Severe Weather & Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend Coordination Message #1 – Thursday 6/20/24-Sunday 6/23/24

Hello to all..

..This message covers the severe weather potential for Thursday Afternoon and Evening and the thunderstorm/severe weather potential over the Amateur Radio Field Day weekend period.
..Isolated to Scattered Strong to Severe thunderstorms are likely this Thursday Afternoon into early evening across interior Southern New England with the greatest threat over Western, Central and interior Northeast Massachusetts but all of interior Southern New England should monitor the potential. Strong to damaging winds, hail, frequent lightning and heavy downpours with urban and poor drainage flood potential are the main threats.
..The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed Massachusetts from the CT/RI border and Norfolk County north in a slight risk of severe weather with the rest of the region away from the south coast and the Cape and Islands in a marginal risk for severe weather for Thursday. Threat timeframe is between 2-9 PM this Thursday Afternoon and Evening..
..The following is the first in a series of messages on Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend and providing information on the weather during this period. This is a tradition spanning over 20 years for Amateur Radio Operators involved with Field Day and the NWS Boston/Norton SKYWARN Program. This message is combined with severe weather message for Thursday 6/20/24..
..There will be the continued threat for Isolated to Scattered Strong to Severe thunderstorms across all of the Field Day Weekend period. On Friday the greatest potential will be across Southwest and South-Central Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Saturday the potential could be in the same areas or expand across more of the northern parts of Southern New England depending on frontal position and Sunday may again be across much of Southern New England..
..Each day’s potential will have some dependency on the previous day’s activity and a front that will be near the region. Strong to damaging winds, hail, frequent lightning and heavy downpours leading to urban and poor drainage flooding are the main threats this weekend..
..At this time, not every Field Day site will see a shower, thunderstorm or severe weather and a widespread washout is not expected. Some Field Day sites could be dry all weekend but other Field Day sites could be quite wet depending on where showers and thunderstorms develop. This will be monitored throughout the weekend..
..Any thunderstorms have lightning potential which is a safety hazard for all Amateur Radio Field Day sites. Amateur Radio Field Day sites are encouraged to guard their local Amateur Radio SKYWARN frequency and have multiple ways to receive weather alerts during the course of this Field Day weekend including by cell phone/Internet and NOAA Weather Radio..
..Conditions will be warm and humid Friday through Sunday though not as hot as earlier this week particularly in areas of Eastern Massachusetts which will have less heat and humidity Friday and possibly into Saturday before becoming warm and humid again. Portions of Western Massachusetts, Northern Connecticut and Northern Rhode Island may continue to have heat similar to the previous days through Friday before conditions cool a bit over the weekend but remain warm and humid..
..Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend is an annual event where Ham Operators across the United States setup at Emergency Operations Centers, field locations, home locations etc. to operate and test their equipment and skills and make as many radio contacts as possible during the weekend..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation with Amateur Radio Call-Up Nets are likely Thursday Afternoon and Evening in interior Southern New England for the severe weather and flood potential and possible Friday through this weekend. SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor conditions throughout Field Day weekend and activate as needed to guard Amateur Radio Field Day sites to provide weather information as well as to gather reports meeting SKYWARN reporting criteria throughout this weekend..

Here are some links to information on these Amateur Radio Field Day Sites from across the region.

Amateur Radio Field Day Information: https://www.arrl.org/field-day
Amateur Radio Field Day National Locator: https://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator
Eastern Massachusetts Field Day Home Page: https://ema.arrl.org/field-day/
Eastern Massachusetts Field Day Directory: https://ema.arrl.org/field_day/

On Wednesday, severe weather activity which was expected to stay north of Southern New England spilled into Northwest and North-Central Massachusetts with pockets of wind damage and flooding noted across parts of Franklin, Hampshire and Northwest Worcester Counties. See the Amateur Radio Report log and Local Storm Report info below:

WX1BOX Amateur Radio Log:
https://wx1box.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/reports_6_19_24.pdf

NWS Boston/Norton Local Storm Report:
https://wx1box.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/LSR_6_19_24.pdf

For Thursday and the 2024 Amateur Radio Field Day weekend, there will be thunderstorm potential throughout the entire period particularly in the afternoon and evening. For Thursday, the thunderstorm and greatest severe weather potential is across interior Southern New England with areas north of the Mass Pike having the greatest potential. For Friday, the thunderstorm and greatest severe weather potential will be across Southwest and South-Central Massachusetts, Northern Connecticut and North-Central Rhode Island. For Saturday, the area could be similar to Friday or expand across more of Southern New England depending on frontal position and what occurs on Friday and finally Sunday could have potential across much of Southern New England. Here is a breakdown of potential hazards by each day:

Thursday Afternoon and Evening:
Expecting thunderstorm and severe weather potential similar to yesterday but maybe a bit more widespread and extending south to the Mass. Pike and potentially areas just south of the Mass Pike and east through more of Northeast Mass. Headlines depict the current thinking.

Friday Afternoon and Evening:
Expecting thunderstorm and severe weather potential similar to Thursday but shifted to Southwest and South-Central Massachusetts, Northern Connecticut and North-Central Rhode Island. Similar hazards to Thursday expected.

Saturday Afternoon and Evening:
This will depend on what occurs Friday and if the front that will be over the region separating warmer and more humid air from somewhat cooler air shifts northeast. If it shifts northeast much of Southern New England would have thunderstorm and severe weather potential. If it doesn’t shift much, a similar area to Friday will be impacted and this will be updated in future updates.

Sunday Afternoon and Evening:
This could be a day where much of Southern New England but will depend on prior day’s convection, cloud debris etc. and will be better known as we get to within a 48 hour window.

While not as hot as earlier in the week, it will still be warm and humid for outdoor activities over the Field Day weekend period so Field Day sites should have plenty of liquids on hand and a place nearby to cool down whether it be a building or cars with AC to stay cool from the heat. Heat tips and safety guidelines are also included in this message.

SKYWARN Self-Activation with Amateur Radio Call-Up Nets are likely Thursday Afternoon and Evening in interior Southern New England for the severe weather and flood potential. SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor conditions throughout Field Day weekend and activate as needed to guard Amateur Radio Field Day sites to provide weather information as well as to gather reports meeting SKYWARN reporting criteria throughout this weekend. Below are links to the NWS Boston/Norton Area Forecast Discussion, Hazardous Weather Outlook, Enhanced Hazardous Weather Outlook, SPC Day-1 and Day-2 Convective Outlooks:

NWS Boston/Norton Area Forecast Discussion:
https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=BOX&product=AFD&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1&highlight=off

NWS Boston/Norton Enhanced Hazardous Weather Outlook:
https://www.weather.gov/erh/ghwo?wfo=box

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

SPC Day-2 Convective Outlook:
https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2024/day2otlk_20240620_0600.html

Amateur Radio Field Day sites are encouraged to bring a NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio, monitor various cell phone weather apps where Amateur Operators may have those available and have a dedicated Ham Radio that can monitor their local SKYWARN frequency for their area as a best safety and preparedness practice as there is a threat for thunderstorm development and any thunderstorm can be a threat to the safety of Amateur Radio Field Day sites. Also sites that have mobile Internet capability can utilize that capability as a way to monitor for weather information. With Mobile Internet capability, utilizing Echolink to monitor the New England Reflector system on Echolink Conference *NEW-ENG3* Node: 9123/IRLP 9123 would be helpful as well. Please see the link below for the latest SKYWARN Frequency information for the region:
https://wx1box.org/southern-new-england-skywarn-frequency-list/

During setup and takedown of Amateur Radio Field Day sites and even while operating, be sure to drink plenty of fluids and eat accordingly. The link below features information on Heat Safety:
https://www.weather.gov/safety/heat

With the thunderstorm threat for this weekend, now is the time to remind folks that lightning is a threat to any and all Amateur Radio Field Day sites. Remember your lightning safety tips and details on lightning safety can be seen at the following link and we have also added a link from last year’s NWS Boston/Norton Lightning Safety Awareness Week and Public Information Statements on Lightning Safety and will update with this year’s statements in a future coordination message. See links below:
https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning
https://wx1box.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/lightning_safety_awareness_PNS_2023.pdf

The next Severe Weather & Amateur Radio Field Day weekend coordination message will be posted by 10 AM Friday Morning. We hope the Amateur Radio community participating in Field Day has a great weekend!

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)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
https://ares.ema.arrl.org
https://www.wx1box.org
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