Freezing Rain Coordination Message #1 – Light Icing Potential Wednesday Evening 12/30/15-Thursday Morning 12/31/15

Hello to all..

..Freezing Fog, Freezing Drizzle/Rain will cause some slick travel overnight..
..A Freezing Rain Advisory is in effect through 3 AM Thursday for Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Northern Worcester and Northern Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts. A Freezing Rain Advisory is in effect from 8 PM this evening through 3 AM Thursday Morning for Central and Southeast Middlesex, Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk Counties of Massachusetts. Icing is expected to be in the trace to few hundredths of an inch of ice. Light icing like this is not expected to cause any tree/wire damage though this will be monitored. The light icing can result in treacherous travel conditions..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor the potential for light icing during the overnight hours. This will likely be the only coordination message on this event unless a significant upgrade occurs. Below is the NWS Taunton Freezing Rain Advisory Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook, Ice Amount and Probability Graphics and Facebook Infographics..

NWS Taunton Freezing Rain Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus41.KBOX.html

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

NWS Taunton Ice Amount and Probability Graphics:
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

NWS Taunton Facebook Infographics:
https://www.facebook.com/NWSBoston/photos/a.178319238929122.42608.122106561217057/924171877677184/?type=3&theater

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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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Storm Coordination Message #4 – Late Monday Night 12/28/15-Tuesday 12/29/15 Winter Storm Potential

Hello to all…

..First Winter Storm of the Season for Southern New England to bring a Wintry Mix of precipitation. Given the wintry mix, snow and ice amounts could still change as we get closer to this winter storm event but tough travel conditions are expected on Tuesday especially during the Tuesday Morning Commute through midday Tuesday. There is also an increased concern for icing problems in extreme Western Massachusetts and possibly northern and western portions of the current Winter Weather Advisory area..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 10 PM Monday Evening through 7 AM Tuesday Morning with a Winter Storm Watch in effect from Tuesday Morning through Tuesday Afternoon for Western Franklin, Western Hampshire, and Western Hampden Counties of Massachusetts for 1-4″ of snow with the highest amounts closest to the Vermont border and icing of one-quarter to one-half inch which could result in isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 10 PM Monday Evening through 7 PM Tuesday Evening for Eastern Franklin, Northern Worcester, Central and Northern Middlesex and Western Essex Counties of Massachusetts for 1-4″ of snow and sleet with the highest amounts closest to the New Hampshire border and the lower amounts in southern parts of the advisory area with up to one-quarter inch ice accretion and possibly isolated higher amounts in higher terrain locations. In locations where one-quarter inch of icing can occur or isolated higher amounts, isolated tree and wire damage and isolated power outages are possible..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 10 PM Monday Evening through 1 PM Tuesday Afternoon for Northern Connecticut, Providence, Kent and Washington Counties of Rhode Island and Eastern Essex, Southern Worcester, Norfolk, Southeast Middlesex, Suffolk, Northern Bristol and Western Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts for 0.5-2″ of snow and sleet with locally higher amounts and a trace to one-tenth of an inch of ice in southern portions of the advisory area with one tenth to one-quarter inch of icing in northern portions of this advisory area especially in Northern Connecticut and South-Central Massachusetts..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will occur for this winter storm with monitoring starting around 5 AM Tuesday lasting through early Tuesday Evening. At this time after consultation with NWS Taunton, we will continue with a heightened SKYWARN Self-Activation posture with the possibility for a short-fused Ops at NWS Taunton activation if necessary but currently not proceed with Ops at NWS Taunton at this time..

The first winter storm of the season will affect Southern New England with a wintry mix of precipitation. The headlines depict the current thoughts on this storm situation and there have been some changes to the current snow, sleet and ice amounts forecasted. The biggest change to the forecast is to have lower snowfall amounts but higher sleet and ice amounts. The biggest concern is across the Eastern slopes of the Berkshires which includes Western Hampshire, Western Hampden and Western Franklin Counties of Massachusetts where ice amounts could reach up to 1/2″ of radial ice and this could cause isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and power outages and a Winter Storm Watch has now been issued to cover this potential from Tuesday Morning through Tuesday Afternoon in addition to the Winter Weather Advisory for the overnight hours late Monday Night into Tuesday Morning. A secondary concern for this icing potential is across the remainder of Western and Central Massachusetts, parts of Northern Connecticut and interior Northeast Massachusetts where icing amounts could reach up to 1/4″ and may result in isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for this area and icing will be monitored closely in this area. Other areas of the Winter Weather Advisory could receive a light icing that will be an issue confined to slowing travel versus any potential for isolated pockets of tree and wire damage.

Snow and ice amounts and precipitation type changeover and timing will likely continue to fluctuate as future model runs get a better handle on these items but the available data has locked on to the current scenario as depicted above. Some slight adjustments to ice accumulations may continue to be made as the storm approaches. While there are likely to be bigger winter storms than the one slated for late Monday Evening into Tuesday Evening particularly across Eastern New England, this storm will cause travel impacts especially during the Tuesday Morning Commute through midday Tuesday and the situation will need to be monitored in case a prolonged period of freezing rain develops particularly in the Winter Storm Watch area and in any of the northern and western parts of the advisory area which could increase the storm impact. Spotter reports on snow and ice amounts and precipitation type changeover and where they occur will be critical in monitoring the storm impacts.

SKYWARN Self-Activation will occur for this winter storm with monitoring starting around 5 AM Tuesday lasting through early Tuesday Evening. At this time after consultation with NWS Taunton, we will continue with a heightened SKYWARN Self-Activation posture with the possibility for a short-fused Ops at NWS Taunton activation if necessary but currently not proceed with Ops at NWS Taunton at this time. This will likely be the final storm coordination message on this storm event unless time allows and Ops at NWS Taunton are initiated or time allows and a significant change to the storm situation occurs. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Storm Watch/Winter Weather Advisory Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook, Snow and Ice Map and a link to the NWS Taunton Facebook slide show on this winter storm:

NWS Taunton Winter Storm Watch/Winter Weather Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus41.KBOX.html

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

NWS Taunton Snow/Ice Amount and Probability Graphics (It is noted that as of 800 AM, the most likely snowfall map has been corrected.):
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

NWS Taunton Facebook Infographics:
https://www.facebook.com/NWSBoston/photos/pcb.923161544444884/923160531111652/?type=3&theater

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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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Storm Coordination Message #3 – Late Monday Night 12/28/15-Tuesday 12/29/15 Winter Storm Potential

Hello to all…

..First Winter Storm of the Season for Southern New England to bring a Wintry Mix of precipitation. Given the wintry mix, snow and ice amounts could change as we get closer to this winter storm event but tough travel conditions are expected on Tuesday especially during the Tuesday Morning Commute through midday Tuesday..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 8 PM Monday Evening through 7 PM Tuesday Evening for Franklin, Hampshire, Northern Worcester, Central and Northern Middlesex and Western Essex Counties of Massachusetts for 2-4″ of snow with locally higher amounts and around one-tenth inch of ice accretion with up to one-quarter inch ice accretion in higher terrain locations..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 8 PM Monday Evening through 1 PM Tuesday Afternoon for Northern Connecticut, Providence, Kent and Washington Counties of Rhode Island and Eastern Essex, Southern Worcester, Norfolk, Southeast Middlesex, Suffolk, Northern Bristol and Western Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts for 1-3″ of snow with locally higher amounts and a trace to one-tenth of an inch of ice..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely for this winter storm. Ops at NWS Taunton are possible and a decision will be made on Ops later today..

The first winter storm of the season will affect Southern New England with a wintry mix of precipitation. The headlines depict the current thoughts on this storm situation. Snow and ice amounts and precipitation type changeover and timing will fluctuate as future model runs get a better handle on these items. Some slight adjustments to ice accumulations were made. While there are likely to be bigger winter storms than the one slated for late Monday Evening into Tuesday Evening, this storm will cause travel impacts especially during the Tuesday Morning Commute through midday Tuesday and the situation will need to be monitored in case a prolonged period of freezing rain could develop in any of the advisory area which could increase the storm impact. The prolonged freezing rain aspect would be a greater concern in the higher elevations of Western and Northern Massachusetts and northwest Hartford County Connecticut. Spotter reports on snow and ice amounts and precipitation type changeover and where they occur will be critical in monitoring the storm impacts.

SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely for this winter storm. Ops at NWS Taunton are possible and a decision will be made on Ops over the course of the day on Monday. The next storm coordination message will be posted by 8 PM Monday. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Weather Advisory Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Snow and Ice Map (It is noted that as of 800 AM, the most likely snowfall map has been corrected.) and a link to the NWS Taunton Facebook slide show on this winter storm:

NWS Taunton Winter Weather Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus41.KBOX.html

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

NWS Taunton Snow/Ice Amount and Probability Graphics (It is noted that as of 800 AM, the most likely snowfall map has been corrected.):
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

NWS Taunton Facebook Infographics:
https://www.facebook.com/NWSBoston/photos/pcb.922981057796266/922980341129671/?type=3&theater

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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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Storm Coordination Message #2 – Late Monday Night 12/28/15-Tuesday 12/29/15 Winter Storm Potential

Hello to all…

..First Winter Storm of the Season for Southern New England to bring a Wintry Mix of precipitation. Given the wintry mix, snow and ice amounts could change as we get closer to this winter storm event but tough travel conditions are expected on Tuesday especially during the Tuesday Morning Commute through midday Tuesday..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 8 PM Monday Evening through 7 PM Tuesday Evening for Franklin, Hampshire, Northern Worcester, Central and Northern Middlesex and Western Essex Counties of Massachusetts for 2-4″ of snow with locally higher amounts and around one-tenth inch of ice accretion..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 8 PM Monday Evening through 1 PM Tuesday Afternoon for Northern Connecticut, Providence, Kent and Washington Counties of Rhode Island and Eastern Essex, Southern Worcester, Norfolk, Southeast Middlesex, Suffolk, Northern Bristol and Western Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts for 1-2″ of snow with locally higher amounts and one-tenth to two-tenths of an inch of ice..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely for this winter storm. Ops at NWS Taunton are possible and a decision will be made on Ops over the course of the day on Monday..

The first winter storm of the season will affect Southern New England with a wintry mix of precipitation. The headlines depict the current thoughts on this storm situation. Snow and ice amounts and precipitation type changeover and timing will fluctuate as future model runs get a better handle on these items. While there are likely to be bigger winter storms than the one slated for late Monday Evening into Tuesday Evening, this storm will cause travel impacts especially during the Tuesday Morning Commute through midday Tuesday and the situation will need to be monitored in case a prolonged period of freezing rain could develop in any of the advisory area which could increase the storm impact. Spotter reports on snow and ice amounts and precipitation type changeover and where they occur will be critical in monitoring the storm impacts.

SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely for this winter storm. Ops at NWS Taunton are possible and a decision will be made on Ops over the course of the day on Monday. The next storm coordination message will be posted by 10 AM Monday. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Weather Advisory Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Snow and Ice Map (It is noted that as of 910 PM, the most likely snowfall map is erroneous and the problem is under review):

NWS Taunton Winter Weather Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus41.KBOX.html

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

NWS Taunton Snow/Ice Amount and Probability Graphics (It is noted that as of 910 PM, the most likely snowfall map is erroneous and the problem is under review):
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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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Storm Coordination Message #1 – Late Monday Night 12/28/15-Tuesday 12/29/15 Winter Storm Potential

Hello to all..

..The first winter storm of the season will affect much of Southern New England late Monday Night into early Tuesday Evening with a Wintry Mix of precipitation. The Tuesday Morning Commute will have the highest degree of impact with some impact possible in some areas for the Tuesday Evening commute..
..Areas along the coastal plain will likely see snow to a wintry mix to rain. Across the interior, some of the southern and eastern portions of the interior are likely to still see a changeover to rain while the northwest interior areas may see a prolonged period of snow or a wintry mix of precipitation..
..Future coordination messages will have more details on this first winter storm of the season including snow and ice amounts and better details on the changeover in precipitation type. This message is being sent as an “early notification” on the potential first winter storm of the season given the holiday season, the very mild record breaking temperatures of the past few days and the lack of winter storms that have affected the region in the late 2015 timeframe..
..SKYWARN Activation in some form is likely for this storm over the course of the day on Tuesday. Ops at NWS Taunton are possible. The next coordination message will likely be sent Sunday Evening between 6-11 PM. Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook and snow/ice amount and probability graphics..

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

NWS Taunton Snow/Ice Amount and Probability Graphics:
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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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Special Announcement: Merry Christmas/Happy New Year/Happy Holidays to All SKYWARN Spotters & Amateur Radio Operators!

Hello to all..

On behalf of the entire Amateur Radio Group at WX1BOX, the Amateur Radio station for NWS Taunton Massachusetts, and the forecaster staff at NWS Taunton, we would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holiday season. 2015 was another interesting year for weather across the region. The winter was record breaking with a 6 week period of significant major winter storms and two blizzards that affected large portions of the NWS Taunton Coverage Area. While the summer of 2015 featured several hot and humid stretches of weather, it also featured several episodes of severe weather including the June 23rd, 2015 severe weather event and the August 4th, 2015 Severe Weather Outbreak, which was essentially 2 severe weather outbreaks in one day. In the early Fall of 2015, a couple coastal storms brought several inches of rain and pockets of flooding and wind damage to portions of Southern New England. As we wind down 2015, we have had a mild and relatively quiet weather pattern though that could change at least for a period of time as we get into next week as temperatures turn colder with a possible storm system to affect Southern New England.

As has been the case for the last several years, many of you provided critical reports, pictures and videos that supported and resulted in the protection of life and property and timely warnings being issued based on the surface reporting and ground truth that is so critical in confirming what the radar is or is not seeing. This information was then shared with the media, local, state and federal emergency management and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are always looking for situational awareness and disaster intelligence to gage the level of response and recovery required for an incident. They remain extremely impressed with all the work that all of you do and they extend their appreciation. That appreciation of the weather and damage reports is highly recognized by many of the media outlets as well who thank SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators on television and over social media such as Facebook and Twitter. This mission could not be done without all of your support.

A quick synopsis of 2015 showed that after a period of relative quiet weather with cold temperatures in the first part of January and a few wintry mix/light icing events, the winter of 2015 would take a nasty turn. In late January, the first blizzard to strike the region would occur on Monday January 26th into Tuesday January 27th, 2015. This nor’easter resulted in blizzard conditions over an extended period much greater than 3 hours over many areas of Eastern New England with 1-3 feet of snow over a wide area with lesser amounts in western New England. Moderate to pockets of major coastal flooding affected East Coastal Massachusetts including Cape Cod and the Islands with the coastal towns of Scituate and Sandwich Mass most heavily impacted. Hurricane force wind gusts were recorded on Nantucket Island by Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters and the entire island lost power during this blizzard for a period of time. Damaging winds of up to 65 MPH were recorded in other parts of Southeast and Eastern New England.

After several more significant winter storms including a storm on Monday February 9th that produced a widespread 6-12″ snowfall and a bullseye of 12-24″ of snow with isolated higher amounts in the Metro Boston, North and South Shore regions and a period of near blizzard conditions, another blizzard would impact the region on Saturday Afternoon February 14th into Sunday Afternoon February 15th. Significant snowfall of 10-20″ with isolated higher amounts of 20-24″ occurred across much of Eastern New England. Wind gusts to 60 MPH caused pockets of wind damage and caused blizzard conditions in several locations from the Boston area south and east. This blizzard would be known for snowfall rates as high as 5″ per hour in several locations which resulted in the heavier snowfall totals in those locations. Roads were made impassable by snow drifts on roadways along coastal communities from this blizzard. By late March 2015, the city of Boston broke its record for snowfall previously set in the 1995-96 winter season. The winter of 2014-2015 will be known for its record breaking snowfall but also how fast the amount of snow fell over a series of major winter storms including 2 blizzards over a 6-8 week period as well as for the impacts of the 2 blizzards on the region.

Prior to the second blizzard on February 14th-15th, 2015, the National Weather Service in Taunton, SKYWARN and Amateur Radio all received excellent publicity on The Weather Channel via the AMHQ program on Friday Morning February 13th as AMHQ had segments of their program live at NWS Taunton. Amateur Radio and SKYWARN were one segment with several segments on different aspects of the upcoming potential blizzard and other NWS operations featured on the program. Jim Cantore was live at the NWS Forecast Office in Taunton interviewing the forecasters. Jim Cantore also participated in operating on Amateur Radio with an Amateur Radio Operator acting as a control operator and communicated with several Amateurs “third party” over Echolink.

The Spring of 2015 was relatively quiet with some smaller SKYWARN Activations and Self-Activations before we got into the summer season of severe weather in late May 2015. In Late May 2015, SKYWARN Activations with Ops at NWS Taunton occurred for several severe thunderstorm events with pockets of large hail and wind damage reported across portions of Northwestern, North-Central and Northeastern Massachusetts.

As we moved into late June 2015, a severe weather outbreak occurred on Tuesday June 23rd, 2015. Two tornadoes occurred with one in Wrentham, Mass and the other in Westminster, Mass and both were EF-0 in intensity. The parent cell that caused the tornado in Wrentham, Mass caused pockets of wind damage in Northern Rhode Island and other parts of Southeast Massachusetts. Pockets of wind damage were common over portions of the NWS Taunton coverage area. In Westfield, Mass, severe thunderstorms caused multiple trees down falling on trailers. Even parts of South Coastal Massachusetts and Cape Cod were affected by severe weather with wind gusts of 60 MPH recorded in Fairhaven – West Island and wind gusts as high as 65 MPH occurred in parts of Cape Cod with pockets of tree and wire damage common in parts of Falmouth, Hyannis, Woods Hole, Mashpee and Yarmouth. Just outside of the NWS Taunton coverage area, a bow echo caused widespread significant wind damage across Southern Connecticut.

A few days later, an unusual summer time nor’easter affected Southern New England on Saturday June 27th-Sunday June 28th coinciding with the annual Amateur Radio Field Day weekend event. Pockets of wind damage with wind gusts around and in excess of 50 MPH occurred with rainfall amounts in the 1-3″ range were common with reports of typical urban and poor drainage flooding. Some Amateur Radio Field Day sites were affected in Southeast New England with tents blown over or damaged by the high winds and heavy rainfall and underscores the safety required when setting up Amateur Radio Field Day sites in adverse conditions. A number of Field Day events over the past few years have been affected by severe weather and 2015 was no exception.

In July 2015, a number of localized SKYWARN Activations and severe weather events occurred though none of the events in July 2015 were particularly widespread. A microburst affected South Deerfield, Massachusetts on Tuesday July 7th 2015 with multiple trees down and a gazebo blown over from the strength of the winds. Reports of flooding from heavy rainfall in urban and poor drainage areas also occurred. On July 15th, 2015, numerous reports of urban and poor drainage flooding from rainfall of 1-3″ with isolated higher amounts in just a 1-2 hour period occurred across portions of Eastern Rhode Island and Southeast Massachusetts. Hardest hit was the Bristol and Warren, RI areas.

As we got into late July 2015, a number of SKYWARN Activations occurred over the period from July 24th-July 28th with 4 SKYWARN Activations with Ops at NWS Taunton over a 5-day period. On Friday July 24th, Rhode Island was impacted with severe thunderstorms with large hail and isolated pockets of wind damage with smaller hail impacting the North Shore and North-Central and Northeastern Massachusetts. On Sunday July 26th, isolated to scattered severe thunderstorms occurred across the North Shore of Massachusetts and portions of Western Massachusetts. On Monday July 27th, strong thunderstorms caused flash flooding across portions of both Southeastern New England and Western Massachusetts with an isolated severe thunderstorm causing large hail in Russell, MA with lightning damage reported with these strong thunderstorms. On Tuesday July 28th, scattered strong to severe thunderstorms affected Western Massachusetts and extended into Rhode Island and Southeast Massachusetts causing pockets of wind damage and urban and poor drainage flooding in these areas. A Tornado Warning was issued in Southern Rhode Island in Washington County. Measured wind gusts of 50-55 MPH were received in the Jamestown and Narragansett, RI area with pockets of tree and wire damage and 1″ diameter hail but no tornado touchdown occurred.

This brought us into August 2015 and to the August 4th, 2015 Severe Weather Outbreak which was the equivalent of 2 major severe weather outbreaks in 1 day by Southern New England standards. The first round affected Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts with widespread pockets of tree and wire damage and power outages. Hardest hit was Rhode Island which had power outages that were greater than what occurred in Hurricane Sandy. In Southeast Massachusetts, power outages and damage were more scattered but still significant in the spots that they occurred. Wind gusts as high as 83 MPH were measured in Charlestown, RI with widespread wind gusts in the 60-70 MPH range. A second round of severe weather would occur in a different part of the NWS Taunton coverage area across Western, Central and Northeastern Massachusetts with large hail as big as 2″ in diameter in many locations with pockets of tree and wire damage but the bigger severe weather mode was the large hail. A complete write-up appeared in the Fall 2015 edition of the Prevailing Winds SKYWARN Newsletter both from a meteorological and SKYWARN perspective with a post severe weather coordination message also sent on this significant severe weather outbreak across the NWS Taunton Coverage area. Links to this information appear below:

Fall 2015 Prevailing Winds SKYWARN Newsletter:
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/Iss5vol2_newsletteroctober2015.pdf

Post Severe Weather Coordination Message – August 4th, 2015:
http://beta.wx1box.org/node/3659

This event also garnered national publicity for the SKYWARN program and Amateur Radio with an interview with the AMHQ team including Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel. The prior work during the winter season showed the clear value of all the volunteer efforts and how important our role is to understanding the impacts of severe weather in near real-time.

Additional events included on August 15th and August 25th, 2015. On August 15th, straight-line winds caused numerous trees down in Natick with trees falling on homes along with hail up to Nickel sized. Pockets of large hail and wind damage affected portions of Western, Central and Northeast Massachusetts with significant urban and poor drainage flooding in locations such as Framingham, Natick, and Worcester, Mass. On August 25th, 2015, reports of flooding and wind damage occurred from scatted strong to severe thunderstorms in Western Massachusetts and Northwest Connecticut.

September was a very quiet month overall with just one self-activation of SKYWARN for heavy rainfall from thunderstorms along South-Coastal Massachusetts in the September 10th-11th timeframe until September 30th and into October 1st-2nd, 2015 where a nor’easter system would cause 3-6″ of rainfall, urban and poor drainage flooding and pockets of wind damage and minor coastal flooding in the area. The brunt of the storm affected the area on September 30th but extended into October 1st and 2nd with several rounds of minor coastal flooding and strong winds with additional rainfall in Southeast New England. The storm in some ways brought beneficial rainfall after an extended dry period of weather but much of the rainfall occurred in a 24-hour period resulting in some of the urban and poor drainage flooding issues. Wind gusts in the 45-55 MPH range were common with this storm.

Later in October 2015, an isolated severe thunderstorm caused pockets of straight-line wind damage in Monson, Mass on the Wilbraham line with trees and wires down and 12 hours of clean up work on October 9th. One week later, a surprise strong to severe thunderstorm event caused hail, mostly sub-severe in South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island and pockets of wind damage on Cape Cod in the Chatham Mass area where a 65 MPH wind gust occurred. In late October 2015, another coastal storm system brought 1-3″ of rainfall with isolated 4″ plus rainfall amounts, localized urban and poor drainage flooding and strong winds of 45-55 MPH with isolated higher gusts to 60+ MPH recorded. Minor coastal flooding also occurred with this storm and after the main thrust of heavy rainfall, strong to damaging winds and minor coastal flooding occurred, a low-topped line of showers brought wind gusts as high as 58 MPH measured to Westover Air Force Base and another round of tree and wire damage to portions of Western Massachusetts. An Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotter Coordinator report of 54 MPH measured occurred in West Springfield, MA with this second round of activity. This brought us to a quiet November/December 2015 timeframe where the weather has largely been quiet with a few marginal wind events though our recent storm from 12/23/15-12/14/15 did bring a 1.5-3″ rainfall to portions of Southeast New England with rainfall amounts of 0.50-1.5″ common elsewhere in Southern New England.

Another significant piece of publicity for the SKYWARN program and Amateur Radio occurred with an article in the Boston Globe on the SKYWARN program on October 4th, 2015. This was supported by the NWS Taunton forecasters and management team and again shows the level of activity within our program. That article is listed below:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/04/meet-ham-radio-volunteers-behind-weather-warning-system/KcJ2vqrK8En5U8twtLsBBL/story.html?event=event25

As we move forward in 2016, we will be continuing our commitment to SKYWARN training. Planning has already started with one training class booked and a second class that is nearing confirmation with several other classes in planning. The latest 2016 SKYWARN Training Schedule can be seen at the following link:
http://beta.wx1box.org/node/36

We also know that we’ve continued to have a large influx of SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators. The active winter we had this past year coupled SKYWARN Training planning precluded this from being done in 2015 but as we move forward into 2016, we will be documenting ways to communicate with us during activation and assure people understand the self-activation and activation protocols used today. We will also look at ways spotters and Amateurs can become more active in supporting efforts to gather critical reports from other areas beyond where they are located and do so in a precise manner.

We will also continue to embrace new technologies while maintaining all the other technologies utilized to gather as much real-time and precise meteorological and damage report information as possible. We will attempt to look at DMR Amateur Radio and DSTAR Amateur Radio as an additional means for reporting during severe weather and we are still looking at a new Amateur Radio technology called NBEMS, the Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System, as a potential means to gather weather spotter data digitally over Ham Radio. These are added capabilities that we will be looking at and will not replace the continued core technologies within VHF and UHF (2 Meters/440 MHz) SKYWARN Amateur Radio Repeaters and simplex capabilities, our usage of Echolink/IRLP Amateur Radio linked repeaters, Amateur Radio HF and 6 Meters capabilities as well as monitoring of weather stations ingested over APRS and into the Mesonet networks that have supported and helped with seeing what is happening on the ground.

We continue to have our twitter feed setup and you can follow WX1BOX on twitter by following our Amateur Radio Call-Sign, WX1BOX and have our WX1BOX Facebook page available as well. NWS Taunton has also continued the use of their Twitter and Facebook feeds as well over the course of 2015. SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators can follow WX1BOX and ‘NWSBoston’ on twitter and on facebook can ‘like’ these pages. They are available via the following links:

WX1BOX Amateur Radio SKYWARN Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/wx1box

NWS Taunton Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/US.NationalWeatherService.Boston.gov?fref=ts

WX1BOX Amateur Radio SKYWARN Twitter Feed:
http://twitter.com/wx1box

NWS Taunton Twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/NWSBoston

We are also continuing to look at other ways to get near-real time video and pictures while also continuing to receive pictures and videos hours and days after a major severe weather event. This will further enhance our abilities to gather situational awareness and disaster intelligence information in a short period of time.

We, again, want to provide a tremendous THANK YOU to all of you that supported SKYWARN and the National Weather Service during 2015. We wish everyone once again, a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holiday Season and hope people enjoy their time with family and friends during this joyous holiday season!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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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Wind Coordination Message #1 – Monday December 21st, 2015 Strong Wind Potential

Hello to all..

..Mild weather returns to Southern New England today but it will also be accompanied by strong winds across portions of Southeast Massachusetts Late Monday Morning through early Monday Evening..
..A Wind Advisory is in effect from 10 AM-5 PM today for Bristol, Plymouth and Barnstable Counties of Massachusetts for sustained winds of 15-30 MPH with gusts to 45-50 MPH likely. These winds will likely cause isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor the strong winds during the day today. This will be the only coordination message on the strong winds unless an upgrade to the wind threat occurs. Below is the NWS Taunton Wind Advisory Statement and Hazardous Weather Outlook..

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,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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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Special Announcement: Changes to NWS Taunton Spotter Reporting Webform URL and Other NWS Taunton SKYWARN Related URLs

Hello to all…

There have been some changes to the NWS Taunton Spotter reporting webform URL and other SKYWARN releated URLs on the NWS Taunton web site. All http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/box web site related links will no longer work and have switched to http://www.weather.gov/box URLs. If you are trying to use any of the http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/box web URLs, most, if not all of the web URLs, will not work anymore.

The NWS Taunton Web Spotter Reporting Form can now be found via the following link:
http://www.weather.gov/box/spotterreportform

The NWS Taunton SKYWARN Web Refresher can now be found via the following link:
http://wxinfoicebox.com/webSkywarnRefresher/ (This web link could change in the future)

The NWS Taunton Retraining Quiz can now be found via the following Google Docs link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jK6eP0rsYm19d_UACbiGEX0eOD5VogbDq9h-vUha0YU/viewform

The wx1box.org web site has been updated with the web refresher and retraining quiz links. We hope this announcement is helpful.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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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Wind Coordination Message #1 – Tuesday December 15th, 2015 Strong Wind Potential

Hello to all..

..Mild weather will continue today but it will also be accompanied by strong winds across much of Southern New England late this morning and especially during the afternoon and early evening..
..A Wind Advisory is in effect from 11 AM-6 PM today for the entire NWS Taunton Coverage area for sustained winds of 20-30 MPH with gusts to 50 MPH likely. These winds will likely cause isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor the strong winds during the day today. This will be the only coordination message on the strong winds unless an upgrade to the wind threat or Ops at NWS Taunton are initiated. Below is the NWS Taunton Wind Advisory Statement and Hazardous Weather Outlook..

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,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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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UPDATED – Special Announcement: SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) 2015 Friday Evening 12/4/15 at 7 PM Through Saturday 12/5/15 at 7 PM

Hello to all..

**The following is the updated Special Announcement on SKYWARN Recognition Day 2015. Updates include an updated VHF/UHF repeater schedule.**

The following is an updated special announcement on SKYWARN Recognition Day 2015. This announcement also appears on the WX1BOX home page via the following link:

http://beta.wx1box.org/node/3689

Announcement text is listed below:

The National Weather Service in Taunton Amateur Radio Station, WX1BOX, will once again be active for SKYWARN Recognition Day 2015. In addition, for the ninth straight year, the National Weather Service Gray, Maine Office will also be active under call-sign, WX1GYX. The Boston Amateur Radio Club will also be active as they have been over the past several years at the NWS Blue Hill Observatory under a new call-sign WX1BHO from 9 AM-3 PM Saturday December 5th, 2015.

This will be the 17th year of SKYWARN Recognition Day and its anticipated that over 100 NWS Forecast Offices will be participating once again this year. A Web link to information on SKYWARN Recognition Day can be seen at the following link:

http://hamradio.noaa.gov

WX1BOX will be monitoring the *NEW-ENG3* conference node 9123/IRLP 9123 system throughout the SRD event from 7 PM-12 AM Friday Evening 12/4/15 and from 7 AM-7 PM Saturday 12/5/15. Our HF station will be active on the various HF bands during the same time period. What bands/modes we operate on will be dependent on propagation and operator availability. We will attempt to announce the different HF frequencies will be on via our Facebook and Twitter feeds as well as on the DX Spotter/cluster system dxsummit.fi for people that wish to contact us on HF.

The following is a schedule of repeaters that will be utilized along with simplex being utilized during certain timeframes on Friday Evening 7 PM-12 AM and Saturday 7 AM-7 PM at WX1BOX. We hope Amateurs will utilize this schedule and try and work WX1BOX during these various timeframes. If you don’t hear NWS, feel free to call for WX1BOX and if the office is monitoring, a response will be given. When you make contact, give your current sky condition and temperature as required. Below is the tentative schedule of operations:

Friday December 4th, 2015:
7:00-7:30 PM:    146.970-Paxton Repeater (PL: 114.8 Hz)
7:30-8:00 PM:    147.180-Bridgewater Repeater (PL: 67.0 Hz)
8:00-8:30 PM:    147.000-Dartmouth Repeater (PL: 67.0 Hz)
8:30-9:00 PM:    146.955-Westford Repeater (PL: 74.4 Hz)
9:00-9:30 PM:    146.79-Vernon, CT Repeater (PL: 82.5 Hz) (linked via IRLP.)
9:30-10:00 PM:   147.225-Killingly, CT Repeater (PL: 156.7 Hz)
10:00-10:30 PM:  146.760-Scituate, RI Repeater PL: 67.0 Hz
10:30-11:00 PM:  145.470-Danvers, MA Repeater (PL: 136.5 Hz)
11:00-11:30 PM:  146.955-Barnstable, MA Repeater (PL: 88.5 Hz) or 147.375-Falmouth Repeater (PL: 110.9 Hz)
11:30 PM-12:00 AM: 146.640-Waltham Repeater (PL: 136.5 Hz)

**Will Attempt to monitor both the New England Network and the *WX-TALK*/IRLP Reflector 9219 systems during this entire timeframe.
**It is possible we may switch off to different repeaters or simplex during time slots if we run out of contacts.

Saturday December 5th, 2015:
7:00-8:30 AM:   146.595 Simplex
8:30-9:00 AM:   Litchfield County Linked System via KB1AEV repeater system
9:00-9:30 AM:   145.230-Boston Repeater (PL: 88.5 Hz)
9:30-10:00 AM:  146.640-Waltham Repeater (PL: 136.5 Hz)
10:00-11:00 AM: NWS Taunton will participate in the Eastern Massachusetts Hospital Net
11:00-11:30 AM: 146.895-Walpole Repeater (PL: 123.0 Hz)
11:30-12:00 PM: 147.225-Killingly, CT Repeater (PL: 156.7 Hz)
12:00-12:30 PM: 145.470-Danvers Repeater (PL: 136.5 Hz)
12:30-100 PM:   146.790-Vernon, CT Repeater (Linked via IRLP.)
1:00-1:30 PM:   146.595 Simplex
1:30-2:00 PM:   145.37-Gardner/145.45-Fitchburg/147.39 Repeaters via IRLP 9122
2:00-2:30 PM:   146.685-Plymouth Repeater (PL: 82.5 Hz)
2:30-3:00 PM:   146.480-Worcester Repeater (PL: 107.2 Hz)
3:00-3:30 PM:   146.955-Barnstable (PL: 88.5) or 147.375-Falmouth Repeater (PL: 110.9 Hz)
3:30-4:00 PM:   146.955-Westford Repeater (PL: 74.4 Hz)
4:00-4:30 PM:   146.970-Paxton Repeater (PL: 114.8)
4:30-5:00 PM:   145.370-Coventry, RI Repeater (PL: 67.0 Hz)
5:00-5:30 PM:   146.760-Scituate, RI Repeater (PL: 67.0 Hz)
5:30-6:00 PM:   147.000-Dartmouth Repeater (PL: 67.0 Hz)
6:00-6:30 PM:   147.180-Bridgewater Repeater (PL: 67.0 Hz)
6:30-7:00 PM:   147.225-Whitman Repeater (PL: 67.0 Hz)

**Will Attempt to monitor both the New England Network and the *WX-TALK*/IRLP Reflector 9219 systems during this entire timeframe.
**It is possible we may switch off to different repeaters or simplex during time slots if we run out of contacts.

We will also be utilizing 6-Meters FM for the second time during SRD since we now have that functionality in working order at NWS Taunton. The setup is a Vertical Antenna through an Icom IC-706 Radio. The following repeaters and simplex will be utilized during SRD on 6-Meters. This schedule may change as we get closer to the SRD event and 6-Meter use during SRD may expand depending on operator availability etc.

Saturday December 5th, 2015:
1230-1245 PM: 53.31-Mt Wachusett, MA
1245-100 PM:  53.07-Hopkinton MA
100-115 PM:   51.74-Hopkinton, MA
115-130 PM:   53.01-Barnstable, MA
115-130 PM:   53.17-Portsmouth, RI (KA1RCI)
130-145 PM:   53.27-Framingham, MA
145-200 PM:   53.81-Marlborough, MA
200-215 PM:   53.830-Fitchburg, MA
215-230 PM:   52.525-Simplex

The following is information EchoLink/IRLP operations during SKYWARN Recognition Day on the *WX_TALK* Echolink Conference node: 7203/IRLP 9219 system. Further updates to follow as we get closer to the event. See the list of NWS offices below:

Time in UTC NWS Office Call-Sign
0000-0100: WX0GLD (Time slot for last year)
0100-0200: WX1GYX (Confirmed time slot for this year)
0200-0300: WX4MLB (Confirmed time slot for this year)
0300-0400: WX5EWX (Confirmed time slot for this year)
0400-0500: WX1BOX (Confirmed Time Slot for this year)
0500-0600: KL7FWX (New Time slot for KL7FWX)
0600-0700: WX4HUN (Confirmed time slot for this year)
0700-0800: KL7FWX (Confirmed time slot for this year)
0800-0900: WX9LOT (New NWS Office for this year, taking KL7FWX’s old slot as they moved to the 0500 UTC time slot)
0900-1000: Open (Was KH6SW’s time slot)
1000-1100: Open
1100-1200: Open
1200-1300: K0NWS (New NWS Office for this year)
1300-1400: WX2PHI (New NWS Office for this year, taking W7NWS’ time slot)
1400-1500: WX7SLC (Time slot for last year and unconfirmed, could be an open slot if WX7SLC can’t make it)
1500-1530: WX1BOX (Confirmed time slot for this year)
1530-1600: N0F (Confirmed time slot for this year)
1600-1700: WX4NC (Confirmed time slot for this year)
1700-1800: WX2PHI (New NWS Office for this year, taking N0NWS’ time slot)
1800-1900: WX6MTR (Confirmed time slot for this year)
1900-2000: K0MPX (Confirmed time slot for this year)
2000-2100: WX4MLB (Confirmed time slot for this year)
2100-2300: WX4NHC (Confirmed time slot for this year)
2300-2400: WX6NWS (Confirmed time slot for this year)

There will be other conference systems utilized for SKYWARN Recognition Day. They are as follows:

The New England Reflector Gateway System will be utilized by the NWS Taunton, Mass. and NWS Gray, Maine offices from 0000-0500 UTC and 1200-2400 UTC. The New England Gateway system is on EchoLink Conference server *NEW-ENG3* Node: 9123, IRLP reflector 9123. If other NWS offices would like to join the system, they are welcome to do so and participants in SKYWARN Recognition Day can also use that system to make contact with various NWS offices. This is a great place to move off the *WX_TALK* Node: 7203/IRLP 9219 system after your scheduled time if other Amateurs or NWS offices whish to make contact with you.

Also, the Western Reflector will be having NWS offices calling CQ as in past years and have multiple reflector channels and Echolink conferences available. There is reflector 9250/Echolink Conference *HI-GATE* node: 357564, IRLP 9251 and the *WORLD* Echolink Conference node: 479886, IRLP 9257/*DCF-ARC* Echolink Conference node: 336037 and IRLP 9258/EchoLink Conference *NV-GATE* Node: 152566 open for NWS offices. Please contact Kent-W7AOR for additional information on the Western Reflector.

W3TDH will be coordinating the SKYWARN Recognition Day participation for the Baltimore Washington NWS Forecast Office. They will be available for the operating period on the *WASH_DC* Echolink Conference Bridge.

A few technical reminders for folks interested in making contacts with the NWS Forecast Offices on the *WX-TALK* Node: 7203/IRLP 9219 and New England Reflector Gateway IRLP 9123/*NEW-ENG3* Echolink Node: 9123 systems:

-The system allows both EchoLink and IRLP connections. For EchoLink users, you connect to the *WX-TALK* Node: 7203 conference system. For IRLP users, you would connect to IRLP reflector 9219.

-If you are using EchoLink, the RF node or PC that you’re using must have EchoLink conferencing disabled. If it is not disabled, the system will automatically kick the node or PC off of the system. The reason this occurs is to prevent unintentional interference from a conferencing station that may not know the node is connected somewhere else. This will keep traffic moving on the net and reduce interference considerably.

For more information on VoIP Technical Configuration Tips, please go to our web site at http://www.voipwx.net where we have a link to that information on the main menu of the web site. This announcement will also be on the web site.

We are looking forward to another fun SKYWARN Recognition Day on the *WX-TALK* Node: 7203/IRLP reflector 9219 system, New England Reflector Gateway system and Western Reflector system. Thanks to all for their support!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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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