SKYWARN Newsletter #210

Hello to all...

Happy Thanksgiving to All SKYWARN Spotters and Ham Radio Operators...

Next Newsletter to Feature Activation Reports from July 2003-Present...

Ceremony for Third Storm Ready Community in Southern New England...

Winter Outlook from Southern New England Weather Conference...

SKYWARN Appreciation Day at NWS Taunton and Blue Hill Observatory...

National Announcement on SKYWARN Appreciation Day...

***Newsletter Issued 11/25/03.

Happy Thanksgiving to All SKYWARN Spotters and Ham Radio Operators...

On behalf of NWS Taunton forecasters, I would like to wish everyone

a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving holiday season and hope everyone enjoys

time spent with family and friends over the next few days. The National

Weather Service is very thankful to have a very strong SKYWARN program

and to receive all the reports meeting the SKYWARN reporting criteria.

NWS is also thankful for the support for Amateur Radio Operators across

the region particularly in a season that has been quieter than normal

especially from a severe weather perspective. Again, Happy Thanksgiving

to all!

Next Newsletter to Feature Activation Reports from July 2003-Present...

The next newsletter will feature SKYWARN Activation Reports from

July of this year through late November. The activation reports are

a means to catalog the activations and to credit those who assisted

in these activations for NWS Taunton.

Ceremony for Third Storm Ready Community in Southern New England...

A ceremony for the third Storm Ready Community in Southern New England

is planned for Monday December 1st, 2003 at 10 AM. The city of Taunton

will become Storm Ready certified. It will become the third Storm

Ready Community in Massachusetts within the past 15 months. Details

on this ceremony can be seen at the following link:

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/StormReady_Taunton.htm

Winter Outlook from Southern New England Weather Conference...

At the Southern New England Weather Conference, Joe D'Aleo from WSI

Corporation gave his annual winter outlook. Joe D'Aleo uses a variety

of factors to determine what the Winter pattern is going to be across

the United States. Joe D'Aleo did a 45 minute presentation analyzing

a variety of factors which include:

-ENSO Pattern (La Nina versus La Nada versus El Nino conditions)

-North American Oscillation

-Historical analysis of past ENSO, North American Oscillation patterns

-Solar Cycle

-Volcanic Ash

-Snow Cap in the Arctic Region

-What current pattern is for weather as far as ENSO and NAO and how

it can affect the future weather pattern

In the final analysis, Joe D'Aleo's forecast calls for an above normal

snowfall and colder than normal temperatures this winter in Southern

New England. His forecast calls for 44-54" of snow in the Greater

Boston Metro area. D'Aleo highlighted risks to this forecast being

as follows:

-Currently, a weak El Nino is expected. If El Nino is stronger than

expected, the winter would be warmer and therefore would have less

snowfall.

-If the Solar Cycle had an unprecedented third spike in solar activity.

The Climate Prediction Center is currently stating that the current

trends do not favor either a colder than normal and snowier winter

nor a warmer than normal and less snowy winter. They do state that

temperature swings this winter could be quite dramatic with some above

normal temperatures at times swinging rapidly to well below normal

temperatures over the course of the winter.

Regardless of what the Winter brings, SKYWARN Spotters and Coordinators

should be prepared for reporting of Winter Criteria to NWS Taunton

for the protection of life and property.

SKYWARN Appreciation Day at NWS Taunton and Blue Hill Observatory...

SKYWARN Appreciation Day will be well represented in Southern New

England. SKYWARN Appreciation Day will feature two stations in

Southern New England. Participation will be done at NWS Taunton

and the Blue Hill Observatory.

The following highlights NWS Taunton participation in SKYWARN

Appreciation Day. Please note if SKYWARN Activation was needed near

or during the time of SKYWARN Appreciation Day, these plans would

change radically. Below are the plans:

Here is an update on NWS Taunton participation for SKYWARN Recognition

Day. Plans are underway to have several forecasters at NWS Taunton

who are Amateurs and possibly some non-ham forecasters on the radios

along with operators that you normally hear at NWS Taunton.

QSL Cards will be done this year. You must send a SASE with your QSL

card in order to receive a QSL card for contacting NWS Taunton during

SKYWARN Appreciation Day. We are using the Boston Amateur Radio Club's

mailing address and it as follows:

Skywarn Recognition Day (MQE) &/or (BOX)

c/o Boston Amateur Radio Club

PO Box 15585

Boston, MA 02215

*If you worked both W1BOS/MQE & WX1BOX, Please send 2 QSL's & 1 SASE

Plans at this time remain to be active on Friday December 5th from 7PM-

Midnight and Saturday December 6th from 7 AM-7 PM. A schedule has been

worked out to rove various repeaters and contact Amateurs across the

NWS Taunton County Warning Area and surrounding areas. This includes

using IRLP links/reflectors during the event. On Friday Night, we will

hit some of the "back-up" repeaters for SKYWARN usage along with one

primary repeater for SKYWARN usage (the 147.195-Attleboro Repeater).

On Saturday, we will touch all primary repeaters that can be hit by

NWS Taunton at two different times with one pass in the morning

through early afternoon and a second pass from early afternoon through

evening. It is also possible that NWS Taunton will be on Echolink but

that will depend on whether the PC upgrade that is needed to run the

Internet and Echolink will be completed by SKYWARN Appreciation Day.

Here is a schedule of where WX1BOX operations will be on 2 Meters and

440 MHz for both Friday Night and Saturday:

Friday December 5th, 2003 Schedule of Roving Operations for 2 Meters

and 440 MHz

7:00-8:00 PM Link Wilbraham, Fairhaven, Scituate, Johnston, RI,

Dartmouth, MA 440 MHz to IRLP reflector 9213.

8:00-8:30 PM 146.655-Falmouth Repeater

8:30-9:00 PM 147.000-Dartmouth Repeater

9:00-9:30 PM 145.230-Boston Repeater

9:30-10:00 PM 146.790-Vernon, CT Repeater

10:00-10:30 PM 145.150-Fall River Repeater

10:30-11:00 PM 147.195-Attleboro Repeater

11:00-11:30 PM 146.955-Westford Repeater

11:30-Midnight Link Wilbraham, Fairhaven, Scituate, Johnston, RI,

Dartmouth, MA 440 MHz to IRLP reflector 9213.

Saturday December 6th, 2003 Schedule of Roving Operations for 2 Meters and

440 MHz.

Timeframe 2 Meter or 440 Repeater Frequency

7:00-7:30 AM 146.760-Scituate, RI Repeater

7:30-8:00 AM 146.970-Paxton Repeater

8:00-8:30 AM 146.925/145.37-Worcester-Templeton Linked

Repeater System

8:30-9:30 AM Link Wilbraham, Fairhaven, Scituate, Johnston, RI,

Dartmouth, MA 440 MHz to IRLP reflector 9213.

9:30-10:00 AM 443.350-Pack Monadock Repeater

10:00-10:30 AM 146.640-Waltham Repeater

10:30-11:00 AM 145.470-Danvers Repeater

11:00-11:30 AM 146.895-Walpole Repeater

11:30-Noon 147.180-Bridgewater Repeater

Noon-12:30 PM 146.955-Barnstable Repeater

12:30-1:00 PM 147.225-Killingly, CT Repeater

1:00-1:30 PM 146.760-Scituate, RI Repeater

1:30-2:00 PM 146.970-Paxton Repeater

2:00-2:30 PM 146.925/145.37-Worcester-Templeton Linked

Repeater System

2:30-3:30 PM Link Wilbraham, Fairhaven, Scituate, Johnston, RI,

Dartmouth, MA 440 MHz to IRLP reflector 9213.

3:30-4:00 PM 443.350-Pack Monadock Repeater

4:00-4:30 PM 146.640-Waltham Repeater

4:30-5:00 PM 145.470-Danvers Repeater

5:00-5:30 PM 146.895-Walpole Repeater

5:30-6:00 PM 147.180-Bridgewater Repeater

6:00-6:30 PM 146.955-Barnstable Repeater

6:30-7:00 PM 147.225-Killingly, CT Repeater

Here is the HF Schedule, since bands will most likely be crowded,

we will not do specific frequencies but give the bands that we will

be on during the event and denote a primary and secondary band as

part of the schedule based on propagation. The 6 Meter Mount Wachusett

Repeater may be utilized as well. We will also have 10 and 15 Meter

capability, however, most operations will take place on 20, 40 and 75

Meters and in frequency ranges that let the most licensed operators

Friday December 5th, 2003:

7-9 PM: Primary Band: 20 Meters Secondary Band: 75 Meters

9 PM-Midnight: Primary Band: 75 Meters Secondary Band: 20 Meters

Saturday December 6th, 2003:

7 AM-Noon: Primary Band: 20 Meters Secondary Band: 40 Meters

Noon-5PM: Primary Band: 40 Meters Secondary Band: 20 Meters

5-7 PM: Primary Band: 75 Meters Secondary Band: 20 Meters

There is a large article on this event in the November issue of the

ARRL magazine QST beginning on page 90 through the efforts of Public

Service Coordinator, Steve Ewald and Warning Coordination Meteorologist

Larry Boyd (N5DBZ).

Check the web-site for SKYWARN Recognition Day at:

http://hamradio.noaa.gov/

The following highlights participation at the Blue Hill Observatory.

Blue Hill Observatory participation is being done by the Boston

Amateur Radio Club. Mark Duff-KB1EKN, ARES District Emergency

Coordinator for the Metro Boston Area will be running the site and

below is a press release on the event:

On Saturday, December 6th, from 9am to 4 pm, members of the Boston

Amateur Radio Club will be at the Blue Hill Observatory participating

in the fifth annual SKYWARN Recognition Day. On this day, Amateur

Radio operators will set up radio stations at the National Weather

Service (NWS) offices and other weather related locations and contact

similar stations around the world. Many NWS Offices including NWS

Taunton have permanentally installed Amateur Radio Equipment.

For several decades, hams have assisted the National Weather Service

by providing real-time reports of severe weather and storm conditions.

Amateur radio operators recently played a key role by providing

communications during the hurricanes that affected the East Coast and

Bermuda. Although the NWS operates a network of 120 Doppler radars to

track severe storms, at greater ranges weather radar has a difficult

time sampling conditions close to the ground. The information radio

operators located near a storm provide plays a key role in aiding

forecasters. Stations will exchange signal reports, location and a

brief description of the current weather at their respective

locations (“sunny,” partly cloudy,” “windy,” etc).

From the Blue Hill Observatory, the Boston Amateur Radio Club members

will operate on 20 Meters, 2 Meters and 6 Meters Voice only. The QSL

Card info follows below:

Skywarn Recognition Day (MQE) &/or (BOX)

c/o Boston Amateur Radio Club

PO Box 15585

Boston, MA 02215

*If you worked both W1BOS/MQE & WX1BOX, Please send 2 QSL's & 1 SASE

You'll see NWS Taunton listed in the Northeast US under the call-sign

WX1BOX and you'll also see the listing of the Blue Hill Observatory,

W1BOS/MQE and the listing of dozens of other NWS Forecast Offices in

the US that are participating. You will also see a Weather Office from

Canada's Weather Service called Environment Canada which is also

participating.

Updates on SKYWARN Appreciation Day will be posted in later newsletters

or in a separate posting to the email list.

National Announcement on SKYWARN Appreciation Day...

The following is an ARRL National bulletin concerning SKYWARN

Appreciation Day:

SKYWARN Recognition Day

The fifth annual SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) will take place this

year on Saturday, December 6, 2003. This is the day that Amateur

Radio operators visit National Weather Service (NWS) offices and

contact other operators around the world. The purpose of the event

is to recognize Amateur Radio operators for the vital public service

they perform during times of severe weather, and to strengthen the

bond between radio amateurs and their local National Weather Service

office. The event is co-sponsored by the American Radio Relay League

and the National Weather Service.

Traditionally, hams have assisted the National Weather Service during

times of severe weather by providing real-time reports of severe

events and storm evolution. "You simply can't put a price tag on it",

says Scott Mentzer (N0QE), organizer of the event and

Meteorologist-In-Charge at the NWS office in Goodland, Kansas.

"The assistance that radio amateurs provide to the NWS throughout the

year is invaluable".

SKYWARN Recognition Day this year will be held from 0000 UTC to

2400 UTC on December 6, 2003. Scott Mentzer, the creator and promoter

of the event, strives to involve more NWS offices and Amateur Radio

operators each year. In 2002, participants logged nearly 23,000 QSOs

during the 24-hour event. Last year nearly 70 countries were contacted.

To learn more about this year's event, check out the NOAA Web site:

http://hamradio.noaa.gov/.

This site includes a link to a list of participating National Weather

Service offices and their call signs.

Questions concerning this event can be directed to Larry Boyd, K0ILB,

at larry.boyd@noaa.gov.

--Thanks to David Floyd, N5DBZ,

Warning Coordination Meteorologist,

NWS Goodland, Kansas

david.l.floyd@noaa.gov

An announcement on SKYWARN Recognition Day also appears in November,

2003, QST, p. 90, and at this Web page:

http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/skywarn-recognition-day.html.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)

ARES SKYWARN Coordinator

Southeast Massachusetts ARES District Emergency Coordinator

SEMARA ARES 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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