Amateur Radio Field Day/Severe Weather Coordination Message #1 – June 23rd, 2011

June 23, 2011 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..The following is the first in a series of messages on Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend. 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. Many locations can be visited by the public and Amateur Radio Field Day can be a form of outreach to Ham and non-Ham Operators. It is also noted that several states have given proclamations to Amateur Radio/Ham Radio Operators for either an ‘Amateur Radio Week’ during the month of June or ‘Amateur Radio Month’ for this month. It is both a fun/preparatory event for Ham Radio Operators for Emergency Communications scenarios..
..As have been done over the past 10 plus years, this will be the first in a series of Severe Weather/Amateur Radio Field Day Coordination Messages to pass instructions to Amateur Radio Field Day sites on what to do if threatening weather approaches and to have Field Day sites guard their SKYWARN repeaters as required if threatening weather approaches..
..Field Day Weekend will bring unsettled weather to the region with periods of showers and thunderstorms possible on both Friday Afternoon and Evening and Saturday Afternoon and Evening though a total washout is not expected. At this time, Sunday is expected to be dry. For Field Day sites setting up during Friday Afternoon and Evening, there is also the potential across Western Massachusetts, Northern Connecticut and possibly Southwest New Hampshire of isolated to scattered severe thunderstorms with damaging winds, large hail and urban/poor drainage flooding as the primary threats..
..This Week is also Lightning Awareness Week and safety information on lightning gets propagated during this period and has coincidentally coincided with Amateur Radio Field Day weekend and that information is included in this coordination message..
..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton are possible on Friday Afternoon and Evening. SKYWARN monitoring for even non-severe thunderstorms will be done over the weekend to protect Amateur Radio Field Day sites as best as possible..

There are a large number of Amateur Radio Field Day sites across the NWS Taunton County Warning Area and adjacent NWS County Warning Areas. Here are some links to information on these Amateur Radio Field Day Sites from across the region and links to the Amateur Radio Week Proclamation given by the Governor of Massachusetts for Amateur Radio Field Day 2011:

Amateur Radio Field Day Information: http://www.arrl.org/field-day

Amateur Radio Field Day National Locator: http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator

Eastern Massachusetts Field Day Home Page: http://fd.ema.arrl.org/

Massachusetts Proclamation for Amateur Radio Week:
http://wma.arrl.org/news.php
http://ema.arrl.org/node/1861

If there is additional Amateur Radio Field Day information that you would like to appear in these coordination messages, please contact me and I will add it to this section of the Amateur Radio Field Day Coordination Message.

On Friday, any Amateur Radio Field Day sites doing setup will see cloudy conditions with some breaks of sun. The breaks of sun may be most prevelant over Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut possibly getting into Southwest New Hampshire. If these breaks of sun occur and a cold front is able to move into the region, isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms could potentially develop by afternoon with damaging winds, large hail and urban and poor drainage flooding as the primary threats. Any thunderstorms that do develop will have the attendant risk of lightning which is a danger to all Amateur Radio Field Day sites setting up during Friday Afternoon and evening regardless of whether thunderstorms become severe. The exact threat risk is uncertain due to the position of the front and whether or not sufficient drying for sunshine and destablization occurs. The threat will be monitored with SKYWARN Activation and Ops at NWS Taunton possible during Friday Afternoon and Evening.

As we get into Saturday, conditions will remain unsettled though the entire day is not expected to be a washout. There could be showers and thunderstorms with an attendant lightning risk during the afternoon and evening as a cold front slowly swings through the remainder of the region. Any severe threat will depend on any sun and heating that could destablize the atmosphere and that will be better understood in future forecasts. As we get into late Saturday Night into Sunday, drier conditions will return to the area and the threat for thunderstorms and severe weather will have passed.

Amateur Radio Field Day sites setting up on Friday and active on Saturday should use caution and keep an eye to the sky and monitor their local SKYWARN Repeater, NOAA Weather Radio or weather information via Internet and media resources to guard against safety issues if thunderstorms, even if they are non-severe, occur in the region due to the potential lightning risk on radio equipment and antennas. Proper grouding of antennas is essential to help reduce any risk from lightning. Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook:

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

SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton is possible on Friday Afternoon into the evening and future coordination messages will better define the activity for Saturday as mentioned previously. SKYWARN monitoring for non-severe thunderstorms and their lightning risk will be done throughout the weekend to protect Amateur Radio Field Day sites as required.

Also, as stated previously, remember that non-severe thunderstorms can pose a threat to Amateur Radio Field Day sites due to the threat of lightning. Please keep this in mind if you have an outdoor Field Day site. This week is Lightning Awareness Week and the National Weather Service in Taunton has posted information on Lightning Safety Awareness Week. See links below for this information:

NWS Taunton Latest Lightning Safety Awareness Week Statement: http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.nous41.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton Wednesday 6/22/11 Lightning Safety Awareness Week Statement: http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KBOX/1106221959.nous41.html

NWS Taunton Tuesday 6/21/11 Lightning Safety Awareness Week Statement: http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KBOX/1106211549.nous41.html

NWS Lightning Safety Awareness Home Page: http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/

Field Day sites are encouraged to bring a NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio and a dedicated Ham Radio that can monitor their local SKYWARN Frequency for their area or if they have mobile Internet capability, that is also a way to monitor for weather information if thunderstorms, even that are non-severe, approach your area. With Mobile Internet capability, utilizing Echolink to monitor the New England Reflector system on Echolink Conference Node: 9123/IRLP 9123 would be helpful. Please see the link below for the latest SKYWARN Frequency information for the region:
http://beta.wx1box.org/node/37

The next coordination message will be posted either by 1130 PM Thursday Evening or by 900 AM Friday Morning.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://beta.wx1box.org