May 2014

Reminder and Note Echolink/IRLP Location Change: WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center, Annual Station Test Event – Saturday May 31st, 2014

May 31, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

The WX4NHC Annual Station Test event will be today, Saturday May 31st, 2014. WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center, will be on the air using various modes from 9 AM-6 PM EDT (1300-2200 UTC). WX4NHC will now be on the *VKEMCOMM* Echolink Conference node: 270177/IRLP 9508 system from 4-6 PM EDT (2000-2200 UTC) for contacts and testing of their Echolink/IRLP station. This is due to an outage of the *WX-TALK*/IRLP 9219 system. This system should be back in operation in the next few weeks. The complete announcement on the Annual Station Test Event is listed below with the new Echolink/IRLP info:

Announcement from WX4NHC
Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center, Miami Florida

WX4NHC will be On-The-Air for the Annual Station Test on
Saturday, May 31st, 2014 from 9AM- 6 PM EDT (1300z- 2200z)

This will be our 34th year of public service at NHC.

The purpose of this event is to test Amateur Radio Station equipment, antennas and computers prior to this year’s Hurricane Season, which starts June 1st and runs through November 30th.

This event will be good practice for Ham Radio Operators world-wide as well as NWS Staff to become familiar with Amateur Radio communications available during times of severe weather.

WX4NHC will also be performing operator training.

We will be making brief contacts on many frequencies and modes, exchanging signal reports and basic weather data exchange (“Sunny”, or “Rain”, etc.) with any station in any location.

WX4NHC will be On-The-Air on HF, VHF, UHF , 2 & 30 meter APRS and WinLink wx4nhc@winlink.org subject must contain “//WL2K”.

We will try to stay on the recognized Hurricane Watch Net frequency 14.325 MHz most of the time and announce when we QSY.

Due to space and equipment limitations, we will have 2 to 3 operators per shift, we can not be everywhere and every mode at the same time.
You may be able to find us on HF by using one of the DX Spotting Networks,

Such as the DX Summit Web Site:
http://www.dxsummit.fi/Search.aspx

We will also be on VoIP Hurricane Net 4pm-6pm EST (2000-2200z)
*VKEMCOMM* Echolink Conference node: 270177/IRLP 9508 (due to *WX-TALK* Echolink conference node: 7203/IRLP 9219 outage)
http://www.voipwx.net/

Local South Florida area VHF & UHF Repeaters will be contacted.

QSL Cards are available via WD4R.
Please send your card with a S.A.S.E.

Please do NOT send QSLs directly to the Hurricane Center address, as it will get delayed.

Due to security measures;
Please, NO VISITORS will be allowed entry to NHC without prior clearance from NHC PIO and Security.

Only WX4NHC Operators on the pre-approved operating schedule will be allowed entry.

For more information about WX4NHC, please visit our website
www.wx4nhc.org

Thank you for your participation in the WX4NHC Annual Station Test event.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Julio Ripoll Architect WD4R
WX4NHC Amateur Radio Asst. Coordinator
www.wx4nhc.org
Celebrating 33 years at the
National Hurricane Center
www.nhc.noaa.gov
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

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Severe Weather Coordination Message #2 – Friday May 30th, 2014 Severe Weather Potential

May 30, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..Isolated to Scattered Strong to Potentially Marginally Severe Thunderstorms possible this afternoon and evening over interior Southern New England. Heavy rainfall with the potential for urban and poor drainage flooding and hail are the primary threats with strong winds as a secondary threat..
..The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed portions of interior Southern New England in a 5% severe weather risk category..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely today with Ops at NWS Taunton Possible. Timeframe is anytime from Noon-8 PM today..

A front will approach Southern New England today with a pool of cold temperatures aloft and if enough clearing and destabilization can take place to create instability, it will set the stage for isolated to scattered strong to potentially marginally severe thunderstorms. Heavy rainfall with the potential for urban and poor drainage flooding and hail are the primary threats with strong winds as a secondary threat. The timeframe is anytime between Noon-8 PM today and the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed portions of interior Southern New England in a 5% severe weather risk category.

SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely today with Ops at NWS Taunton Possible. This will be the last complete coordination message on this event. A shortened coordination message will be issued if time allows and Ops at NWS Taunton are initiated. Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook, NWS Taunton Facebook Graphic and SPC Day-1 Convective Outlook:

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

NWS Taunton Facebook Graphic:
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/may_30th_2014_fb_graphic.jpg

SPC Day-1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.html

Respectfully Submitted,

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Severe Weather Coordination Message #1 – Friday May 30th, 2014 Severe Weather Potential

May 29, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..Isolated to Scattered strong to possibly marginally severe thunderstorms are possible Friday Afternoon and Evening depending on sufficient instability and heating and positioning of a front over interior Southern New England. Main threats are heavy rainfall with potential urban and poor drainage flooding and hail that could reach or be just below severe limits..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely Friday Afternoon and Evening to monitor the situation with Ops at NWS Taunton possible. Another more complete coordination message will be posted by 10 AM Friday Morning. Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook and SPC Day-2 Convective Outlook..

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

SPC Day-2 Convective Outlook:
http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KWNS/1405261721.acus02.html

Respectfully Submitted,

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Severe Weather Coordination Message #2 – Tuesday May 27th, 2014 Severe Weather Potential

May 27, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..Isolated to Scattered Strong to possibly Severe Thunderstorms are possible Tuesday Afternoon and Evening. The threat looks confined now to Western Massachusetts and West-Central Connecticut. It is a conditional threat contingent on the position of the back door cold front and the amount of atmospheric destabilization that takes place. Strong Winds and Hail are the primary threats. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) still has portions of Western New England in the 5% severe weather probability category..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely Tuesday Afternoon and Evening. Ops at NWS Taunton remain possible..

A backdoor cold front will gradually make its way through Eastern New England over the course of the day today. Backdoor cold fronts do not typically produce severe weather, however, the front will slow its progression as it gets into West-Central New England and if sufficient daytime heating allows for a sufficient amount of atmospheric destabilization, a disturbance moving northwest to southeast into Eastern New York and Western New England would be a triggering mechanism for isolated to scattered strong to possibly severe thunderstorms Tuesday Afternoon and Evening across Southwest New Hampshire, Western Massachusetts and West-Central Connecticut. Strong Winds and Hail would be the primary threats. The threat remains contingent on the position of the backdoor cold front and the amount of heating that can take place. If the backdoor cold front is able to swing through much of the region, little to no severe weather is expected but the current forecast places it in a location where Western New England could see isolated to scattered strong to possibly severe thunderstorms. Heating is a secondary concern for portions of Western New England but at this time, it looks to be sufficient for potential isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms.

SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely Tuesday Afternoon and Evening. Ops at NWS Taunton remain possible. This is the last complete coordination message for this event. A shortened coordination message will be issued if time allows and Ops at NWS Taunton are initiated. Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook, NWS Taunton Facebook Graphic and SPC Day-1 Convective Outlook:

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

NWS Taunton Facebook Graphic:
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/5_27_14_severe_tstorm_graphic.jpg

SPC Day-1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.html

Respectfully Submitted,

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Severe Weather Coordination Message #1 – Tuesday May 27th, 2014 Severe Weather Potential

May 26, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..Isolated to Scattered Strong to possibly Severe Thunderstorms are possible Tuesday Afternoon and Evening across Southwest New Hampshire, Western Massachusetts and West-Central Connecticut. It is a conditional threat contingent on the position of the back door cold front and the amount of atmospheric destabilization that takes place. Strong Winds and Hail are the primary threats. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed portions of Western New England in the 5% severe weather probability category..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely Tuesday Afternoon and Evening. Ops at NWS Taunton are possible..

A backdoor cold front will gradually make its way through Eastern New England over the course of the day Tuesday. Backdoor cold fronts do not typically produce severe weather, however, the front will slow its progression as it gets into West-Central New England and if sufficient daytime heating allows for a sufficient amount of atmospheric destabilization, a disturbance moving northwest to southeast into Eastern New York and Western New England would be a triggering mechanism for isolated to scattered strong to possibly severe thunderstorms Tuesday Afternoon and Evening across Southwest New Hampshire, Western Massachusetts and West-Central Connecticut. Strong Winds and Hail would be the primary threats. The threat is contingent on the position of the backdoor cold front and the amount of heating that can take place. If the backdoor cold front is able to swing through much of the region, little to no severe weather is expected but the current forecast places it in a location where Western New England could see isolated to scattered strong to possibly severe thunderstorms. Heating is a secondary concern for portions of Western New England but at this time, it looks to be sufficient for potential isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms.

SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely Tuesday Afternoon and Evening. Ops at NWS Taunton are possible. The next coordination message will be posted by 9 AM Tuesday. Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook and SPC Day-2 Convective Outlook:

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

SPC Day-2 Convective Outlook:
http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KWNS/1405261721.acus02.html

Respectfully Submitted,

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Severe Weather Coordination Message #2 – Sunday May 25th, 2014 Severe Weather Potential

May 25, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..Isolated to Scattered Strong to potentially marginally severe thunderstorms are possible to likely Sunday Afternoon into Sunday Evening over much of interior Southern New England. The greatest threat area is from West-Central Massachusetts through Northeast Connecticut and North-Central Rhode Island from the I-495 corridor west. Strong Winds and Hail are the primary threats. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed much of the region in a 5% risk for severe thunderstorms..
..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton will commence at Noon today lasting through around 800 PM this evening..

A cold pool of air in the upper levels of the atmosphere will move across much of Southern New England over the course of today. This will allow for a level of destabilization of the atmosphere as morning fog burns off and sufficient heating occurs. This should allow for a sufficient temperature difference between the surface and the upper levels of the atmosphere for isolated to scattered strong to potentially marginally severe thunderstorms as we get into Sunday Afternoon into early Sunday Evening over much of interior Southern New England. Strong winds and hail are the primary treats. It is noted that while there is the threat for isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms as is typical in these situations, the thunderstorms will be hit or miss in nature with some areas seeing no activity and others getting hit with potential strong to severe thunderstorm activity.

SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton will commence at Noon today lasting through around 800 PM this evening. This will be the last coordination message on today’s strong to severe thunderstorm potential. Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook, a NWS Taunton Power Point Slide in PDF Format, and the SPC Day-1 Convective Outlook:

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

NWS Taunton Power Point Slide in PDF Format:
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/Few-Strong-Svr.pdf

SPC Day-1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.html

Respectfully Submitted,

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Severe Weather Coordination Message #1 – Sunday May 25th, 2014 Severe Weather Potential

May 24, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..Isolated to Scattered Strong to potentially marginally severe thunderstorms are possible Sunday Afternoon into Sunday Evening over much of interior Southern New England. Strong Winds and Hail are the primary threats..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely Sunday Afternoon and Evening. Ops at NWS Taunton are possible..

A cold pool of air in the upper levels of the atmosphere will move across much of Southern New England over the course of Sunday. This will allow for a level of destabilization of the atmosphere. If sufficient heating can occur to allow for a sufficient temperature difference between the surface and the upper levels of the atmosphere, it will set the stage for isolated to scattered strong to potentially marginally severe thunderstorms as we get into Sunday Afternoon into early Sunday Evening over much of interior Southern New England. Strong winds and hail are the primary treats. SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely Sunday Afternoon and Evening while Ops at NWS Taunton are possible. Another coordination message will be posted by Noon Sunday. Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook:

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

Respectfully Submitted,

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Special Announcement: SKYWARN Training 2014 Update

May 18, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

SKYWARN Training sessions for 2014 are continuing across the area. We have added an additional SKYWARN Training class in Coventry RI for Wednesday June 18th from 7-10 PM as well. The complete listing can be seen at the following links (the Coventry, RI site will be add to the NWS Taunton web site during the course of this week):

WX1BOX SKYWARN Training Link:
http://beta.wx1box.org/node/36

NWS Taunton SKYWARN Web Page Training Link:
http://www.weather.gov/box/skywarnprogram#tab2

Complete Schedule listing below:

The following are SKYWARN Training Sessions booked for 2014. Further training
sessions will be booked over the course of the year so check back frequently
for updates.

Tuesday May 20th, 2014: 7-10 PM:
Northeast District Department of Health (NDDH)
69 South Main Street – Unit 4
Brooklyn, CT
Taught by: NWS Taunton Forecaster
Registration: Required – RSVP via email: rmacedo@rcn.com

Tuesday May 20th, 2014: 7-10 PM:
Plymouth Municipal Airport
246 South Meadow Road – Gate #2 (Building to the right of a Restaurant and Airport HQ)
Plymouth, MA
Taught by: Amateur Radio Coordinator
Registration: None Required

Thursday May 22nd, 2014: 7-10 PM:
Hilton Senior Center
43 Lafayette Road
Salisbury, MA
Taught by: NWS Taunton Forecaster
Registration: None Required

Thursday May 22nd, 2014: 7-10 PM:
Tiverton Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
85 Main Road
Tiverton, RI
Taught by: Amateur Radio Coordinator
Registration: Pre-registration is required. Please RSVP via email to Rob Macedo-KD1CY: rmacedo@rcn.com and Bill Tavares-KB1SDM: billtav62@gmail.com

Thursday May 29th, 2014: 7-10 PM:
East Longmeadow High School Auditorium
180 Maple Street
East Longmeadow, MA
Taught by: NWS Taunton Forecaster
Registration: None Required

Saturday June 14th, 2014: 10 AM-1 PM:
Natick Public Safety Training Facility (Use Back Entrance to the Building)
20 East Central Street (Route 135)
Natick, MA
Taught by: Amateur Radio Coordinator
Registration: Required – RSVP via email: rmacedo@rcn.com

Wednesday June 18th, 2014: 7-10 PM:
Coventry Training Annex
1675 Flat River road
Coventry RI 02816
Taught by: Amateur Radio Coordinator
Registration: Required – RSVP via email: rmacedo@rcn.com

Respectfully Submitted,

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Storm Coordination Message #2 – Friday Evening 5/16/14-Saturday Morning 5/17/14 Heavy Rainfall Event

May 17, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..Heavy Rainfall remains likely and urban and poor drainage flooding and isolated small stream flooding are possible particularly in Western New England overnight through Saturday Morning. Widespread Rainfall of 1.5-2.5″ with isolated 3″ amounts are possible from Worcester County and the Rhode Island/Connecticut line west. Rainfall amounts of up to 1.5″ are possible east of this line. Heaviest rainfall is expected after 10 PM Friday Evening through 400 AM Saturday Morning in western areas and after 4 AM through around Noon Saturday in eastern areas..
..A Flash Flood Watch is now in effect through Saturday Morning for Northern Connecticut and Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden Counties of Massachusetts for the threat of urban and poor drainage flooding and isolated small stream flooding..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor for rainfall and flood reports from this storm event. This will be the last coordination message on this event unless another significant upgrade to the situation occurs. Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook and a NWS Taunton Facebook graphic on the heavy rainfall..

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

NWS Taunton Facebook Heavy Rainfall Graphic:
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/fri_nite_sat_morning_heavy_rainfall_5_16_5_17.png

Respectfully Submitted,

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Special Announcement: Prevailing Winds SKYWARN Newsletter – Spring 2014 Edition Now Available

May 16, 2014 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

The Spring 2014 Edition of the Prevailing Winds SKYWARN Newsletter is now available. It can be seen at the following links:

http://beta.wx1box.org/local/Iss4vol1_newslettermay2014.pdf
http://www.weather.gov/media/box/officePrograms/skywarn/prevailing_winds/Iss4vol1.pdf

The Spring 2014 newsletter has also been added to the Prevailing Winds SKYWARN Newsletter archive on the wx1box.org web site and it has also been added as a link to the Main Menu on the wx1box.org web site.

Respectfully Submitted,

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