SKYWARN Newsletter #206

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Hello to all...

SKYWARN Training Season Ends, Statistics to Follow Soon...

SKYWARN Self-Activation Report from Monday June 23rd, 2003...

SKYWARN Activation Report from Friday June 27th, 2003...

SKYWARN Activation Report from Monday June 30th, 2003...

Message Concerning Upgrades to the 145.37-Templeton Repeater...

SKYWARN Appreciation Day Set for Saturday December 6th, 2003...

Emergency Communications Workshop for Saturday August 9th, 2003...

ARRL Web Article: Gustnado in Florida/Comms. Van Activation in Kansas Affect Two Field Day Sites...

Tropical Storm Ana Coordinates...

Tropical Depression #2 Coordinates...

Tropical Storm Bill Coordinates...

***Newsletter Issued 7/6/03.

SKYWARN Training Season Ends, Statistics to Follow Soon...

SKYWARN training season has ended across the NWS Taunton County Warning

Area. Statistics on the number of attendees and new spotters trained will

be provided in a later newsletter. Highlights of the SKYWARN training

included:

-160 people attending the Worcester SKYWARN training on Monday June 9th,

2003 commemorating the F5 Worcester Tornado.

-The first ever SKYWARN training was done on Nantucket Island.

-Numerous training sessions were held in concentrated areas of both

Western Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire.

Again, detailed statistics will be provided in later editions of the

SKYWARN Newsletters.

SKYWARN Self-Activation Report from Monday June 23rd, 2003...

SKYWARN was self-activated on Monday June 23rd as a departing upper

level low combined with strong instability to cause isolated strong

to severe thunderstorms across portions of Western Massachusetts and

Northwest Connecticut.

Ray Weber-KA1JJM and Eric Tuller-N1QKO activated SKYWARN on the

146.94-Mount Tom Repeater and the 146.67 Repeater. The IRLP link

was established between the 147.105-Wilbraham Repeater and the

448.175-Framingham Repeater.

Strong thunderstorms moved in from the north in Vermont. Thunderstorms

trained over the same area of Southeast Berkshire County prompting NWS

Albany to issue a Flash Flood Warning. A small pond overflowed its banks

at one spotter's location in Becket, Massachusetts.

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Western Hartford County

as a strong-severe thunderstorm was affecting portions of Eastern

Litchfield County Connecticut. This storm weakened as it moved into

Southwest Hartford County and no severe reports were received on this

storm. Harvey Broverman-K1PZS and Roger Jeanfaivre-K1PAI were on

the 147.000-Soapstone Repeater with a self-activation of SKYWARN in

Northern Connecticut.

In Hadley, Massachusetts of Hampshire County, a strong thunderstorm

produced 2.25" of rain in 30 minutes with one road washed out from the

extremely heavy rain. Thunderstorms continued to intensify as they

entered Hampden County Massachusetts and a Severe Thunderstorm

Warning was issued as at 6:18 PM spotters reported 3" Diameter

limbs blown down in Holyoke, Massachusetts along with 1.5" of rain

in 20 minutes. Shortly thereafter, Dime Sized Hail

was reported by 3 different Amateur Radio SKYWARN spotters in

Springfield, Massachusetts between 6:20-6:25 PM. A 58 MPH estimated

wind gust was reported at Westover Air Force Base along with a

estimated wind gust to 50 MPH in Chicopee, Massachusetts. The winds

at the Westover Air Force Base were significant enough to cause the

tower that is at the air force base to sway and nearly caused evacuation

of the tower site. 6" Diameter branches were blown down in the

Main Street area of West Springfield, Massachusetts at 6:25 PM. All

reports were received via the IRLP link and forwarded to NWS Taunton

via the spotter line.

The SKYWARN activation was secured at 7 PM. Special thanks to

all Coordinators and/or Spotters who forwarded reportable and severe

criteria to NWS Taunton during this event.

SKYWARN Activation Report from Friday June 27th, 2003...

The first formal activation of Ops at NWS Taunton occurred on Friday

June 27th, 2003 as a Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued for Essex,

Middlesex and Worcester Counties of Massachusetts and Hillsborough

County, New Hampshire along with other portions of Northern New England

until 7 PM EDT. SKYWARN was activated with Ops at NWS Taunton with myself

and Delilah Maldonado, KB1IQC, the operators for this event.

For this event, activity was confined to the Southeast New Hampshire

and Northeast Massachusetts corridor. Strong to severe thunderstorms

formed over Rockingham County New Hampshire. On the Pack Monadnock

443.350 Repeater, Jay Carter, KA1RVR, was on frequency and began

searching for reports in Rockingham County of damaging winds and

large hail as some of this activity would potentially affect Essex

County Massachusetts. Also, knowing the strength of the activity in

Rockingham county would give NWS Taunton forecasters information on

activity that could form in Northeast Massachusetts. Jay reported

wind gusts of up to 30 MPH in some of the activity as it passed his

location in Rockingham County. It would later be found out from my

sister that in Raymond, New Hampshire Dime to Quarter Sized Hail

occurred around 2:30 PM from storms that went through the area. The

storms continued to hold their intensity toward the New Hampshire

coast line with 1/4"-1/2" hail reported in North Hampton Beach, NH.

Meantime activity began to organize in Essex County Massachusetts.

SKYWARN was active on the 145.47-Danvers Repeater where several Amateurs

were beginning to setup their site for Amateur Radio Field Day. We

monitored the frequency and provided head's up that thunderstorms

were developing to their north and west and to be prepared to take

cover soon. Thunderstorms continued to intensify and a report came

in from one of the Amateurs of small trees down at 3:34 PM in Ipswich,

Massachusetts.

NWS Taunton forecasters were on the cusp of issuing a Severe

Thunderstorm Warning and immediately did so based on that report.

The Amateurs at the Field Day site took cover in their cars and

did other indoor preparations while the storms were ongoing. Pea

Sized Hail was reported in Beverly, Massachusetts at 4:05 PM with

reports of one tree down and 3" branches blown down in Beverly Mass.

in the 4:05-4:10 PM timeframe per Jeff-N1FWV who participated when

possible from his work location. At 4:12 PM, a spotter phoned in a

report of 4-7" Diameter tree limbs down in Salem Willows,

Massachusetts. The activity moved off shore and actually intensified

further over the ocean.

Eric-KA1NCF, Keith-N1HLK, Jeff-N1FWV along with several other Amateurs

were key in getting these reports to NWS Taunton and all did so despite

being tied up with either their professional job in Jeff's case and with

Field Day activities in Eric and Keith's case along with several other

Amateurs who were on frequency. Special thanks to these Amateur Radio

spotters for forwarding these reports to NWS Taunton. Also, the Amateurs

did an excellent job of securing the Field Day site when threatening

weather approached their location.

The SKYWARN Activation was secured at 5:30 PM as no further strong

to severe thunderstorms developed over the area.

SKYWARN Activation Report from Monday June 30th, 2003...

SKYWARN was activated with Ops at NWS Taunton on Monday June 30th

for the threat of isolated to scattered severe thunderstorms over

portions of Southern New England. Activation began at 1:30 PM.

An IRLP reflector link was utilized and connected between the 145.39

Scituate Repeater and the 147.105-Wilbraham Repeater. The reflector

would allow for other repeaters to be linked in if necessary. Activity

began growing in Northwest Connecticut, where W1RWC-Richard in

Torrington, CT, received a report of 1/8-1/4" hail in New Hartford, CT

at 2:05 PM. Cells were monitored but did not become severe in this area.

SKYWARN was also activated in northern Connecticut through the efforts

of Jim-KD1LD, Roger-K1PAI, and Harvey-K1PAI on the 147.000-Soapstone

repeater and the 146.73-Norwich, CT Repeater. Some strong thunderstorms

moved through other parts of Northern Connecticut but no reports were

received.

One thunderstorm developed and became severe over Southeast Hampden

County and Southwest Worcester County where a Severe Thunderstorm

Warning was issued. Initially, no severe reports were received on

this storm despite significant efforts by Amateurs to determine

more information on the cell. SKYWARN was active on the 146.97-Paxton

Repeater. K1ICO-Phil in Southbridge had no severe criteria but did

a ride around the area and could not find any evidence of any hail

or wind damage including checking with the various public safety

groups in Sturbridge, Charlton and Southbridge. He did receive a

report from Southbridge Fire Department of a lightning strike to

their communications equipment causing damage at 4:05 PM. N1PJ-PJ

reported that there was 1/8" hail in West Boylston at 3:30 PM that

lasted briefly. KB1JSL-Mike, phoned a friend in Charlton who

reported 1/8" hail at approximately 4 PM. It would later be found

out that there was Pea Sized Hail in Monson, Massachusetts of

Hampden County lasting approximately 5-10 minutes along with some

large branches downed from a ham spotter in that area. Other wind

damage reports were received by NWS Taunton a day or two later.

A huge thank you to both Mike-KB1JSL and Phil-K1ICO for their efforts

in trying to find reports of hail or wind damage for this event and

thanks to all other spotters who assisted in gathering reports for

this event.

Just to the south on Long Island, a microburst with hail up to the size

of tennis balls occurred in that area from severe thunderstorms. This

highlighted some of the intensity in the atmosphere. Strong thunderstorms

moved into Northeast Rhode Island and the Attleboro area but weakened

as they approached the Attleboro area. SKYWARN was active on the

147.195-Attleboro Repeater in the 6-7 PM timeframe.

The SKYWARN Activation was secured at 7 PM. Special thanks to all

spotters and coordinators that assisted in this SKYWARN Activation.

The following message concerns the 145.37 Templeton Repeater that

is utilized for SKYWARN purposes. Special thanks to Paul Topolski,

W1SEX, for forwarding this information:

Attention all SKYWARN, RACES and ARES Members,

On Thusday, June 12, 2003 the Templeton repeater completed a serious

upgrade. The Mohawk Repeater Association would appreciate a test to

determine our new coverage area. The regular weekly ARES net is held

every Tuesday at 19:30 hours local time.

Here are the particulars for the repeater:

Location: The Verizon Tower on Ladder Hill in Templeton

N 42 Deg 33 Min 25.4 Sec W 72 Deg 03 Min 05.6 Sec.

Power: 75 Watts

Feed line, old: 140 Ft 1/2 Inch Andrews Heliax w/ approx 2 db loss

Feed line, new: 185 feet 7/8 inch hard line w/ 1 db loss

Antenna height, old: 1290 ft MSL

Antenna height, new: 1335 ft MSL

Antenna, Shakespear co-linear Station Master clone, 21 ft tall, gain

7 dbd. The antenna is at the top of the tower and clear of all

obstructions.

SKYWARN Appreciation Day Set for Saturday December 6th, 2003...

SKYWARN Appreciation Day has been set for Friday Night December 5th

and Saturday December 6th, 2003 by Scott Mentzer-N0QE, the

Meteorologist-In-Charge of the NWS Forecast Office in Goodland, Kansas

working with the ARRL. It is Scott and their weather office

that has setup the Appreciation Day over the past several years.

The event really starts Friday Night December 5th at 7 PM through

Saturday December 6th, 2003 at 7 PM but using Coordinated Universal

Time (otherwise known as UTC or Zulu time), the event is Saturday

December 6th from 0000-2400 UTC.

SKYWARN Appreciation Day is not a contest but a way for the National

Weather Service to thank all Amateur Radio Operators for their hard

work during severe weather season. It also gives the chance for

NWS Forecast Offices to contact each other and for Amateurs to contact

various NWS Forecast Offices across the country. For information on

last year's results and updates on the 2003 year event once we are

closer to the event, please go to the following website:

http://hamradio.noaa.gov/

The NWS Taunton Forecast Office will participate and details on the

extent of the participation will follow in later newsletters.

Emergency Communications Workshop for Saturday August 9th, 2003...

The following Emergency Communications Workshop will be held on

Saturday August 9th 2003. See details below:

Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Workshop Saturday August 9th, 2003:

There will be an Emergency Communications Workshop on Saturday

August 9th, 2003 from 9:00 AM-4:30 PM at the SEMARA (Southeast Massachusetts

Amateur Radio Association) Club House on 54 Donald Street in South Dartmouth,

Massachusetts. This session is being put on by the ARES

Section Staff, the SEMARA Club, and SEMARA Club Emergency Coordinator

and Assistant Emergency Coordinator, KD1CY-Rob Macedo and

N1XRS-Tony Duarte. Also, W1EV-Scott Szala, from the SEMARA Activities

committee will be providing a lot of assistance for this workshop.

This Emergency Communications Workshop will provide the background and

information to serve Amateur Radio Operators when they need to respond

to a communications emergency. It will feature an Introduction and

Conclusion to Emergency Communications, and training

sessions on topics including:

Overview of Eastern Massachusetts ARES-RACES-SKYWARN Programs

Basic Overview of ICS

Net Operations

NTS Traffic Message Handling

Go Kits

Interactive Exercises on Field Operations

This training will also feature a special 2 hour lunch that will be provided

at no coerced cost to any Amateur who attends the session. The lunch will

be combined with a CEMARC BBQ Chicken Lunch that was cancelled in late

June. Therefore, there will be BBQ Chicken for those who preregister

for the workshop and for CEMARC members who confirm with Frank Murphy-

N1DHW their attendance for the luncheon. CEMARC representatives

that are also interested in coming to the workshop are more than

welcome.

Also, where the SEMARA Club has their own club-house, there will be

representatives from the club to give Amateurs a tour of the facility

and the club's plans moving forward.

The Emergency Communications presentations will be given by other

Amateur Operators well versed in the topics listed above. The training

will be a worthwhile endeavor not just for emergency communicators

but for anyone who is an amateur radio operator, and wants to

learn more about the hobby.

Preregistration is required for this workshop so that the club can

assure enough food is provided so please decide as soon as possible

if you would like to attend this workshop.

Directions and a map to the SEMARA Club House:

http://www.semara.org/direct.htm

For any additional information and to preregister for the workshop,

please contact:

N1XRS, Tony Duarte by email TDDuarte@comcast.net

KD1CY, Rob Macedo by email rmacedo@rcn.com

This training should be a worthwhile endeavor for anyone interested in

learning more about emergency communications and amateur radio in

general.

ARRL Web Article: Gustnado in Florida/Comms. Van Activation in Kansas Affect Two Field Day Sites...

The following article is from the ARRL Web Site as Tropical Storm Bill

caused severe weather at a club site in Florida and an Activation

stretched resources between Field Day and the activation for one

Amateur Radio Club in Kansas.

NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 2, 2003--Members of the Clearwater Amateur Radio

Society (CARS) won't soon forget Field Day 2003, when extreme winds

and rain spawned by what later became Tropical Storm Bill literally

blew away the club's FD site on Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. In Kansas,

meanwhile, an Amateur Radio Emergency Service communications van was

called out from the Kaw Valley Amateur Radio Club (KVARC) FD site

just as the event was getting under way. No one was injured in

either incident.

ARRL West Central Florida Section Manager Dave Armbrust, AE4MR, says

the group should have taken the hint when they saw spotted several

NOAA "hurricane hunter" aircraft in the air from MacDill Air Force

Base just across Tampa Bay from the FD site. The 5A operation included

three recreational vehicles, a trailer, a 40-foot aluminum tower,

a satellite array, four canvas shelters and a canvas carport.

West Central Florida Section Emergency Coordinator John Townsley,

AE4GB, was on 40 meter SSB when the fast-moving storm struck the

site around 10:20 PM Saturday. "I unscrewed the twin lead from the

antenna tuner, Townsley said. "As the bare wire brushed across my

hand I felt a shock like I was hit by a spark plug wire. Then the

wire flew out the window." The storm spared little at the CARS site,

but all radio gear was recovered undamaged.

Townsley says when he removed a coax feed line and shoved it outside,

the rain sprayed through the narrow window opening "like a large spray

nozzle under high pressure." Turning on the radio inside his RV,

Townsley found a SKYWARN net already in progress. Via the National

Weather Service's ham station WX4TBW came back a recommendation to

evacuate to shelter at the nearby 4-H clubhouse--the only solid

structure in the area.

Meanwhile, club member Dan Hawthorne, AI4ET, made his way to the 25-kW

generator that continued to energize temporary power lines running

along the now soaked ground to each station at the site. "Electric

lines lying in an inch of water, frequent lightning and high

winds made for a dangerous combination," Townsley said.

The storm--which lasted about a half hour--wiped out the food station

and damaged or blew down all canvas structures. Awnings on the RVs

were twisted and torn, while push-up antenna support poles were bent

and folded and the antennas damaged or destroyed altogether. "The

aluminum and canvas carport had flown about 60 feet," Armbrust said.

"All Field Day logs were totally destroyed." The radio gear survived

relatively unscathed, however.

While the CARS Field Day score won't go down in the Amateur Radio

record books, Armbrust expressed relief that no one was injured and

that the group's communications training and teamwork really paid off.

Armbrust said the NWS reported winds of more than 60 MPH nearby and

suggested that a "gustnado" or very small F0 tornado might have struck

the area.

The WX4TBW SKYWARN net remained in operation for another three hours

to provide weather updates and to receive spotter reports. Severe

thunderstorm warnings later went up in several counties.

In Kansas, the AMCOM (Amateur Communications) van was called in from

the Kaw Valley Amateur Radio Club Field Day site to assist the

Topeka Police Department.

The Field Day ops barely broke stride. "With the help of those

operating the Field Day station, the HF radios and related equipment

was removed from AMCOM and put back into service on a table under

an awning," said Steve Hamilton, KB0JYL, who's ARRL State Government

Liaison and an Official Observer in Kansas.

"Those operating Field Day adapted and continued on with activities,

proving once again that Amateur Radio operators are versatile and

adaptable. They proved to be good team players."

Police needed the van to help check out a possible hazardous materials

incident--a suspicious substance at US Postal Service substation.

Soon on the scene, the AMCOM van assisted with communication among

various federal, state and local authorities on the scene. Although

several postal workers were taken to the hospital, the substance was

later determined to be some kind of cleaning powder.

"AMCOM was released just after 2 AM Sunday and returned to its

quarters," Hamilton said. "Thanks to those who helped and to those

who kept Field Day going despite the interruption."

Tropical Storm Ana Coordinates...

Tropical Storm Ana was a sub-tropical system that became tropical and

was only the second ever tropical storm over the Atlantic in April.

Ana brushed Bermuda and then intensified before becoming extratropical.

The following are the complete coordinates for Ana. All wind speeds

given in Knots.

Date: 21-24 APR 2003

Tropical Storm ANA

ADV LAT LON TIME WIND PR STAT

1 31.30 -66.00 04/21/03Z 35 1002 TROPICAL STORM

1A 30.90 -65.50 04/21/06Z 35 1002 TROPICAL STORM

2 30.40 -65.20 04/21/09Z 35 1002 TROPICAL STORM

2A 30.00 -64.90 04/21/12Z 35 1002 TROPICAL STORM

3 29.80 -64.20 04/21/15Z 35 1002 TROPICAL STORM

4 29.40 -62.40 04/21/21Z 35 1002 TROPICAL STORM

5 29.40 -60.50 04/22/03Z 35 1000 TROPICAL STORM

6 29.60 -59.20 04/22/09Z 35 998 TROPICAL STORM

7 29.80 -57.50 04/22/15Z 45 996 TROPICAL STORM

8 29.80 -55.70 04/22/21Z 45 996 TROPICAL STORM

9 30.20 -53.90 04/23/03Z 40 1000 TROPICAL STORM

10 30.70 -52.00 04/23/09Z 40 1000 TROPICAL STORM

11 31.70 -50.30 04/23/15Z 40 1000 TROPICAL STORM

12 32.10 -50.10 04/23/21Z 35 1001 TROPICAL STORM

13 32.30 -48.90 04/24/03Z 35 1005 TROPICAL STORM

Tropical Depression #2 Complete Coordinates...

Tropical Depression #2 was a brief tropical system that formed

over the Atlantic in June. It is fairly rare to have a depression

formed where this one did in the month of June and maybe a precursor

to an active Atlantic hurricane season. It was short-lived and

died a day after if formed. Here are the complete coordinates

on TD#2, all wind speeds given in Knots.

Date: 11-12 JUN 2003

Tropical Depression TWO

ADV LAT LON TIME WIND PR STAT

1 9.60 -41.60 06/11/03Z 30 1009 TROPICAL DEPRESSION

2 9.90 -43.30 06/11/09Z 30 1008 TROPICAL DEPRESSION

3 9.80 -44.90 06/11/15Z 30 1008 TROPICAL DEPRESSION

4 9.80 -46.70 06/11/21Z 30 1010 TROPICAL DEPRESSION

5 10.00 -47.80 06/12/03Z 25 1010 TROPICAL DEPRESSION

Tropical Storm Bill Complete Coordinates...

Tropical Storm Bill formed in the Gulf of Mexico and spread

some storm surge and high winds along with major rains and

flooding to portions of the Southeast United States. Bill

was a strong tropical storm that made landfall in Louisiana.

Here are the complete coordinates on Bill, all wind speeds

given in Knots.

Date: 29 JUN-01 JUL 2003

Tropical Storm BILL

ADV LAT LON TIME WIND PR STAT

1 23.50 -91.50 06/29/15Z 35 1006 TROPICAL STORM

1A 23.70 -91.00 06/29/18Z 35 1006 TROPICAL STORM

2 24.80 -91.10 06/29/21Z 40 1010 TROPICAL STORM

2A 25.70 -91.10 06/30/00Z 45 1009 TROPICAL STORM

3 26.30 -91.30 06/30/03Z 45 1009 TROPICAL STORM

3A 26.80 -91.50 06/30/06Z 45 1009 TROPICAL STORM

4 27.60 -91.60 06/30/09Z 45 1007 TROPICAL STORM

4A 28.20 -91.60 06/30/12Z 45 1007 TROPICAL STORM

5 28.80 -91.50 06/30/15Z 50 1001 TROPICAL STORM

5A 29.20 -91.30 06/30/18Z 50 1002 TROPICAL STORM

6 29.50 -90.80 06/30/21Z 50 997 TROPICAL STORM

6A 30.40 -90.30 07/01/00Z 45 998 TROPICAL STORM

7 30.80 -90.10 07/01/03Z 40 1000 TROPICAL STORM

7A 31.30 -89.40 07/01/06Z 30 1003 TROPICAL DEPRESSION

8 31.80 -89.00 07/01/09Z 30 1003 TROPICAL DEPRESSION

9 33.20 -87.70 07/01/15Z 25 1004 TROPICAL DEPRESSION

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)

ARES SKYWARN Coordinator

SEMCARES 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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