Amateur Radio Field Day/Severe Weather Coordination Message #3 – June 25th, 2011 940 AM Post

June 25, 2011 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..The following is the third in a series of messages on Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend. Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend is an annual event where Ham Operators across the United States setup at Emergency Operations Centers, field locations, home locations etc. to operate and test their equipment and skills and make as many radio contacts as possible during the weekend. Many locations can be visited by the public and Amateur Radio Field Day can be a form of outreach to Ham and non-Ham Operators. It is also noted that several states have given proclamations to Amateur Radio/Ham Radio Operators for either an ‘Amateur Radio Week’ during the month of June or ‘Amateur Radio Month’ for this month. It is both a fun/preparatory event for Ham Radio Operators for Emergency Communications scenarios..
..As have been done over the past 10 plus years, this will be the third in a series of Severe Weather/Amateur Radio Field Day Coordination Messages to pass instructions to Amateur Radio Field Day sites on what to do if threatening weather approaches and to have Field Day sites guard their SKYWARN repeaters as required if threatening weather approaches..
..Friday’s weather was cool and cloudy for the period precluding any thunderstorm development. As we move into the Saturday of Field Day Weekend, unsettled weather is still expected for the region with periods of showers and thunderstorms possible Saturday Afternoon and Evening though a total washout is not expected. At this time, Sunday is still expected to be dry and the nicest day of the weekend. There is the potential for isolated to scatterred strong to severe thunderstorms over portions of interior Southern New England with damaging winds, large hail, urban/poor drainage flooding and lightning all threats during the afternoon and evening if sufficient heating and destablization can occur. If sufficient heating doesn’t occur, thunderstorms with a lightning risk will still be possible this Saturday Afternoon and evening as some thunderstorm activity moved through portions of the region early Saturay Morning..
..This Week is also Lightning Awareness Week and safety information on lightning gets propagated during this period and has coincidentally coincided with Amateur Radio Field Day weekend and that information is included in this coordination message..
..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton are possible this Saturday Afternoon and Evening. SKYWARN monitoring for even non-severe thunderstorms will be done over the weekend to protect Amateur Radio Field Day sites as best as possible..

There are a large number of Amateur Radio Field Day sites across the NWS Taunton County Warning Area and adjacent NWS County Warning Areas. Here are some links to information on these Amateur Radio Field Day Sites from across the region and links to the Amateur Radio Week Proclamation given by the Governor of Massachusetts for Amateur Radio Field Day 2011:

Amateur Radio Field Day Information: http://www.arrl.org/field-day

Amateur Radio Field Day National Locator: http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator

Eastern Massachusetts Field Day Home Page: http://fd.ema.arrl.org/

Massachusetts Proclamation for Amateur Radio Week:
http://wma.arrl.org/news.php
http://ema.arrl.org/node/1861

New Hampshire has put out a notice on their Field Day sites. See link below on the post that was written by the New Hampshire Section/Tom Richardson-AB1CL:
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/nh_arrl_section_field_day_announcement.pdf

Field Day Info for the Hampden County Radio Association (HCRA):
http://n1kxr.webs.com/hcra_fieldday_2011.htm

Field Day Info from the Central Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association (CMARA) as provided by NE1R-Tom Carrigan:
The Central Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association, (W1BIM) celebrating
75 years of existance, will be participating in Field Day (rain or
shine) on the athletic field of David Prouty High School on Route 9 in
Spencer, MA. The public is cordially invited to visit between 2:00 pm
Saturday and about 12:00 noon on Sunday. Amateur Radio operators are
welcome to come and pitch-in, even if they have not yet joined the
CMARA. Access is by a driveway at the left side of the parking area on
Route 9.

Field Day Info from the Charlestown, RI EOC Ham Radio Team as provided by W1JPZ-John Zabriskie:
The Charlestown RI EOC Ham Team will be operating around the clock from Ninigret Park in Charlestown, RI ( the old Charlestown Naval Air Station ). The public is invited to visit from 1:00pm to 4:00pm on Saturday and from 10:00am to 2:00pm on Sunday. Of course we would be glad to show the operation to any one who shows up at any time during park hours. The park closes at Sunset and re-opens at Sunrise to the general public.

If there is additional Amateur Radio Field Day information that you would like to appear in these coordination messages, please contact me and I will add it to this section of the Amateur Radio Field Day Coordination Message.

On Friday, the cool marine air mass was able to preclude any thunderstorm development across the region. This resulted in a cool, dreary day but a day where equipment for Field Day could be setup without issues.

As we get into Saturday, conditions will remain unsettled though the entire day is not expected to be a washout. Showers and thunderstorms moved through portions of Southern New England and are moving offshore of Essex County Massachusetts as of 910 AM. Satellite Imagery as of 910 AM, shows clouds over much of Southern New England but breaks in the clouds over Northeast Pennsylvania and Southeast New York that models indicate will move through the area. This will occur as the warm front which has been stalled out to the west of the region will move through and there should be a bit more sunshine then the past few days and temperatures into the 70s. This will be especially true over Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut. While this sounds like good news, if enough sunshine develops, the atmosphere will cool aloft as a cold front approaches the region and wind shear profiles will be fairly strong. If enough sun and destablization occurs, isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms, possibly organizing into short lines may develop by afternoon and evening affecting much of interior Southern New England. At the coast, thunderstorms with a lightning risk would be possible later Saturday Afternoon and Evening. Again, any severe threat will depend on any sun and heating that could destablize the atmosphere. Non-severe thunderstorms could be the main threat if heating doesn’t occur which pose a lightning safety risk to Field Day sites. SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton will be possible again Saturday Afternoon into Saturday Evening. As we get into late Saturday Night into Sunday, drier conditions will return to the area and the threat for thunderstorms and severe weather will have passed. Sunday is expected to be a pleasant day and the better of the 2 days for Field Day weekend.

Amateur Radio Field Day sites active on Saturday should use caution and keep an eye to the sky and monitor their local SKYWARN Repeater, NOAA Weather Radio or weather information via Internet and media resources to guard against safety issues if thunderstorms, even if they are non-severe, occur in the region due to the potential lightning risk on radio equipment and antennas. Proper grouding of antennas is essential to help reduce any risk from lightning. As passed on by a fellow Amatuer Radio Operator and SKYWARN Spotter, Tom Carrigan-NE1R, here is an additional safety tip to prevent damage to equipment:

Before reconnecting your antenna after a thunder storm has passed, ground the transmission line connector to discharge built-up static charges before reconnecting it to the radio. Failure to do this can damage some radios.

Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook:

NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook: http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.flus41.KBOX.html

SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton is possible Saturday Afternoon and Evening. A shortened or updated coordination message will be issued if Ops at NWS Taunton are initiated today. SKYWARN monitoring for non-severe thunderstorms and their lightning risk will be done throughout the weekend to protect Amateur Radio Field Day sites as required.

Also, as stated previously, remember that non-severe thunderstorms can pose a threat to Amateur Radio Field Day sites due to the threat of lightning. Please keep this in mind if you have an outdoor Field Day site. This week is Lightning Awareness Week and the National Weather Service in Taunton has posted information on Lightning Safety Awareness Week. See links below for this information:

NWS Taunton Latest Lightning Safety Awareness Week Statement: http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.nous41.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton Thursday 6/23/11 Lightning Safety Awareness Week Statement: http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KBOX/1106231315.nous41.html

NWS Taunton Wednesday 6/22/11 Lightning Safety Awareness Week Statement: http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=BOX&product=PNS&format=CI&version=5&glossary=0

NWS Taunton Tuesday 6/21/11 Lightning Safety Awareness Week Statement: http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=BOX&product=PNS&format=CI&version=6&glossary=0

NWS Lightning Safety Awareness Home Page: http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/

Again, Field Day sites are encouraged to bring a NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio and a dedicated Ham Radio that can monitor their local SKYWARN Frequency for their area or if they have mobile Internet capability, that is also a way to monitor for weather information if thunderstorms, even that are non-severe, approach your area. With Mobile Internet capability, utilizing Echolink to monitor the New England Reflector system on Echolink Conference Node: 9123/IRLP 9123 would be helpful. Please see the link below for the latest SKYWARN Frequency information for the region:
http://beta.wx1box.org/node/37

Another coordination message either in shortened or complete form, likely the last one for this event given benign weather conditions for Sunday, will be sent prior to 2 PM Saturday Afternoon and will likely contain information on potential SKYWARN Activation and Ops at NWS Taunton information for Saturday.

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://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://beta.wx1box.org