April 2014

Storm Coordination Message #2 – Wednesday Evening 4/30/14-Thursday Morning 5/1/14

April 30, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..Strong Storm System that Has Brought Severe Weather to the South-Central and Southeast Portions of the United States on track to bring heavy rainfall and the potential for flooding to portions of Southern New England. An isolated strong thunderstorm is possible Thursday Afternoon into early evening if sufficient heating develops after heavy rainfall moves through the area Thursday Morning particularly in interior Western and Central New England..
..A Flood Watch is remains in effect from Wednesday Evening through Thursday Afternoon for Hampden County Massachusetts, Northern Connecticut and Providence, Kent and Washington Counties of Rhode Island..
..SKYWARN Activation in some form is likely some time on Thursday. Ops at NWS Taunton is possible..

The strong storm system that has brought severe weather to South-Central and Southeast United States is on track move up into the Northeast as we get into Wednesday Evening through Thursday and will bring the threat of heavy rainfall to the region. A Flood Watch remains in effect from Wednesday Evening through Thursday Afternoon for Hampden County Massachusetts, Northern Connecticut and Providence, Kent and Washington Counties of Rhode Island. This could extended eastward in future outlooks. Total rainfall of 1-2″ is likely with isolated rainfall amounts of 3″ possible. It remains possible that heavier rainfall which is expected to stay further and southwest could advance further into the Flood Watch area and some surrounding locations and will be monitored in future model runs.

If sufficient heating develops after heavy rainfall moves through the area Thursday Morning, an isolated strong thunderstorm is possible in interior Western and Central New England Thursday Afternoon into early evening. This threat will be monitored in future forecasts as well.

SKYWARN Activation in some form is likely some time on Thursday. Ops at NWS Taunton is possible. The next coordination message will be posted by 11 PM Wednesday Evening. Below is the NWS Taunton Flood Watch Statement and NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook:

NWS Taunton Flood Watch Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wgus61.KBOX.html

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

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://beta.wx1box.org
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Storm Coordination Message #1 – Wednesday Evening 4/30/14-Thursday Morning 5/1/14

April 30, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..Strong Storm System that Has Brought Severe Weather to the South-Central and Southeast Portions of the United States will bring heavy rainfall and the potential for flooding to portions of Southern New England..
..A Flood Watch is now in effect from Wednesday Evening through Thursday Afternoon for Hampden County Massachusetts, Northern Connecticut and Providence, Kent and Washington Counties of Rhode Island. The Flood Watch may be extended in future forecasts..
..SKYWARN Activation in some form is likely some time on Thursday. Ops at NWS Taunton is possible..

The strong storm system that has brought severe weather to South-Central and Southeast United States will move up into the Northeast as we get into Wednesday Evening through Thursday and will bring the threat of heavy rainfall to the region. A Flood Watch is now in effect from Wednesday Evening through Thursday Afternoon for Hampden County Massachusetts, Northern Connecticut and Providence, Kent and Washington Counties of Rhode Island. This could extended eastward in future outlooks. Total rainfall of 1-2″ is likely with isolated rainfall amounts of 3″ possible. It is possible that heavier rainfall which is expected to stay further and southwest could advance further into the Flood Watch area and some surrounding locations and will be monitored in future model runs.

SKYWARN Activation in some form is likely some time on Thursday. Ops at NWS Taunton is possible. The next coordination message will be posted by 9 AM Wednesday Morning. Below is the NWS Taunton Flood Watch Statement and NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook:

NWS Taunton Flood Watch Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wgus61.KBOX.html

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

Respectfully Submitted,

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Boston Marathon Eastern Massachusetts ARES Standby and Weather Coordination Message #1

April 20, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

While this may be a bit off topic for some SKYWARN Spotters, Amateur Radio Operators and Red Cross volunteers, many of which are SKYWARN Spotters, will be involved in the Boston Marathon on Monday April 21st. To reach out to the highest level of Amateur Radio Operators involved in the event, this coordination message is being sent out to the SKYWARN email list and posted to the various Amateur Radio lists. We appreciate everyone’s patience with this message. This is likely to be the only coordination message on the Marathon unless a significant change in the weather forecast occurs. See information below:

Eastern Massachusetts ARES members not participating in the Boston Marathon are requested to be on standby for marathon activities on Monday April 21st from 12 AM-8 PM for any significant issues outside of the Boston Marathon that may require Amateur Radio Emergency Communications support and for any unexpected issues on the Boston Marathon route. With over 300 Amateur Radio Operators staffing the Boston Marathon route, the start line and the finish line, if an issue arises needing Amateur Radio support outside of the Marathon route or an unexpected issue arises in marathon operations, it is important that any ARES members not involved in the marathon can help with any response that is required. There will be two backup communication centers including the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net Control Center at the town of Bridgewater EOC.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Multi-Agency Coordination Center (MACC) at the SEOC (State Emergency Operations Center) will be active for the Boston Marathon. Amateur Radio Operators will be at the SEOC to support Amateur Radio communications while many agencies will be there performing primary operations for the marathon.

With all of the significant security provisions and additional resources being provided for 2014, this should greatly reduce the chance of an issue along the Boston Marathon route. Nonetheless, being one year after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and the fact that even more resources are being deployed to the Boston Marathon route, placing Eastern Massachusetts ARES on standby for any possible significant issue along the Boston Marathon route or any issue within the Eastern Massachusetts section outside of the Marathon route is prudent given the situation.

The weather outlook for the Boston Marathon is one that should be favorable for volunteers and slightly warm for the runners. The Weather Forecast across the Boston Marathon is for mostly sunny conditions throughout the day. There will be a 5-10 MPH breeze with isolated higher gusts. Temperatures will range in the mid 30s across the inland portion of the Boston Marathon route to mid-40’s in the Boston area early in the morning warming to the 55-60 degree range by mid to late morning to the mid to upper 60s by afternoon. This means that conditions for the runners should be reasonable with an ‘average’ amount of ambulance requests along the route versus some prior years where warmer weather conditions resulted in some of the highest amounts of ambulance requests since Amateur Radio Operators have handled the event. It is noted that conditions this year are slightly warmer than last year but still fairly comfortable for the runners.

For Amateur Radio, Red Cross and all other volunteers along the route, it is recommended that you dress in layers for this event so that you can put on or take off clothes as needed for comfort. Be sure to drink liquids and eat properly during the event and that you are self-sufficient so that you can be of full help to the function and not distract everyone from the main purpose of supporting the runners by having a health issue on your end that can be avoided. No rain is expected at this time so there should be no need for rain gear.

For those people that are planning to go to the Boston Marathon as spectators, given the tragedy that occurred at the 2013 Boston Marathon, the following link details guidelines for spectators as distributed by MEMA:
http://www.mass.gov/eopss/docs/mema/baa-spectator-and-participant-information.pdf

Barring a significant change in the weather forecast, this will be the only coordination message on the Boston Marathon. We appreciate everyone’s support in this event and hope those that volunteer enjoy themselves and feel the self-satisfaction of supporting this historic event and those that are monitoring the Marathon or events outside of the Marathon realize that the monitoring is an important function as well and is a testament to being able to scale other incidents beyond the marathon if required. Thanks to all for their support!

Respectfully Submitted,

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Storm Coordination Message #1 – Tuesday 4/15/14-Early Wednesday Morning 4/16/14 Storm Event

April 15, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..Strong Storm System to bring a variety of weather hazards to Southern New England Tuesday Afternoon through Tuesday Night..
..A Flood Watch is now in effect from 8 AM Tuesday through Wednesday Morning for the entire NWS Taunton Coverage Area except for Cape Cod and the Islands. Rainfall of 1-2″ with potentially higher amounts may cause urban and poor drainage flooding and some small river and stream flooding..
..A Wind Advisory is now in effect from Noon to Midnight Tuesday for Rhode Island, Northern Worcester County and Eastern Massachusetts for sustained winds of 20-30 MPH with gusts to 45-50 MPH likely. Isolated higher wind gusts may be possible in any heavier convective showers or thunderstorms that can develop. This may bring isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages to the area..
..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton are possible later Tuesday Afternoon and Evening..

A strong cold front will be moving through the region today bringing with it the potential for heavy rainfall and strong winds. The headlines of this coordination message cover the potential storm threats of urban and poor drainage flooding with some potential for small river and stream flooding and strong winds causing isolated tree and wire damage and power outages in the area. SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton are possible later Tuesday Afternoon and Evening. This may be the only complete coordination message for this storm event. A shortened coordination message will be issued if time allows and Ops at NWS Taunton are initiated. Below is the NWS Taunton Flood Watch Statement, Wind Advisory Statement and Hazardous Weather Outlook:

NWS Taunton Flood Watch Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wgus61.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton Wind Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus71.KBOX.html

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

Respectfully Submitted,

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Special Announcement: National Hurricane Conference Amateur Radio Workshop Sessions To Be Livestreamed – Tuesday April 15th, 2014

April 14, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

The National Hurricane Conference Amateur Radio Workshop sessions will be livestreamed on Tuesday April 15th, 2014. Links to the livestream are as follows:

http://www.voipwx.net/files/stream.htm
http://www.nsradio.org/stream.htm

The session schedule is listed on the links above and is also listed below as well:

Tuesday, April 15 — 10:30-12:00 EDT*
10:30 Opening Remarks (5 Minutes – Presented by John McHugh – K4AG)
10:35 Importance of Amateur Radio / Spotter Surface Reports (25 Minutes – Presented by NHC Director Dr. Rick Knabb)
11:00 Canadian Hurricane Centre Amateur Radio Operations (20 Minutes – Presented by Bob Robichaud-VE1MBR, Canadian Hurricane Centre)
11:20 WX4NHC Group Presentation(20 Minutes – Presented by Julio Ripoll – WD4R)
11:40 Weather Initiatives by WX4NHC(20 Minutes – Presented by John McHugh – K4AG)

—> NOTE: Speakers will be at lunch from 12:00-13:30 EDT

Tuesday, April 15 — 13:30-15:00 EDT*
13:30 ARRL Hurricane Preparedness (20 Minutes – Presented by Mike Corey – KI1U)
13:50 Hurricane Sandy: A Mid-Atlantic Perspective (20 Minutes – Presented by Rob Macedo – KD1CY)
14:10 Hurricane Sandy: A New England Perspective (30 Minutes – Presented by Rob Macedo – KD1CY)
14:40 Amateur Radio at the Boston Marathon (20 Minutes – Presented by Rob Macedo – KD1CY)

—> NOTE: Speakers will be on a break from 15:00-15:30 EDT

Tuesday, April 15 — 15:30-17:00 EDT*
15:30 Brief Overview of the Hurricane Watch Net(15 Minutes – Presented by Bobby Graves – KB5HAV)
15:45 Brief Overview of the VoIP Hurricane Net (15 Minutes – Presented by Rob Macedo – KD1CY)
16:00 ARRL Update (20 Minutes – Presented by Mike Corey – KI1U)
16:20 RAP Session — Amateur Radio: The Emergency Manager’s Hidden Resource (40 Minutes – Presented by KI1U, KD1CY, K4AG, WD4R, VE1MBR)

Given the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombings, the Boston Marathon Amateur Radio response was added to the presentation schedule as it is of historical significance nationally. It also ties into the situational awareness aspect that Amateur Radio can provide not only during weather events but also in non-weather related incidents.

We hope folks can join the livestream Tuesday 4/15/14. If people cannot make the livestream, the presentations will be archived and information will be sent out once that occurs.

Respectfully Submitted,

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Special Announcement – New NWS Taunton Web Site and Link

April 6, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

The following is a special announcement regarding the new NWS Taunton web site and web link change. Special thanks to NWS Taunton Warning Coordination Meteorologist, KB1GHX-Glenn Field, for allowing retransmission of this information via the SKYWARN email list and WX1BOX web page, Facebook and Twitter feeds.

As many of you have probably noticed already, yesterday the NWS eastern
region offices’ homepages transitioned to the new one — ours is
http://www.weather.gov/boston (or http://www.weather.gov/box) . This
has replaced our old webpage at http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box . That link
still works, but it brings you to the new homepage.

The layout of the new web page takes a little “getting used-to” (even
for ourselves). We have been converting most of the products that were
available on the old website to the new one. The New York City office
has created an excellent file which helps you to navigate the new sites,
to help make the transition easier. Please note, though, that some of
the references are specific to New York, but in general the same
methodology applies. Their guide is located at:
http://www.weather.gov/media/okx/WebpageConversion.pdf and is
highlighted at the top of our new page.

In general, you’ll notice sub-headers that say “Home – Forecast – Past
Weather – Weather Safety – Information Center – News – Search – About”
at the top of the page underneath “National Weather Service.” These
contain links to NATIONAL pages. Farther down the page, you’ll notice
sub-headers that say “Current Hazards – Current Conditions – Radar –
Forecasts – Rivers and Lakes – Climate and Past Weather – Local
Programs.” These are underneath the header that says “NWS Weather
Forecast Office – Boston/Taunton, MA” and they all pertain to local
products. Thus, that’s where you’ll most easily find our Forecast
Discussion and Zone Forecasts (under Forecasts), the local radar (under
Radar). Public Information Statements and Local Storm Reports can be
found under the “Climate and Past Weather” tab. Skywarn and StormReady
information can be found under “Local Programs.”

There is some redundancy — for example, you can get the SPC Convective
Outlook by clicking in the national section under “Forecasts–>Severe
Weather” or on the local side under “Current Hazards–>Thunderstorms.”

One thing that is no longer available is the listing of every
observation (including “specials” not taken at the top of the hour).
That was a locally generated program. The closest thing to this is if
you click on a point on the map and then go to where it says “3 Day
History” — it gives you hourly readings for the past 3 days, but it
doesn’t capture the in-between observations.

Please experiment with the page and let us know whether there is
anything you are looking for and can’t find. We can look into it for
you. Some things are still being adjusted. If you have certain pages bookmarked from the old website, you’ll notice
that you’ll be able to still get to them, however, they won’t last and its unclear how long they will last so its best to bookmark the new links.
Please bear with us during this transition. Thanks.

Respectfully Submitted,

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Special Announcement: VoIP Hurricane Prep Net – April 2014 Training Topic Audio Recording – Overview of Presentations for the Amateur Radio Workshop at the National Hurricane Conference & Other 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season Preparatory Topics

April 6, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all…

The recording of the VoIP Hurricane Prep Net April 2014 Training Topic regarding an overview of presentations for the Amateur Radio Workshop at the National Hurricane Conference and other preparatory topics for the 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season is now available. A link to the recording in MP3 format and the presentation in PDF format can be seen below:

http://www.voipwx.net/files/April_2014_National_hurricane_conference_overview_presentation.mp3
http://www.voipwx.net/files/VoIP_Hurricane_Net_Presentation_for_April_2014.pdf

This has also been added to the VoIP Hurricane Net web site under the Main Menu via the link – VoIP Hurricane Prep Net Presentations. Again, for best results, you likely will want to download the Audio Recording of the net (approximately 5.3 Meg in size). The presentation lasts approximately 25 minutes. Thanks to all for their continued support!

Respectfully Submitted,

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Special Announcement: VoIP Hurricane Prep Net – April 2014 Training Topic – Overview of Presentations for the Amateur Radio Workshop at the National Hurricane Conference and Preparation for the 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season

April 5, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

For this Saturday evening’s VoIP Hurricane Prep Net, we will have a training topic giving an overview of presentations for the Amateur Radio Workshop at the National Hurricane Conference. We will also discuss various other items regarding preparation for the 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The VoIP Hurricane Prep Net meets on the Echolink conference server: *WX_TALK* Node: 7203/IRLP 9219 system at 8 PM EDT this Saturday April 5th, 2014.

We encourage folks to participate in this month’s VoIP Hurricane Prep Net and listen and view the training that will be presented. In the interest of time, net management team members will give brief comments and then we will be checking in Amateurs with no comments and move right into the training presentation as we used to do in the past when having such training topics and as we did for the February and March 2014 nets. There will be an opportunity for Amateurs to ask questions at the end of the training presentation.

The Power Point presentation is now available and can be seen at the following link:
http://www.voipwx.net/files/VoIP_Hurricane_Net_Presentation_for_April_2014.pdf

For those that cannot make the net, the power point presentation and a recording of the net will be available and archived on the voipwx.net web site.

Respectfully Submitted,

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Special Announcement – SKYWARN Training Update – Friday April 4th, 2014

April 4, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

We have added two more SKYWARN Training sites to the SKYWARN Training Schedule for 2014. SKYWARN Training classes have now been confirmed for Lynnfield, MA and Plymouth, MA. Details on the 2 new classes are on the web links for the SKYWARN Training Schedule as listed below (if they are not listed on the NWS web site link, they will be posted within 24-48 hours of this update). Additional Training sessions are still being planned for later this summer into the fall and will likely be scheduled over a longer period of time. This will likely be the last update on the SKYWARN Training 2014 schedule for a few weeks. The SKYWARN Training 2014 Schedule can be seen via the following links:

http://beta.wx1box.org/node/36
http://www.weather.gov/box/skywarnprogram#tab2

Respectfully Submitted,

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Special Announcement – SKYWARN Training Update – Wednesday April 2nd, 2014

April 2, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

We have added three more SKYWARN Training sites to the SKYWARN Training Schedule for 2014. Also a reminder on a slight scheduling change that we want to state explicitly for this SKYWARN Training update.

1.) The Petersham MA SKYWARN Training class start time as been moved up to 730 PM. This is to accommodate a Spaghetti Dinner benefit that the school is putting on to benefit a 5th and 6th Grade Class Trip. Those that are interested in the SKYWARN class and may want to grab dinner prior to the class are encouraged to go to this benefit and all proceeds benefit this class trip for students. In the SKYWARN Training Schedule posted to the wx1box.org web site, the flyer for that benefit is posted for those interested.

2.) SKYWARN Training classes have now been confirmed for Tiverton, RI, Wilton, NH and East Longmeadow MA. Details are on the web links for the SKYWARN Training Schedules as listed below (if they are not listed on the NWS web site link, they will be posted within 24-48 hours of this update). Additional Training sessions are still being planned. A few remaining sessions we are waiting to confirm over the next week or so are as follows:

Lynnfield, MA
Plymouth, MA

An additional update on SKYWARN Training 2014 will be posted most likely some time next week. The SKYWARN Training 2014 Schedule can be seen via the following links:

http://beta.wx1box.org/node/36
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/officePrograms/skywarn/skywarnTraining.shtml#

Respectfully Submitted,

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