Getting Ready For Severe Weather
By Skip Voros-WD9HAS,
MRC Skywarn Coordinator

The 2008 severe weather season is now upon us, and once again the National Weather Service (NWS) offices around Wisconsin require the assistance from the Badger state's ham radio and repeater operators for the SKYWARN program.

Skywarn is the name of a nationwide NWS program developed in the late 1960's to promote the identification, evaluation, and reporting of dangerous weather. Today, Skywarn is associated with severe weather reporting by both ham and non ham volunteer communication groups alike.

Each spring, meteorologists from the state's NWS offices, along with other educational groups, conduct storm spotter training programs for the public and emergency response personnel on the what, where, when, and why regarding severe weather observations and how to make reports. These spotter programs are always eagerly attended the hams interested in severe weather or in providing public service activities for their club or community.

If you are a new licensee, a recent ARES/RACES appointee, or just want to participate in your club's weather nets, make sure that you attend the training programs. When it comes to ham radio storm spotters too many is not enough, especially if you live in rural areas. Even if you're a veteran ham you should attend the annual 'spring refresher' training programs. Spotter training is from about February thru April of each year and is listed on NWS websites. Ham radio storm spotter reports are a critical and essential part of the NWS severe weather programs. This is because no amount of remote sensing gear (Doppler radar, satellite, smart weather networks) can take the place of a trained spotter offering real-time 'ground-truth' observations. Let me highlight again the most important aspect of what we provide: Real-time, ground-truth observations. Our ham community is ideal for gathering and reporting severe weather events because we already have in place an extensive network of voice and digital repeater systems. More importantly, a lengthy and proud history of volunteerism, accompanied by established and disciplined radio operating procedures when all other communication systems are down. (Try making a cell phone call in your area after a weather disaster.)

The NWS has demonstrated its confidence in our emergency communications capability and organizational skills by signing a "Memorandum Of Understanding" a few years back, pledging mutual support and cooperation between the NWS and the ARRL. Today, ham radio stations are present at all NWS offices nationwide. Severe weather is serious business. There is no room for egos, petty politics, and club squabbles. When life and property are on the line and seconds can sometime make the difference we must all work together. Severe storms do not observe geo-political borders and neither should we.

Severe weather reporting can also be dangerous. Unless you have actually experienced a first-hand weather scare or had storm spotter training, you make not visually recognize the dangers facing you. If you need to think about your safety then it is already an un-safe situation you are facing. Your personal safety is the absolute highest priority when doing when reporting severe weather. Think safety first, then accuracy, and speed of reporting. NEVER make any report unless it is safe to do so!

What do I report? The meteorological reporting criteria (tornadoes, funnels, large hail, damaging winds, etc.), are very similar through out the state, but there are minor differences from region to region. The exact reporting criteria are determined by each NWS office (Milwaukee/Sullivan, La Crosse, Green Bay, Minneapolis, Duluth) and then forwarded to local ham Net Control Stations. The reporting procedures (how you format your report) are typically determined by the ham group working a NWS office. As always, first listen to the local net control station and determine what they are requesting. And speaking of reports, a few points to remember that have been learned the hard way: Do not report 'hearsay' traffic from other frequencies, TV, scanners, or the internet. They are considered as second-hand sources. If you did not see the actual weather event, don't report it. Severe weather nets need 'First-Hand' observations only. If however, you observed a reportable event, but could not make a timely report when it happened, call the net with a delayed report and indicate so. When passing wind speed or hail size reports, always indicate if your report is an actual
measurement or only an estimate. The NWS considers measured reports as more credible.

When describing your physical location, keep in mind that most people monitoring your report are probably NOT familiar with your location. At a minimum location should be referenced against a county, its quadrant, nearest city, landmark, or major highway crossings. Mobile stations must maintain a high degree of location awareness in addition to their safe driving priority. GPS data (Lat & Long) is not presently used in Southeast Wisconsin. Before pushing the mic button it’s a good idea to mentally compose and rehearse your report before passing it. This process promotes correct on-air formatting and brevity. Remember that credibility is everything! One bad sounding report can easily ruin the effort of 10 good sounding reports.

On-air remarks like: "The sky is very dark here, Its really coming down, We just lost power, The lightning is getting bad," are certainly not viable reports and should be discouraged by the Net Controller. However, these type of remarks indicate a certain amount of Stress, Excitement, and Tension (SET) is developing. This 'SET' effect can alter judgment and reporting accuracy. During these times the Net control station should impart some words to calm the net. SET can also create someone on-air ill will and harsh words. Remember we never criticize a station on the air. We politely correct them for obvious mistakes, this encourages new comers to follow the correct procedures and not push people away. Although we are amateurs in name, we must be professional in our on-air presentations. Again, credibility is everything!! Bare in mind who is listening to your frequency. Severe weather (Skywarn) nets often attract huge audiences. This includes the media, fire & police, scanner buffs, radio stores, and emergency managers. Listener ship increases because the public has learned (through our efforts) that they can often obtain first-hand weather information on the ham bands. National Weather Service Doppler radars operate in the S-band of the microwave spectrum. Around 2900 Mhz,with a 28 foot parabolic antenna that focus a 750,000 watt signal into a pencil thin beam width of only .88 degrees. Yet for all this power and technology, they cannot see what's happening at ground level! However, with our puny 50 watts we hams (who are always near ground level) are in a perfect position to supply the NWS forecasters with that critical 'ground-truth' information.

In closing, look at the ham radio severe weather process in another way: Each severe weather episode we respond to allows us the opportunity to test our operational readiness, emergency communication skills, and to justify our very existence on the sometimes shrinking ham bands. Our participation assists in providing community protection, all the way down to our friends, neighbors, and loved ones.

Copyright 1998, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 WD9HAS

(posted Feb 3, 2008)