Amateur Radio Field Day/Severe Weather Coordination Message #1 – Friday 6/21/13-Sunday 6/23/13

June 21, 2013 Rob Macedo Leave a comment

Hello to all..

..The following is the first in a series of messages on Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend and providing information on the heat and severe weather potential during this period..
..Conditions will gradually become warmer and more humid as the weekend wears on region wide so any Field Day sites doing setup Friday and operating through this weekend should exercise caution due to the warm conditions by going slow and drinking plenty of liquids. Temperatures will be around 80 Friday and into the mid 80s Saturday with Upper 80s to around 90 Degrees Sunday..
..Isolated to Scattered Strong to Severe Thunderstorms are possible this weekend as conditions warm and weak impulses in the atmosphere may cause isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms to organize over the area. Also, remember, that even non-severe thunderstorms with their attendant lightning risk, are a threat to Amateur Radio Field Day sites. While there is this potential, most of the weekend should be dry across the region. SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton are possible on Saturday and Sunday if the threat is widespread enough and becomes more defined..
..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..
..Unlike past years, Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend doesn’t coincide with Lightning Awareness Week so lightning safety information from NOAA’s Lightning Safety web site has been posted for awareness for all Amateur Radio Field Day Sites..

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

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/

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

On Friday, any Amateur Radio Field Day sites doing setup will see Hazy, temperatures will warm to around 80 or into the lower 80s. An isolated shower or thunderstorm can’t be ruled out along or north of the Massachusetts Turnpike but much of the day will be dry and the risk for any thunderstorm and lightning risk is currently expected to be low for Friday.

As we get into the weekend, temperatures will warm into the 80s and potentially reach 90 degrees on Sunday. The atmosphere should heat up sufficiently for the possibility of isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms with any impulse that moves into the area during peak heating. The timing of any impulses is uncertain. Most of the weekend will be dry but conditions at Field Day sites should be monitored in case a thunderstorm with attendant lightning risk organizes near the site. Any strong to severe thunderstorms are likely to be less numerous than 2012 Field Day but there are still likely to be thunderstorms with their lightning risk and the possibility of isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms over the course of the weekend. Further updates and specifics on any thunderstorms and isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms will be better understood in future forecasts. For Saturday, the thunderstorm potential appears confined to locations along and north of the Mass. Pike. On Sunday, the thunderstorm potential could be over much of Southern New England in an isolated to scattered variety of thunderstorms.

Amateur Radio Field Day sites setting up on Friday and active this weekend 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 grounding 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 this weekend and future coordination messages will better define the activity for this weekend 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. The following is a link for lightning safety information:

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

Severe Weather Safety Tips and Information can be found via the following links:

NWS Taunton Severe Weather Preparedness Week Web Site:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/announcement/svrWxAwareWeek/index.php

NWS Taunton Public Information Statements for Severe Weather Preparedness Week:
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/svr_prepare_wk_2013.txt

Given that heat will increase over the weekend, any groups setting up for Field Day on Friday and operating over the weekend should take it slow and drink plenty of liquids. The link below features information on Heat Safety:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/heat/index.shtml

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 by 1130 PM Friday Evening.

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
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