The additional sites will be booked in Southern Rhode Island,

Northeast Connecticut, Central and Northwest Massachusetts, Essex

County Massachusetts and Cape Cod. Links to the current confirmed

list of sessions can be seen at the following links:

 

http://www.wx1box.org/mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=8&page_id=1

 

There is also a link to the NWS Taunton web site but the link needs

to be updated with the latest sessions including a date change for

the Hillsborough County, NH site that was made due to school vacation

week being on the original date. The sessions have been booked through

Amateur Radio SKYWARN Coordinators working with Emergency Management

and other agencies to provide locations for the training sessions.

 

Given this is the first time the schedule has been put on the email

list, the confirmed sessions from NWS Taunton are listed below

along with the link above where people can check back for updates:

 

SKYWARN Training Schedule confirmed list as of Monday 3/26/07:

 

Thursday May 3rd, 2007 7-10PM:

Walpole Town Hall

135 School Street

Walpole, Mass

Sponsored by the town of Walpole and Walpole Emergency Management

 

Monday May 7th, 2007 6:30-9:30 PM:

Six Flags New England HR (Human Resources) Building

Agawam, Massachusetts

Directions Link:

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/newengland/ParkInfo/directions.html

 

Wednesday May 9th, 2007 7-10PM:

Canton, CT Public Library/Community Center

40 Dyer Avenue

Canton, CT

Sponsored by Canton, CT Emergency Management

 

Saturday May 12th, 2007 7-10PM:

Marlborough EOC

215 Maple Street

Marlborough, MA

Sponsored by Marlborough Emergency Management

 

Monday May 14th, 2007 7-10 PM:

Monadnock Regional High School

580 Old Homestead Highway

Swanzey, NH

Sponsored by Swanzey, NH Emergency Management

 

****NOTE DATE CHANGE FOR THIS SESSION****

Tuesday May 15th, 2007 6:30-9:30PM:

Hudson, NH Community Center

12 Lions Avenue

Hudson, NH

Sponsored by Hudson, NH Fire Department

****NOTE DATE CHANGE FOR THIS SESSION****

 

Thursday May 17th, 2007 7-10PM:

SAVE THE BAY-Narragansett Bay

100 Save the Bay Drive

Providence, RI

Sponsored by Save-The-Bay and Providence EMA & OHS

 

Thursday June 14th, 2007 7-10 PM:

Acushnet Community Center

232 Middle Road

Acushnet, MA

Sponsored by the Acushnet Emergency Management Agency

 

Saturday June 16th, 2007 Noon-3 PM:

Illing Middle School Cafetorium

229 East Middle Turnpike

Manchester, CT

Sponsored by the town of Manchester, CT and Manchester, CT Emergency Management

 

Further updates will be posted as additional training sessions

are booked.

 

NWS Gray, Maine SKYWARN Training 2007 Schedule Update....

 

The National Weather Service in Gray, Maine has kicked off SKYWARN

training 2007 with its first session in Conway, New Hampshire. The

session was reported to be a great success by NWS Gray, Maine

Amateur Operators David Lowe-KB1NJP and N1FCM-James Dow who attended

the training session. The next session is April 3rd in Derry, New

Hampshire.

 

While NWS Gray, Maine has done intermittent SKYWARN training over

the years, this is the first major push with multiple sessions

scheduled over the Spring in both New Hampshire and Maine. Its a

testament to the dedication of the forecasters and Amateur Radio

Operators at NWS Gray, Maine who are working to continue to build

their SKYWARN program. For those that maybe on the SKYWARN email

list from the NWS Gray, Maine area, the complete SKYWARN

Training schedule can be seen at the following link:

 

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/gyx/spotters_skywarn/skywarn2.shtml

 

Hurricane Awareness Tour: P3 Hurricane Hunter Plane to visit Quonset State Airport in North Kingstown, RI on Monday 4/30/07....

 

The National Hurricane Center working with local NWS Forecast Offices

will be kicking off its Hurricane Awareness Tour with the P3 Hurricane

Hunter Plane visiting the Quonset State Airport in North Kingstown, RI,

Monday April 30th, 2007. The tour will be open to the public from 3-6 PM

Monday with Emergency Management Directors, Public officials, other VIP's,

and school kids from several local school districts touring the plane

earlier in the day. Director of the National Hurricane Center Bill

Proenza will be on site with the tour and will be addressing the

EMA Directors and Public Officials as well as the media during

the tour event.

 

Unlike past years when the plane tour was simply a tour of the plane

and a town meeting/hurricane presentation after the tour, the tour

will be featuring Information Stations from various organizations.

There will also be a strong Amateur Radio presence as the National

Weather Service in Taunton has requested Amateur Radio Operators

to assist with communications for the event as well as a setup

for a special event station at the site. This is being done

through the cooperation of Hams involved with Rhode Island SKYWARN,

the Taunton Amateur Radio Group and Amateurs involved with Eastern

Massachusetts ARES and SKYWARN. We are hoping through a coordinated

effort to make contact with the National Hurricane Center Amateur Radio

station, WX4NHC, and potentially have NHC Director Bill Proenza speak

with the National Hurricane Center through Amateur Radio and possibly

speak with others in the Amateur Radio community. In addition to the

heavy Amateur Radio involvement, the following agencies will also

have Info station setups/equipment on site:

 

-Rhode Island EMA Will bring its Mobile EMA Vehicle

-An Info Station on NOAA Weather Radio

-An Info Station on the NOAA 200th Year Anniversary

-An Info Station from the American Red Cross of Rhode Island

-An info Station from the National Ocean Service/Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

 

Additional Info stations may be brought to the tour. If there are

additional info stations, the information will be updated in a future

SKYWARN Newsletter.

 

There will be a NOAA Weather Radio Live broadcast "Dinner With Dunham"

that will occur one week before the event to further the publicity.

That broadcast has been tentatively scheduled for Monday April

23rd at 630 PM for all NOAA Weather Radio transmitters for the NWS

Taunton County Warning Area. Further details on the broadcast will

be announced as we get closer to the event.

 

A Public Information Statement and separate PR statement on the tour

will be posted to the SKYWARN email list later this week. This article

is an attempt to get the PR started within the SKYWARN community on

this major event for the region.

 

New WX1BOX NWS Taunton SKYWARN Home Page Now Up and Running....

 

The new WX1BOX NWS Taunton SKYWARN Home page is now up and running.

The new web site address is http://www.wx1box.org and we hope to be

able to link this to the NWS Taunton Home page in the future once

more content is added.

 

We currently have the latest 2007 SKYWARN Training Schedule for NWS

Taunton listed on the web site as well as reporting criteria and

frequency information as well as information on daily weather nets

and weekly SKYWARN Nets that take place in the region.

Additional content updates planned for the future include the following:

 

-SKYWARN Newsletter archive including all SKYWARN Newsletters along

with this most recent newsletter.

 

-Pictures from various storm events that the region has had over

the years.

 

-Links to SKYWARN videos produced by Jim Palmer-KB1KQW and Matt

Dempsey-KB1MRH, ARES-SKYWARN Coordinators from Essex County

affiliated with the North Shore Radio Association.

 

-Adjustments made to the top level banner on the web site.

 

-Link to the Boxboro Hamfest/New England Division Convention 2006

SKYWARN Presentation and much more.

 

ARRL Letter Article: Severe Weather Puts Amateur Radio Volunteers to the Test....

 

The following ARRL Letter article details the Severe Weather response

in Alabama, Georgia and Missouri in the wake of tornadoes that occurred

in early March in the region.

 

==>SEVERE WEATHER PUTS AMATEUR RADIO VOLUNTEERS TO THE TEST

 

Severe weather that included tornadoes March 1 prompted activation by

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and SKYWARN volunteers in Alabama,

Georgia and Missouri. Twenty people died in the three states, including

seven in Alabama. A tornado destroyed the high school in Enterprise, and

five students died when the roof collapsed as they took cover inside.

Tornadoes wreaked extensive property damage in the affected communities.

 

"It was a very busy day for Alabama ARES," said ARRL Alabama Section Manager

Greg Sarratt, W4OZK. "Amateur Radio operators all across the state were busy

March 1 tending to a massive severe weather outbreak in most of the state."

Sarratt says Alabama was under multiple tornado and severe thunderstorm

warnings for a large part of the day.

 

Amateurs stationed at National Weather Service (NWS) offices, emergency

operations centers (EOCs) and elsewhere used HF and VHF to relay critical

weather information to served agencies, he reported. "The Alabama amateurs

performed as professionals," Sarratt said. "Many hams took off from work to

staff stations."

 

At week's end, Sarratt told ARRL Headquarters that Enterprise/Coffee County

Emergency Coordinator Jim Garrison, KL0LN, and local amateurs were still at

the Enterprise EOC assisting the local emergency management agency and the

city with recovery efforts.

 

In Georgia, ARRL Section Traffic Manager Charles Pennington, K4GK, said the

Georgia ARES Net activated during the afternoon of March 1 and continued

into the wee hours of March 2, as a series of severe weather watches and

warnings were posted. "Several tornadoes were reported, scattered mostly

through central and southern Georgia," he said.

 

"We had 82 stations reported on the statewide HF net. In addition, the

SKYWARN nets were active from 1:45 PM until around midnight, with extensive

coverage in the affected areas." Pennington said several VHF/UHF nets also

were up and running during the event. Georgia ARES stood down March 2 but

remained on standby if needed during recovery operations.

 

Georgia authorities blamed the storms for at least two deaths after a

tornado struck a hospital in Americus. Another person died and four were

injured when a tornado touched down in Taylor County, near Albany.

 

In Missouri, Section Traffic Manager Dale Huffington, AE0S, cited "many

reports of activation" March 1 on the 75-meter phone net. "Amateurs in over

half of Missouri's ARES districts reported activations due to the storm," he

said. In Howell County, in south-central Missouri, a tornado was blamed for

the death of a seven-year-old girl. An ARES net activated in Howell County.

 

In Boone County, in central Missouri, ARES teams activated at the request of

the Joint Communications Information Center. Ten weather spotters -- among

them Missouri Section Emergency Coordinator Don Moore, KM0R -- provided

real-time, ground-level weather observations to supplement NWS radars in

Kansas City and St Louis.

 

ARRL Letter Article: Amateur Radio Volunteers Assist Following Severe Weather....

 

Amateur Radio Operator Volunteers assisted following severe weather in

Arkansas and Louisiana. Below is the ARRL Letter article detailing

that Amateur Radio assistance:

 

==>AMATEUR RADIO VOLUNTEERS ASSIST FOLLOWING SEVERE WEATHER

 

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) members and individual radio amateurs

pitched in to assist after severe weather struck Arkansas and Louisiana

February 24. In Desha County, Arkansas, more than two dozen people were

injured when a tornado ripped through Dumas, causing widespread damage.

Dumas resident Roger Lunsford, KD5HMS, says the twister spared his

neighborhood.

 

"My family and I huddled in the bathroom with my radios in hand monitoring

public officials reporting a visual sighting of the funnel cloud . . .

heading straight for town," he recounted. The storm took out electrical

power. Once the storm passed, Lunsford grabbed his radio and went into town

to help search for victims; most escaped without life-threatening injuries.

 

No ARES teams deployed, but with telephone service out, Lunsford was able to

get out word of the damage via Amateur Radio. He and his family had to take

cover again as another tornado threatened.

 

In Louisiana, Caddo-Bossier Parish Emergency Coordinator Richard Lea, NZ5S,

reports Bossier Marshals Office Chief Rick Ware, K5VXT, requested ARES

activation after a tornado struck North Bossier Parish. An emergency net

convened for three hours on a VHF repeater, with 20 check-ins and others

monitoring.

 

SKYWARN volunteers relayed storm and weather data. Agencies responding to or

using the ARES net included the Bossier Office of Emergency Preparedness as

well as law enforcement.

 

"The affected area was thankfully small, and only minor injuries were

reported," Lea said. "ARES stations were prepared to deploy, but there was

not a need at the time of the activation." ARES terminated operations at

midnight, although Lea and Ware stood by overnight.

 

ARRL Letter Article: Amateur Radio Volunteers Support Tornado Relief Operation....

 

Amateur Radio Operators supported Tornado Relief operations in Central

Florida as a deadly tornado outbreak caused significant damage in

Lake, Sumter, Seminole and Volusia Counties of Florida. Two Amateurs

from the NWS Taunton County Warning Area were quoted in the article.

 

Mike "Sparky" Leger-N1YLQ, an Acushnet Massachusetts native and

NWS Taunton SKYWARN Spotter and Forecast Office operator assisted

with Red Cross relief efforts and was interviewed on the Weekly

VoIP Hurricane Prep Net. Joe Fratto-N1RLO, Boston SATERN volunteer,

who was vacationing in Florida when the tornadoes hit was also quoted

in this ARRL Letter/ARRL Web Article which is listed below:

 

==>AMATEUR RADIO VOLUNTEERS SUPPORT TORNADO RELIEF OPERATION

 

When deadly tornados struck Central Florida early Friday, February 2,

Amateur Radio volunteers turned out to assist emergency managers and relief

organizations to supplement communication and offer other support. The

National Weather Service (NWS) rated two of the three twisters as EF-3

events -- 160-165 MPH winds -- on the new "Enhanced Fujita Scale." Since

they hit in the early-morning hours, the tornadoes took many residents by

surprise. They left behind a landscape of downed trees and extensive

structural damage in at least four Florida counties and claimed 20 lives --

most within the tornado's first two minutes, authorities say. Amateur Radio

Emergency Service (ARES) and SKYWARN volunteers were active in Lake,

Seminole, Sumter and Volusia counties -- all designated as federal disaster

areas.

 

"It's likely to take a long time to recover from this," observed Sparky

Leger, N1YLQ, a Red Cross and SKYWARN volunteer in Volusia County, where an

EF-1 tornado -- 100-105 MPH -- hit. "Seeing some of the damage during a

drive-through, honestly, we're not sure how people managed to survive." He

shared his experiences last weekend with members of the VoIP Hurricane Prep

Net <http://www.voipwx.net/>. An estimated 1500 dwellings were badly damaged

or destroyed in the four-county region. Devastation was widespread.

 

Sumter County ARES Emergency Coordinator JT Fleming, W3GQJ, who says the

storm affected only a portion of his county. "Sumter County was very lucky

in that the majority of the homes affected were all built in the last two

years to the current Florida 110 miles-per-hour standard," he noted. "Lake

County that borders on the east side had much greater destruction because

the tornado hit a mobile home community." All 20 deaths occurred in Lake

County.

 

Some 20 Sumter County ARES volunteers responded over the course of the

weekend to support communication between the county emergency operations

center (EOC) and shelters. Many residents opted to remain at their damaged

properties, although some are staying with family or friends or in public

accommodations.

 

By all accounts, Amateur Radio communication support was largely unneeded

because the cellular telephone network remained operational, although it did

get overloaded at times. ARES teams stood by to fill the gaps if needed.

 

Irv Butler, KB1E, was among those volunteering in hard-hit Lake County. "We

are providing comms to The Salvation Army meals relief teams," he told ARRL

Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator Joe Bushel, W2DWR, over the

weekend. He said the county emergency management staff had expressed

appreciation for the Amateur Radio assistance.

 

ARES/RACES volunteers from Seminole and Lake counties installed a backup

repeater in Paisley to restore radio communication for Lake County Fire and

Rescue.

 

Volusia County EC Fred Magliacane, KF4VRS, reports the adjacent KE8MR 145.23

MHz repeater was abruptly taken off the air after the storm toppled the

1500-foot commercial radio tower that had supported the repeater's antenna.

The repeater typically serves the East Central District ARES during

disasters.

 

"Over the past few years we have learned that we cannot always rely on

repeaters," Magliacane says. "We have trained our members to use simplex if

and when the repeaters fail. One net a month we have a simplex net, and

sometimes during the regular nets, we turn off the repeaters to see if our

members remember to go to simplex."

 

Local hams are helping The Salvation Army feeding stations,"

Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) Volunteer

Joe Fratto, N1RLO, told National SATERN Director Pat McMcPherson,

WW9E, last weekend. "Radio calls go out on a 2-meter command

frequency from Lake County EOC at times requesting hams to fill in

the next shifts at feeding stations. Hams are doing a good job!"

Fratto was vacationing in Florida when the tornados struck.

 

McPherson reported at midweek that The Salvation Army is continuing

to serve residents, emergency responders and cleanup crews in

Lake and Volusia counties. TSA volunteers also have been providing

clean-up kits to affected residents.

 

Florida Gov Charlie Crist and Federal Emergency Management Agency

Director David Paulison toured the storm-devastated area over the

weekend by helicopter.

 

ARRL Web Article: Nor'easter Prompts Activity in Ohio and the Northeast....

 

The following article was on the ARRL web detailing the Valentine's

Day storm and its impact to the Northeast US as well as the state

of Ohio. It details the operations of both the NWS Taunton, Mass. and

NWS Gray, Maine Forecast offices and their joint SKYWARN activation

plans. The ARRL web article is listed below:

 

==> Nor'easter Prompts Amateur Radio Activity in Ohio, Northeast

 

NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 15, 2007 -- Amateur Radio Emergency Service

(ARES) and SKYWARN volunteers activated February 13 and 14 as a

fierce winter storm generated potentially dangerous weather

conditions from the Great Lakes into New England. In Ohio, ARES

teams in five counties took on a variety of weather-related

duties February 13. Ohio Section Emergency Coordinator Frank

Piper, KI8GW, says District Emergency Coordinators in his Section

were ready to deploy volunteers in the event of shelter openings

or by request of served agencies.

 

"I am proud of all the ARES volunteers in Ohio who responded or

were prepared to deploy upon notification," Piper told ARRL.

 

Piper says that Seneca County ARES members activated a net from the

county's emergency operations center to gather reports of local

weather conditions, road conditions and stranded motorists. The Ohio

Single Sideband Net, which convenes three times a day on 75 meters

(3927.5 kHz), and VHF/UHF repeaters kept northern Ohio radio

amateurs in contact with each other.

 

In western Ohio, ARES teams in Darke, Green and Shelby counties

assisted local emergency management agencies and hospitals by

helping to transport essential personnel. "Many of these operations

started early Tuesday morning when the storm hit and operated at

each hospital shift change," Piper explained.

 

In Montgomery County, the local emergency management agency

requested ARES activation early Tuesday, and a net was begun on the

145.11 MHz repeater.

 

SKYWARN Activates in the Northeast

 

Meanwhile, SKYWARN was active across portions of the US Northeast

for this week's winter weather event. The storm dumped up to

three feet of snow in portions of northeastern New York,

New Hampshire, Vermont, northwestern Massachusetts and Maine,

with whiteout and blizzard conditions reported because of high

winds throughout much of the region. The storm dumped sleet and

freezing rain across much of interior Southern New England and

heavy rainfall in Rhode Island, southeastern Massachusetts and

along coastal areas.

 

"Amateur Radio operators supported SKYWARN and the National Weather

Service Forecast Offices in Taunton, Massachusetts -- WX1BOX --

and Gray, Maine -- WX1GYX -- with reports of snowfall, wind damage

and flooding," said Rob Macedo, KD1CY, the ARES/SKYWARN coordinator

for NWS-Taunton. Macedo says the heaviest snow fell across northern

Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, which received anywhere

from 8 to 15 inches.

 

"Luckily, little infrastructure damage occurred, though urban

flooding near the evening commute was a problem on major roads in

eastern, southeastern and coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island,"

Macedo said. "Winds gusted to between 45 and 55 MPH, and as

temperatures dropped rapidly, untreated roads iced up quickly."

 

Macedo said SKYWARN volunteers used several repeaters and linked

repeater systems across New England, and the New England Reflector

System was active on IRLP reflector 9123, EchoLink *NEW-ENG* Node

9123. He said the VoIP system served to relay SKYWARN reports from

across New England and as a pathway for NWS-Taunton to communicate

with NWS-Gray, both directly and through NWS-Gray liaison Ken

Grimmard, N1DOT.

 

"We continue to build a strong SKYWARN program for the

NWS-Gray office," Macedo said. "These reports that we get from

spotters are extremely helpful, and we had two operators --

Jerry Hume, KB1NHD, and David Lowe, KB1NJP -- at the office for

much of the afternoon and evening."

 

SKYWARN currently has EchoLink and VHF/UHF capability at WX1GYX,

noted Tom Berman, N1KTA, a forecaster at the NWS Gray office.

Since NWS-Gray has no HF capability as yet, it requested

NWS-Taunton to go to the Seagull Net on 3940 kHz to gather snowfall

and weather condition reports, since the net covers much of Maine and

New Hampshire. The reports were then delivered to NWS-Gray via

EchoLink.

 

"Here is an example of how HF and EchoLink/IRLP communication can

complement one another," Macedo said.

 

Cold, dry conditions are expected over most of the US Northeast

during the next few days.

 

ARRL Letter Article: Radio Amateurs Support Emergency Services, Forecasters in Ice Storm's Wake....

 

This was an ARRL Letter Article concerning Amateur Radio support for

an Ice Storm that affected the state of Oklahoma and other Midwest

and Plains states before moving into New England and causing significant

tree and power line damage in New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts

where power was out for 18 to as much as 72 hours in some locations.

Many Amateurs who gave reports to NWS Taunton were running on battery

and generator power. The article from the ARRL Letter details Amateur

Radio's response to the event.

 

==>RADIO AMATEURS SUPPORT EMERGENCY SERVICES, FORECASTERS IN ICE STORM'S

WAKE

 

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and other ham radio volunteers in

Oklahoma continue to assist after an ice storm blanketed the state January

12 before moving into the Eastern US. Section leadership is asking radio

amateurs to continue monitoring local VHF and UHF repeaters and the ARES

Oklahoma HF Net (7260 kHz days; 3900 kHz evenings) for up-to-date

information. ARRL Oklahoma Section Emergency Coordinator Kevin Atnip,

KD5WUP, says ARES teams are on duty in several counties, but volunteers are

still needed.

 

"At this time we have people helping out in McAlester and in Eufaula," he

said this week. One volunteer in McAlester is relieving some of the local

radio amateurs who have been on duty from day one. The Eufaula Emergency

Operations Center (EOC), in McIntosh County, is seeking relief operators.

 

In Pontotoc and Coal counties, Atnip said, Amateur Radio volunteers are

going door to door to check on older residents. In Mayes County, a loss of

power forced temporary relocation of the EOC, and emergency managers were

seeking additional Amateur Radio support. Volunteers also were needed to

provide a communication link for water distribution centers at opposite ends

of Mayes County. The Ada Amateur Radio Club was reported working with

retailer Drug Warehouse to deliver medications to those unable to retrieve

them.

 

Oklahoma is preparing for another round of winter weather this weekend.

Atnip has urged volunteers to exercise caution when deploying. "If anyone is

called out, please be careful and watch out for each other," he said. "Do

not put yourself or the team into a dangerous position."

 

The Oklahoma State EOC remained activated at week's end. Thousands of

households still had no electricity due to downed power lines -- some

weighed down by inches of ice or felled by broken tree limbs -- and hundreds

of residents were taking refuge in Red Cross shelters.

 

The weather system that wreaked havoc in Oklahoma and parts of the Midwest

swept through sections of Upstate New York and into New England, bringing

ice and not-entirely-unwelcome snow. SKYWARN teams activated as the ice and

snow hit southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts, damaging trees

and power lines and causing widespread power outages. The activation lasted

about 11 hours with icing averaging about one-half inch across the area,

says Rob Macedo, KD1CY, the ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for the National

Weather Service Office in Taunton, Massachusetts.

 

Macedo said that once it became clear that an ice storm was likely, Amateur

Radio SKYWARN spotter reports played a critical role in upgrading NWS

"advisories" to "warnings." Amateur Radio volunteers also provided damage

reports and information on how residents of the region were being affected,

he added.

 

In New Hampshire, downed trees and utility lines were reported across

Cheshire, Hillsborough and Rockingham counties. In Massachusetts, northern

Franklin, northern Worcester, northern Middlesex and western Essex counties

were hardest hit.

 

SKYWARN was active on as many as six repeaters throughout the day, Macedo

reports, and Amateur Radio volunteers staffing the NWS Taunton office

collected reports to help meteorologists disseminating weather information

to the general public. Hams used local repeaters as well as Voice over

Internet Protocol (VoIP) resources to obtain or relay information from the

affected area, Macedo said.

 

Hillsborough County New Hampshire ARES and SKYWARN Emergency Coordinator Jim

Blaine, WD4JZO, ran hourly nets January 15 before losing power and switching

to batteries. Other New Hampshire radio amateurs also lost power for several

hours but went to generators to stay on the air.

 

Word that some hams were using generators for emergency power prompted a

warning from New Hampshire ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Tom

Richardson, AB1CL. "Generators produce deadly carbon monoxide," he said. "It

seems that every storm brings about a few generator deaths, so move them

away from buildings."

 

In northern Massachusetts, many trees and wires were down and power outages

were widespread. Auto accidents abounded during the evening rush hour. Icing

even reached communities closer to the coast, along Massachusetts' North

Shore, where significant icing occurred.

 

The icy weather and sub-freezing temperatures stood in stark contrast to the

unseasonably warm weather New England had been experiencing. "I guess the

Indian summer portion of our winter has now ended," quipped Macedo.

 

 

ARRL Letter Article: Ham Radio Volunteers Help in Wake of Colorado Snowstorm....

 

In late December 2006, a large snowstorm hit the state of Colorado and

Amateur Radio Volunteers assisted in the storm's wake. Below is the

article from the ARRL Letter on that assistance:

 

==>THE DAY THE SNOWS CAME: COLORADO ARES TEAMS STAY BUSY OVER HOLIDAYS

 

A major Colorado snowstorm just after Christmas prompted Amateur Radio

Emergency Service (ARES) teams to activate for the second time in less than

10 days along Colorado's Front Range -- the state's most populous region.

The December 28 storm dumped upward of three feet of snow on and around

Denver, stranding both air and highway travelers. The area was just starting

to recover from a pre-Christmas blizzard that stranded holiday travelers and

brought the Denver area to a near-standstill when the second snowstorm

struck. Colorado Section Emergency Coordinator Ben Baker, KB0UBZ, reports

that all Colorado ARES teams had stood down as of Monday, January 1. The

last to terminate operations were the volunteers at the Colorado State

Emergency Operations Center (EOC), who held down the fort until 3 PM on New

Year's Day.

 

"The worst of the second storm affected the southeast corner of Colorado the

most, although all areas of eastern Colorado were also affected, from Ft

Collins to the New Mexico border," Baker said. "Because of the snow coming

in waves along the Front Range, travel was difficult but not as impossible

as with the first storm." He told ARRL Headquarters that teams from several

ARES districts deployed to report snowfall totals and remained available to

support communication for shelters, although that turned out to be

unnecessary.

 

Colorado Gov Bill Owens declared a state of emergency, and the National

Guard was called out to search snowbound roadways for stranded motorists.

Stretches of two major Interstate highways, I-70 and I-25, had to be closed

to traffic. Power remained out to thousands of rural customers at week's

end.

 

Bill James, KC0FGJ, the ARES EC for Baca, Bent, Kiowa and Prowers counties,

coordinated communications between the State EOC and ARES teams in

southeastern Colorado counties. James reported that travel was impossible

due to snowfall of up to three feet and drifts of more than 10 feet in some

spots.

 

Erix Dyce, W0ERX, the EC for the Colorado State Emergency Operation Center,

reported that UHF, HF and IRLP were the primary communications modes used at

the EOC to maintain communication throughout southeastern Colorado.

 

Baker said primary roadways into and out of the region began re-opening on

January 2. The Colorado National Guard this week has been air-dropping bales

of hay from helicopters to stranded livestock, and the Civil Air Patrol

deployed aircraft seeking stranded motorists and livestock.

 

The storms that struck Colorado moved east into the Midwest causing similar

problems in Kansas and elsewhere. Forecasters were calling for a third,

less-severe snowstorm in Colorado this weekend.

 

That's all for this edition of the SKYWARN email Newsletter!

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)

ARES SKYWARN Coordinator

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section 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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