Hello to all….

Roger Jeanfaivre-K1PAI, Hartford-Tolland County SKYWARN Corodinator was recently featured in an article in the New Britain Herald newspaper on June 13th, 2007. The New Britain Herald article and pictures of Roger are posted below:

NEWINGTON – Although Roger Jeanfaivre has always had trouble seeing, he remembers being fascinated with lightning and weather when he was growing up.
His interest in weather continued even after he lost sight completely at the age of 24. While attending Oak Hill School for the Blind in Hartford, Jeanfaivre became interested in ham radio. After getting his license to operate one, Jeanfaivre would broadcast forecasts he made up.

“People used to think that I worked for the [National Weather Service],” Jeanfaivre said.
Now he does.

People turn to the weather service for information when severe weather strikes. To make sure its information is right, the National Weather Service turns to an organization of amateurs called Skywarn.
“Skywarn provides a very valuable service to the NWS,” said Betsey Doane, state section manager for the American Radio Relay League. “We can communicate quickly and directly and provide rapid response to information throughout the state.”

Skywarn is made up of independent ham radio operators who are also trained weather spotters. They report wind gusts, hail size, rainfall and cloud formations that signal severe weather.

“Spotters are the people outside during the day. Their weather tools are their ears and their eyes,” Jeanfaivre said. “The NWS radar is a few thousand feet up, so they can’t see what is happening on the ground.”

In 1994, Jeanfaivre became the state Skywarn coordinator and kept responsibility for Hartford and Tolland counties in a 2002 reorganization. He enjoys Skywarn because it allows him to blend two of his favorite hobbies, weather and ham radio, devices that work even when other forms of communication – computers and telephones or cell phones – do not.

Skywarn gathers firsthand reports of severe weather events and feeds them into local forecasts as quickly as it can. Anytime NWS issues a severe weather warning, Skywarn goes to work setting up nets.
“Nets are a gathering of radio amateurs,” Jeanfaivre said. “We gather and activate the net and use repeaters … A setup that takes a little signal and broadcasts it over a wider area which NWS can pick up. Because of the information that we’re giving them, NWS can issue a watch or a warning. That’s what the public sees on TV or hears over the radio.”

During recent thunderstorms, such as one that produced a funnel cloud in Southington and a tornado warning in New Haven County, Jeanfaivre and his team of spotters were at work, verifying the NWS radar images.
Thanks to the evolution of the Internet, NWS can get Skywarn reports in under a minute.

“In 1994 we weren’t tied into the Internet,” Jeanfaivre remembered. “With the betterment of the new technology, they can get our reports and it supplements what they see. NWS can link into our system and get the reports as they come in. It’s instantaneous.”

The work is “a joy” for Jeanfaivre.

“It’s combining my weather interests with my skills as a communicator,” Jeanfaivre said. “It’s enjoyable … We’re really not weather forecasters, we’re communicators, and it’s my job to get the information provided by the spotters to the NWS.”

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Hello to all….

SKYWARN was active with Ops at NWS Taunton as another round of Severe Thunderstorms affected the region on Tuesday June 5th with large hail up to Golf Ball size reported.

In Hillsborough County, NH, Hillsborough County SKYWARN reported hail pea to quarter sized in several severe thunderstorms that rumbled through Central and Eastern Hillsborough County NH with the first round of storms around 1-2 PM and the second round from 230-315 PM that affected the Nashua and Hudson, NH area as storms moved in from Western and Central Massachusetts. Jim Blaine-WD4JZO and Fletcher Seagroves-N1MEO monitored the situation on the N1IMO linked repeater system.

Across Northern Connecticut, the town of Southington was hit hard with Hartford-Tolland County SKYWARN reporting Penny to Quarter sized hail and a report from NWS Brookhaven, NY of Golf Ball Sized hail damaging cars in Southington as well. SKYWARN was active on the 146.790-Vernon, CT repeater through the efforts of Hartford and Tolland County SKYWARN Coordinator, Roger Jeanfaivre-K1PAI.

Just outside of the NWS Taunton County Warning Area in the city of Naugatuck, CT, hail of up to golf ball size covered the ground to a depth of 5-6″.

Across Hampden and Worcester Counties, SKYWARN was active on the 146.94-Mount Tom and 146.97-Paxton Repeaters with Ray Weber-KA1JJM, Mark Kimmel-N1ZYG and PJ Howe-N1PJ monitoring for SKYWARN. Penny to Nickel Sized Hail was reported in Chicopee and West Springfield, Massachusetts with Pea to Penny Sized Hail reported in Barre, and Gardner, Massachusetts. In Westminster, Fitchburg, Lunenberg and Townsend, Penny to Half Dollar Sized Hail before those storms moved into Hillsborough County NH.

Special thanks to all those that assisted in this SKYWARN Activation and the past SKYWARN Activations from June 1st and June 2nd. The month of June has been an active month for SKYWARN in the NWS Taunton County Warning Area.

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://users.rcn.com/rmacedo

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Hello to all….

….Updated for Picture Archive and Partial Recording of the North Shore Radio Association ARES-SKYWARN Net from June 2nd along with cause of the damage and an EchoLink recording of WX1BOX talking to N1YLE on the 145.49 Ipswich Repeater via EchoLink….

North Shore SKYWARN activated for a powerful Severe Thunderstorm known as a supercell that downed large trees and numerous communities and prompted two Tornado Warnings along with Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for Essex County Massachusetts on the evening of Saturday June 2nd, 2007. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was in effect for much of the NWS Taunton County Warning Area until 8 PM that Saturday Evening.

Hail up to 1″ in diameter fell and accumulated to as much as 3-4″ deep in some locations. Hardest hit communities included Georgetown, Haverhill, Newbury, West Newbury, Rowley, and Ipswich. The hail was enough to crack the windshield of one of the spotters vehicle’s, N1HWA-Phil Knight, who was right inside the storm. He sighted a wall cloud with the storm and reports of rotation within the storm were received.

Various Amateur Radio Operators, who were monitoring the storm from their homes, went down into their cellars when the Tornado Warning, when they got back from their cellars, they noted wind damage at their QTH along with evidence of hail ranging from Pea to Quarter sized as the storm went through the area. The 145.47-Danvers Repeater served as the main repeater for the activation but the 146.64-Waltham, 145.23-Boston, 145.13-Gloucester and 145.49-Ipswich Repeaters were monitored as the supercell worked through the area.

Five members of the North Shore ARES-SKYWARN Team spent much of the day Sunday taking pictures of the damage swath over Georgetown, Rowley and West Newbury. Much of the damage appears to be straight-line winds associated with either several microbursts or one macroburst. NWS Taunton forecasters reviewed the incident and determined straight-line wind damage associated with microbursts as the cause of the damage.

With Public Safety busy handling the incident, Amateur Radio Operators provided key information on the extent of the wind damage and large hail as it happened, while public safety personnel handled the clean up from this significant supercell. The hams provided key information on the supercell as it happened for the National Weather Service to protect life and property and the information was disseminated through the Local Storm Report.

June 2nd Damage Assessment Pictures Video and Partial Net Recording

WX1BOX Speaks with N1YLE on the Ipswich Repeater via EchoLink

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Hello to all….

At the P3 Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Tour in Rhode Island, major PR was generated as the Director of the National Hurricane Center, Bill Proenza talked back to WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida.

Director Proenza jokingly stated that he wanted to make sure the staff there was treating Julio Ripoll-WD4R, Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator and John McHugh-K4AG, WX4NHC Coordinator, well as they prepared the Amateur Radio station for the backup communications and preparation of surface reporting in the event of landfalling hurricanes for the 2007 season. Proenza gave what was at that time, a preview of the Hurricane Outlook stating that it would most likely be an above normal season and that was verified in the May 22nd, 2007 outlook. Proenza also lauded the partnership that Amateur Radio and the National Hurricane Center have had as it enters its 27th year and John-K4AG stated they were prepared to support the NHC again in 2007.

Audio from EchoLink with Director Proenza:

Director Proenza Speaks Back to WX4NHC via EchoLink in MP3 Format

Director Proenza Speaks Back to WX4NHC via EchoLink in WMA Format

Michelle spoke back to Chris Lauer, who maintains the computers and the web site for the National Hurricane Center. Chris shared with her stories of the fires in Florida while Michelle spoke of the cold temperatures and layers of clothes that she had to wear as conditions were cool in the morning and early afternoon before warming up later in the day. John-K4AG asked Michelle if she flew first class or coach, a joking reference towards the fact that Michelle flew in the P3 Hurricane Hunter aircraft. Audio from EchoLink:

Michelle Mainelli speaks back to WX4NHC in WMA Format

Michelle Mainelli speaks back to WX4NHC in MP3 Format

Bob spoke to WX4NHC over how NWS Taunton sometimes deals with the National Hurricane Center when tropical systems approach Southern New England. He also explained how the NWS Taunton office relies on the SKYWARN Spotters/Coordinators and Amateur Radio Operators across the region for support when severe weather threatens. Julio-WD4R explained how the Amateurs of New England support the VoIP Hurricane Net in gathering reports from other parts of the US and the Caribbean. EchoLink Audio:
Bob Thompson, Meteorologist-In-Charge of NWS Taunton speaks back to WX4NHC in WMA Format

Bob Thompson, Meteorologist-In-Charge of NWS Taunton speaks back to WX4NHC in MP3 Format

Bob Thompson, Meteorologist-In-Charge of NWS Taunton speaks with VK3JED-Tony Langdon in WMA Format

Bob Thompson, Meteorologist-In-Charge of NWS Taunton speaks with VK3JED-Tony Langdon in MP3 Format

Ed Capone-N1LTP Service Hydrologist speaks Back to WX4NHC in WMA Format

Ed Capone-N1LTP Service Hydrologist speaks Back to WX4NHC in MP3 Format

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