Amateur Radio Field Day/Severe Weather Coordination Message #1 – Friday June 22nd through Sunday June 24th, 2012

June 21, 2012 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..The following is the first in a series of messages on Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend and providing infromation on the heat and severe weather potential during this period..
..Conditions will be hot and humid Friday with temperatures in the upper 80’s to mid 90s region wide so any Field Day sites doing setup Friday should use extreme caution due to the warm conditions by going slow and drinking plenty of liquids..
..Isolated to Scattered Strong to Severe Thunderstorms are Possible to likely Friday Afternoon and Evening across much of Southern New England as a cold front moves through the region. Strong to Damaging Winds, Large Hail and Urban and poor drainage flooding are the primary threats. Thunderstorm activity could extend into mid afternoon Saturday across East Coastal Massachusetts and Southeast New England depending on the cold front’s movement. SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton are possible to likely Friday Afternoon and Evening and possible on Saturday..
..The remainder of the period will largely be dry with a chance of scattered showers later Sunday as Field Day weekend winds down. Temperatures over the weekend will be in the Upper 70s to low 80s as the cold front brings cooler temperatures..
..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 first 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..
..Unlike past years, Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend doesn’t coinicide with Lightning Awareness Week so lightning safety information from NOAA’s Lightning Safety web site has been posted for awareness for all Amateur Radio Field Day Sites..

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

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/

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, any Amateur Radio Field Day sites doing setup will see Hazy, Hot and Humid conditions with temperatures in the upper 80s to mid 90s. Given this extreme heat, any groups setting up for Field Day on Friday should take it slow and drink plenty of liquids. The link below features information on Heat Safety:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/heat/index.shtml

A Cold front will begin to approach the region Friday Afternoon and evening and this will set the stage for isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms with strong to damaging winds, large hail and urban and poor drainage flooding as the primary threats. Any thunderstorms that do develop will have the attendant risk of lightning which is a danger to all Amateur Radio Field Day sites setting up during Friday Afternoon and evening regardless of whether thunderstorms become severe. The threat will be monitored with SKYWARN Activation and Ops at NWS Taunton possible to likely during Friday Afternoon and Evening.

As we get into Saturday, the cold front’s movement will be slowing and there remains a possibility of thunderstorm activity across East Coastl Massachusetts and Southeast New England through mid-afternoon with an attendant lightning risk. There is also the possibility the front moves fast enough that it clears the coast on Saturday. Any severe threat will depend on any sun and heating that could destablize the atmosphere and the position of the cold front. That will be better understood in future forecasts. 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. There will be a chance for scattered showers later Sunday Afternoon and Evening which might affect Field Day site takedown in some locations but the chance of this is low at this time. Temperatures over the weekend will be cooler ranging in the upper 70s to lower 80s.

Amateur Radio Field Day sites setting up on Friday and 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. 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 to likely on Friday Afternoon into the evening and future coordination messages will better define the activity for Saturday as mentioned previously. 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. The following is a link for lightning safety information:

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

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

The next coordination message will be posted by 1130 PM Thursday Evening.

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