Severe Weather & Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend Coordination Message #1 – Friday PM/Evening 6/26/26 Thru Sunday Evening 6/28/26

Hello to all…

..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 25 years for Amateur Radio Operators involved with Field Day and the NWS Boston/Norton SKYWARN Program..
..For 2026, Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend will feature a threat of severe weather for any Amateur Radio Field Day sites setting up Friday Afternoon and Evening from 3-11 PM with the highest risk in that timeframe between 5-9 PM particularly in interior Southern New England and the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed Northern Connecticut, Northern Rhode Island, Western, Central and Northeast Massachusetts in a marginal risk for severe weather for Friday PM and Evening. Strong to damaging winds, hail, frequent lightning, and heavy downpours leading to urban and poor drainage flooding are the main threats. Friday Morning could have some with showers and possibly embedded thunderstorms with an attendant lightning risk as well followed by clearing with the severe weather potential for Friday PM and evening..
..Saturday Morning may have some showers along and south of the Mass Pike followed by clearing conditions and relatively pleasant, warm, sunny, summer weather from Saturday Afternoon through Sunday Evening..
..We will not see extreme heat Friday or this weekend but it will be typical summer-like warmth so as always staying hydrated and taking occasional breaks from strenuous activities is still advised particularly for this 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 particularly for sites setting up Friday PM and Evening..
..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 possible for Friday PM and Evening. Pictures and videos of wind damage, hail, flooding etc. can be sent as a reply to this email, via our Facebook/X/Bluesky feeds or the email address pics@nsradio.org with credit given to the spotter unless otherwise indicated. At this time, there does not appear to be a need for any type of SKYWARN Self-Activation or Amateur Radio Call-Up Nets for Saturday or Sunday..

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/

This year’s Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend features a threat for severe weather for any Field Day sites setting up Friday Afternoon and Evening. Friday Morning could have showers with embedded thunderstorms and attendant lightning risk but the severe weather potential Friday Morning is low for any Field Day sites setting up Friday Morning. The headlines depict the thinking on Friday’s weather. Key factors include:

1.) If sufficient clearing and destabilization allows for sufficient instability to take advantage of strong wind shear profiles to produce severe weather.
2.) If instability remains limited, whether the strong wind shear profiles compensate allowing for potential strong to severe thunderstorm development.
3.) Timing of the cold front that maximizes instability during the afternoon and evening hours.

As the headlines indicate, there could be showers around Saturday Morning along and south of the Mass Pike with cloudiness but conditions should improve Saturday Afternoon with typical summer warmth and dry conditions from Saturday Afternoon into Sunday Evening.

SKYWARN Self-Activation with Amateur Radio Call-Up Nets are possible for Friday PM and Evening. Pictures and videos of wind damage, hail, flooding etc. can be sent as a reply to this email, via our Facebook/X/Bluesky feeds or the email address pics@nsradio.org with credit given to the spotter unless otherwise indicated. Pictures and videos of wind damage, hail, flooding etc. can be sent as a reply to this email, via our Facebook/X/Bluesky feeds or the email address pics@nsradio.org with credit given to the spotter unless otherwise indicated. At this time, there does not appear to be a need for any type of SKYWARN Self-Activation or Amateur Radio Call-Up Nets for Saturday or Sunday. Below is the NWS Boston/Norton Area Forecast Discussion, Enhanced Hazardous Outlook, SPC Day-2 Convective Outlook, WX1BOX Amateur Radio frequency information, lightning and heat safety tips:

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-2 Convective Outlook:
https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2026/day2otlk_20260625_1730.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/

With the thunderstorm threat for any Field Day sites setting up Friday Afternoon and Evening, 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 the 2023 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

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

The next Severe Weather & Amateur Radio Field Day weekend coordination message will be posted by 1130 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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