SKYWARN Newsletter #222

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Hello to all...

Looking Forward to Your Continued Support in 2005....

Blizzard Activation and other Activation Reports to Follow By Early March....

SKYWARN Training Update....

New NWS Taunton Web Form for Reporting Available....

SKYWARN Recognition Day Report from 12/3/04-12/4/04....

SKYWARN Activation Report from Thanksgiving Day 2004....

SKYWARN Activation Report from 12/1/04....

SKYWARN Activation Report from 12/23/04....

SKYWARN Self-Activation Report from 12/26/04-12/27/04....

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net Moved to the First Monday of the Month...

***Newsletter Issued: 2/7/05.

Looking Forward to Your Continued Support in 2005....

Already one month into 2005, we have seen a very busy winter that has prompted

numerous SKYWARN Activations, including a moderate ice storm in portions of

Northern Connecticut and Southwest Massachusetts and the Blizzard of 2005 which

pounded Eastern and Central Massachusetts and Rhode Island with 20-38" of snow

and hit portions of Western and Northern New England with 8-18" of snow. The

support received from SKYWARN Spotters this year has been tremendous and the

National Weather Service is grateful for the support.

As we continue into 2005, SKYWARN Training sessions are currently being planned

and a new edition of the Prevailing Winds Newsletter, the newsletter sent via mail

will be out within the next couple of months. For this year, 10 SKYWARN Training

sessions are being planned with a couple of additional sessions slated to be run

by Amateur Radio Operators as "refresher" courses for Amateur Radio and non-Amateur

Radio spotters who have not been to training in a few years.

Voice over Internet nets continue to gain in their popularity and that will continued

to be utilized as a tool for making communication paths that were not possible

previously over the area. Continued work will be done in this vain along with improving

HF capability in 2005 as well. A huge thank you to all the SKYWARN Spotters, Amateur

Radio Operators and Coordinators who make the SKYWARN program a tremendous success

and allows the National Weather Service to better protect life and property.

Blizzard Activation and other Activation Reports to Follow By Early March....

Over the next several weeks, activation reports from the summer of 2005 will be completed

along with an activation report on the Blizzard of 2005. The Blizzard report will be

completed by the end of February while the activation reports from this past Summer

will be completed by early March. The activation reports provide documentation of the

efforts of SKYWARN for past events and are useful in keeping a historical record of

these events and to justify keeping Amateur Radio repeaters at many of the various

locations across Southern New England. The Activation reports will be spread apart over

multiple newsletters with separate reports for Severe Weather Outbreaks from July 2nd,

August 20th and August 21st of 2004 and a separate report on the blizzard. In addition,

a separate report on the "SKYWARN Recognition Day" Major Nor'easter of December 6th-7th,

2003 will also be written up and posted.

SKYWARN Training Update....

SKYWARN training sites for 2005 are still under evaluation and confirmation. We

currently have one site confirmed in Keene, NH for Tuesday May 3rd, 2005 at the

American Red Cross New Hampshire West Chapter in Keene, New Hampshire from

6:30-9:30 PM. Further updates to the SKYWARN Training Schedule will be posted in

later newsletters.

New NWS Taunton Web Form for Reporting Available....

The National Weather Service Taunton Web Page now has a new web form, where SKYWARN

Spotters, who have access to the Internet can now enter their reports online. The

link to the web form can be obtained from the link off of the NWS Taunton Main

Home Page, http://www.nws.noaa.gov/er/box or through the direct link listed below:

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/spotterreportdisc.html

The Web Form will be very useful for snowfall events that occur that are below the

typical criteria used for SKYWARN Self and Formal Activations. In addition, it does

not de-emphasize the use of the Spotter Line and Amateur Radio Nets in forwarding

reports to NWS Taunton. It is just another convenient way for SKYWARN Spotters to

send in their weather data.

Below are some frequently asked questions on usage of the web form and how it

integrates into existing SKYWARN Operations:

How does the web form effect SKYWARN Amateur Radio Operations and how I send in reports?

The form really does not affect these operations. The same SKYWARN Self-Activation

and formal activation policies will continue to be done for Amateur Radio Operations and

we encourage Amateur Radio Operators to continue to use SKYWARN Nets via Amateur Radio

as their first way to send their information into NWS Taunton. If you do not hear a SKYWARN

net in your local area, you now have a choice on how to get the data to NWS Taunton. You

can either utilize the spotter line or utilize the web form. Amateur Radio Coordinators,

during SKYWARN Self-Activation situations, can utilize the web form or the spotter line to

forward the data from their net and when Operations at NWS Taunton (WX1BOX) are active

or if a self-activation is done with Ops at another formidable Ham Station for NWS Taunton,

SKYWARN Coordinators can field the data directly into the Hams at the NWS Taunton office

or other designated Ham Station. Follow guidance from the Storm Coordination emails on

the best way for handling the reporting data.

What kind of data do I send via the Web Form versus the Spotter Line?

Treat the web form as just an additional way to send in data. If you are by your

computer and have SKYWARN reporting criteria and you are either not a Ham Operator

or their is no net active, you can utilize the web form in lieu of the spotter line. If

you are not near a computer or don't own one, you are more than welcome to utilize the

spotter line. If you have criteria information and you are in your car and not a Ham

Operator, don't wait until you get home to submit the report online, try and get the

report to NWS Taunton as soon as possible. This is especially important during

Severe Thunderstorm/Tornado/Flood situations where every delayed minute on a report

could make the difference of a pertinent warning being issued in a timely fashion from

NWS Taunton to protect life and property.

If I'm a non-Ham Spotter, should I call in my report via the Spotter line and

submit the report via the web form simultaneously?

You should either utilize the web form OR utilize the spotter line. Do not submit the

report via the web form and call it in on the spotter line as it creates a duplication

of the report and effort. Utilize the web form or the spotter line and the choice of

what tool you use is up to you and how you can get the report into NWS Taunton as

quickly as possible.

Do I need to have an email client setup on my computer to utilize the new web form?

You no longer need to have an email client setup on your computer. The web form now

works in such a way where the reports are submitted without the use of an email client

such as Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, etc.

How do I know my report has made it into the NWS Office via the web form?

A screen that thanks you for your report should come up and that indicates that you sent

in the report successfully. If that screen does not come up, assume your report did not

go through and either retry the web form entry or call the report in via the spotter line.

The NWS Taunton web form is a great new additional way for sending a report into NWS

Taunton. If there are any additional questions on how and when to use the web form,

please contact me.

SKYWARN Recognition Day Report from 12/3/04-12/4/04....

SKYWARN Recognition Day was a great fun gathering for Amateur Radio at

NWS Taunton as the weather allowed for full participation in the event

versus in 2003, where a major Nor'easter preempted our involvement in

the Recognition Day activities.

During SKYWARN Recognition Day 2004, we made 153 contacts and in those contacts

over 2 Meters/440 MHz, VoIP, and HF during the period, we contacted 28 NWS

offices, 30 states, 4 countries, and 2 Canadian Provinces. In addition, NWS

Taunton served as a Net Control Station for 2 of the 4 hours during WX4NHC's

stint on the VoIP Net that utilized the Echolink WX-Talk server and the IRLP

reflector 9219. 6 Ham Operators participated in the event and they were as

follows:

KB1CYO-Phil McLaughlin

KB1KQW-Jim Palmer

KB1G-Bill Boyes

KC8CEV-Ron Trainor

KD1CY-Rob Macedo

WD4JZO-Jim Blaine

WD4JZO-Jim Blaine, the new Hillsborough County New Hampshire SKYWARN Coordinator,

drove 2 hours to meet the operators at NWS Taunton and briefly participated.

NWS Taunton Forecasters, Eleanor Vallier-Talbot and Mike Jackson participated in

the event by making contact with several Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters and thanking

them personally for their support. This included one contact with Jay Carter-KA1RVR

by Mike Jackson where he was very appreciative for all the support the Hams provide

when they come into the NWS Taunton office to provide their data.

It was a great time and far different from SRD'2003 where we had to break

away from the event for the biggest Winter Storm of the 2003 season where we

had 1-3 feet of snow, moderate coastal flooding, and snow/wind damage as

winds gusted to 60 MPH.

In addition to the efforts for SKYWARN Recognition Day at WX1BOX, NWS Taunton, the

Boston Amateur Radio Club also had a special event station under call sign W1BOS/MQE

for SKYWARN Recognition Day at the Blue Hill Observatory. The 6-8 hour operation

brought 150 contacts including the first ever contacts from Blue Hill utilizing a

kite antenna. The BARC club braved the elements in 2003 by having the special event

station there despite the major nor'easter.

It is hoped to put a web page from SKYWARN Recognition Day 2004 that includes

pictures from the event from both stations as well as this report.

SKYWARN Activation Report from Thanksgiving Day 2004....

SKYWARN was activated on Thanksgiving Day as an unusually warm air mass settled over

the Northeast US and resulted in a line of Severe Thunderstorms capable of wind damage.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued for portions of New England including Southern

New Hampshire, Western and Central Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut.

SKYWARN was activated and the New England Network was brought up to facilitate

communications with western parts of the region and ops at NWS Taunton-WX1BOX was

initiated. Ray Weber-KA1JJM and George Bourassa, KB2SAE, brought up SKYWARN in

Berkshire County. A report of Wires Down was received at roughly 1130 AM local time.

As the storms moved through, the storms began to weaken on the southern part of the

line with the stronger activity over Southern Vermont and Central New Hampshire and

racing northeastward. Much of Massachusetts and Connecticut escaped with no activity

as the line of storms moved roughly 50-100 miles further north then expected.

Despite the holiday, several SKYWARN Spotters and Coordinators from New Hampshire and

Northern Massachusetts were on the air and ready to activate if threatening weather

approached. By 200 PM, this was no longer expected and SKYWARN Operations were secured

at that time. Special thanks to all those that gave up part of their holiday for this

activation of SKYWARN.

SKYWARN Activation Report from 12/1/04....

SKYWARN formally activated on December 1st, 2004 as widespread strong winds impacted

Southern New England. The New England Network was activated and Ops at NWS Taunton

were initiated with Rob-KD1CY at WX1BOX. Strong winds and wind damage were common

across the region.

At 2:30 PM, 2 trees were blown down on Route 140 in Foxboro, Massachusetts per

a report from KB1CYO-Phil. At 2:45 PM, a tree was blown down on Elm Street. At 445 PM,

4" Diameter Branches were blown down at 4:45 PM and a 15" Diameter Tree was blown down

in Wilmington, Mass. SKYWARN Nets were active on the 146.895-Walpole, 145.47-Danvers

and 147.180-Bridgewater Repeaters.

In addition, strong measured winds were recorded at numerous weather stations with a 47

MPH wind gust reported in Rowe, Massachusetts with a 50 MPH wind gust at 6:00 PM in

the same location. In addition, wind damage reports were relayed by Western Massachusetts

SKYWARN Coordinator, Ray Weber, KA1JJM, with large limbs, trees and wires down reported

in Russell, Mass. at 5:30 PM, Cummington, Mass at 5:40 PM, Blandord, Mass. at 5:45 PM

and Suffield Connecticut at 6:05 PM. Winds increased with a 57 MPH wind gust reported

in Rowe, Massachusetts at 6:15 PM.

SKYWARN was activated in Southwest New Hampshire with reports liasioned in via the

53.31 Mount Wachusett 6 Meter Repeater. Dan Clark-W1NAC, Cheshire County, NH SKYWARN

Coordinator reported one tree down on Mercy Hill in Swanzey, New Hampshire at 6:55 PM,

with trees down and a 48 MPH measured wind gust reported in Nashua, NH at 6:30 PM.

In West Walpole, Massachusetts at 6:58 PM, a measured wind gust of 49 MPH was reported.

Additional reports of wind damage were received as a second round of strong winds spread

through Western Massachusetts. Large branches, trees and wires down were reported in

Ashfield, Bernardston, Chesterfield, Chester, Colrain, Granville, Hawley, Middlefield,

Plainfield, and Worthington, Massachusetts. In Chesterfield, Mass, 98% of the town

was without power and in Chester, Mass, 80% of the town was without power. Reports were

forwarded from Ray Weber-KA1JJM. In Worcester County, Jerry Rogich-AA2T, from Leominster

EMA reported 2 large trees down in Leominster, Mass. at 8:25 PM.

In Rhode Island, wind damage reports were received from Ralph Nahigian-KE1GL. At 2:00 PM.

Trees and Wires were blown down on Steere Road. At 2:10 PM, Trees were down on a electric

sub station in Smithfield, RI, at 2:50 PM, in Johnston, RI, trees and wires were

blown down on Atwood Avenue and at 3:10 PM, a tree was blown down on to a car in West

Warwick, RI. Later in the evening, a second round of wind impacted Rhode Island with

a large tree down blocking a road in Smithfield, RI with trees and wires down on

Hopkins Avenue at 8:25 PM.

Additional wind measurement reports included a 49 MPH measured gust at 8:18 PM, a

53 MPH measured gust at 7:20 PM in Providence, RI, a 48 MPH measured gust at North

Providence, RI, a 54 MPH measured gust in Millville, Mass. and a 51 MPH measured gust

at 1:40 PM in Weymouth, Massachusetts. These reports came from weather station including

those available via APRS.

This SKYWARN Activation and Ops at NWS Taunton were secured at 11 PM that evening. Special

thanks to all those who assisted in this formal activation of SKYWARN for strong winds.

SKYWARN Activation Report from 12/23/04....

SKYWARN was formally activated with Ops at WX1BOX, NWS Taunton, as a fine line of

convective showers/isolated thunderstorms brought stronger winds down to the surface

causing wind damage across portions of Southern New England. Ron Trainor-KC8CEV

and Rob Macedo-KD1CY provided the ops at NWS Taunton.

The New England Network was activated as the Voice Over IP link as well as a variety

of SKYWARN Nets across Southern New England. At 4:30 PM, on Stratford Road (Route 32),

an 8" Diameter tree and wires were blown in Monson, Mass per Jerremy-KB1EJW. In

Southwest New Hamsphire, Cheshire County SKYWARN was active where in Harrisville,

NH at 5:20 PM, 1 Tree was blown down on to wires. In Hubbardston, Mass, small twigs

were blown down at 5:32 PM. In Hartford, CT, Wires were blown down at 6:00 PM with

a large branch blown down on a transformer on Route 101 in Wilton. NH. In West Warwick,

RI, a gutter was blown off a building at 6:30 PM with large branches down on wires

at 6:15 PM in Whatley, Massachusetts. SKYWARN was active on the 146.805-Keene, NH,

146.94-Mount Tom, 146.970-Paxton and 146.760-Scituate, RI Repeaters.

SKYWARN was also active on the 147.225-Killingly CT Repeater where 1-2" diameter

branches were blown down in Foster, RI and 2-4" Diameter tree limbs were blown

down in Pomfret, Connecticut. Meantime, in Hampden Mass, a large branch was blown

down on to a police car. AS the fine line of convection continued to move eastward,

increasing damage was reported on the 146.76-Scituate, RI Repeater through Ralph

Nahigian-KE1GL. At 8:05 PN, Trees and Wires were blown down at #23 Pocasset

Avenue, at #54 Stillwater, trees and wires and a transformer were blown down in

Smithfield, RI, Wires were blown down at 1527 Phoenix Avenue in Cranston, RI, and

in Glocester, RI a light pole was blown down and at 8:30 PM in Johnston, RI, a

large tree was blown down blocking a road.

Strong winds and wind damage started to affect Northeast Massachusetts where SKYWARN

was active on the 145.23-Boston and 145.47-Danvers Repeaters. In Boston at 8:30 PM,

a tree and wire was blown down at 177 Westville Street. In North Concord, Mass.,

Steve-N1BDA reported 2 large trees down with a roof taken off a house in Bedford,

Mass. at 8:50 PM. In Littleton, Mass., one tree was blown down.

The media had reported a "building blown away" in Woburn, Mass., however, after

reviewing information from various sources, this report was really siding blown

off of a building in Woburn at 9:10 PM. Siding was also blown off a building in

Saugus, Mass. at 9:10 PM as well. Urban flooding reports also came in from a

variety communities including Walpole, Lexington, Saugus and Peabody, Massachusetts.

Reports from the North Shore were relayed through the efforts of Jim-KB1KQW and

Jeff-N1FWV.

The SKYWARN activation was secured at 10:30 PM. Special thanks to all SKYWARN

Spotters, Amateur Radio Operators and Coordinators who assisted in this formal

activation of SKYWARN.

SKYWARN Self-Activation Report from 12/26/04-12/27/04....

SKYWARN was self-activated with Ops at the Southeastern Massachusetts Amateur

Radio Association under call sign W1AEC as a strong nor'easter impacted Eastern

Massachusetts with heavy snow, strong winds and infrastructure damage caused

by a wet snow combined with strong winds.

SKYWARN was active on the 145.47-Danvers, 145.23-Boston, 146.895-Walpole,

147.18-Bridgewater, 145.49-Fairhaven and 146.955-Barnstable Repeaters in

Eastern Massachusetts. SKYWARN had self-activated earlier on the 145.47-Danvers

Repeater where snowfall of 4-7" had already occurred from ocean effect snow

that brought isolated significant accumulations to portions of Essex County,

Massachusetts. That self-activation was led by Jim Palmer-KB1KQW.

At 6:30 PM, a 41 MPH measured wind gust was recorded in West Peabody, Massachusetts.

This would be a sign of things to come as the snow piled up and couple with a wet

snow would cause infrastructure damage across a good portion of Eastern Massachusetts.

5-8" of snow was reported between 6:30-8 PM in the North Shore of Massachusetts.

At 7:30 PM, one tree was knocked down from snow and wind in the Beachmont section

of Revere.

At 8:00 PM, the Norfolk County Emergency Preparedness/SKYWARN Net gave numerous

snowfall reports in the 3-6" range with no damage reported as the snow was of

a fairly light consistency except towards Braintree, Mass. where the snow was

heavier. At 8:30 PM, Mark Duff-KB1EKN, Metro Boston ARES DEC and Deputy Fire Chief

and EMA Director for the town of Hingham reported that wet snow in combination with

the wind caused Wires Down in Hingham, Hull, Cohasset, Scituate, Norwell, Weymouth,

and Quincy, Massachusetts with 1/6th of the town of Hingham without power. At 8:40 PM,

Wires were knocked down by snow and wind in Boston, Mass. At 8:46 PM,

one tree was knocked down by snow and wind in Duxbury, Mass. with a tree down on

County Road in Wareham, Mass. at 8:50 PM. At the Mattapoisett/Rochester town line,

a tree was knocked down on North Street at 9:02 PM. In Marstons Mills, Mass, 2" Diameter

tree limbs were knocked down by snow and wind at 9:11 PM. Snowfall amounts of 2-4"

were common on the South Coast of Massachusetts and Cape Cod and the Islands.

More damage was reported as the wet snow piled up and winds continued to be strong. At

9:21 PM, a tree and wires down was reported, with a tree down on power lines in Hingham

at 9:27 PM. A tree was also knocked down in Rockland Massachusetts at 9:31 PM with

Wires Down in Hyannis, Mass. at 9:35 PM. In Sandwich, Massachusetts, 2 trees

were knocked down blocking the road. At 9:40 PM on 61 Curtis Avenue, Wires were

knocked down in Quincy and at 9:42 PM Wires were knocked down in New Bedford where

a measured wind gust of 42 MPH was recorded. Power Outages were reported in

East Falmouth, Mass. with 4.5" of snow at 9:56 PM. At 10 PM, Wires were knocked down

in Brewster, Dennis and Hyannis, Mass. with additional wires down at 10:25 PM in New

Bedford, Massachusetts. Snowfall rates increased across the South Coast of Massachusetts

and Cape Cod and the Islands with snowfall at the rate of 2" per hour except for one

hour in the New Bedford area where 4" was recorded in one hour between 9:20-10:20 PM.

Snowfall amounts were now in the 4-7" range across much of the region.

More damage continued across the region with wires down in Centerville and West Barnstable

Massachusetts at 10:40 and 10:56 PM with a Pole and Wires Down in Falmouth at 10:58 PM.

6.8" of snow had fallen in Marstons Mills Massachusetts where a Northeast Wind was

measured at 46 MPH at 10:57 PM. Snowfall amounts were now in the 6-10" range with the

highest amounts in portions of the North Shore and South Coastal areas of Massachusetts.

At 11:30 PM, a large tree was knocked down on Farm Hills Lane with a measured wind

gust of 43 MPH, with Wires Down in Hanover, Mass. at 12:02 AM. The Atlantic Avenue,

Gunrock section of the road was closed as coastal flooding occurred in this low lying

area. Snowfall amounts were increasing rapidly along Cape Cod with 8-12" of

snow reported and more reports of power outages.

Reports continued to come in during the overnight hours and SKYWARN continued active

across cape Cod and the Islands and the South Coast of Massachusetts. At 1:56 AM,

a measured wind gust to 51 MPH was reported in Marstons Mills with a large grill blown

off from a house and damaged. Snow continued to fall at a rate of 2" per hour through

the overnight across Cape Cod and the Islands and South Coastal Massachusetts. Snow

accumulations of 15.5" were recorded in Marstons Mills, Mass. 14" in Waquoit, Mass,

18" in Brewster, Mass., 11" in Eastham, Mass. 14" in the Forestdale section of Sandwich,

13" in South Plymouth and 11-11.5" in South Dartmouth and Fairhaven, Massachusetts.

Final amounts ranged from 9-18" across Cape Cod and the Islands and the South

Coast of Massachusetts. Across the North Shore of Massachusetts, amounts of 8-14"

were common as snow from the main storm and snow from the ocean effect earlier in the

day resulted in the heavier amounts.

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Net Moved to the First Monday of the Month...

For those SKYWARN Spotters in Eastern Massachusetts and surrounding areas that are in

range of the MMRA Repeater system (http://www.mmra.org/), Eastern Massachusetts ARES

is now holding a monthly ARES Net on the first Monday of each month at 8:30 PM.

SKYWARN Spotters, who are Amateur Radio Operators, are encouraged to check into the net.

Many spotters are also involved with ARES and those Amateurs that are just involved in

SKYWARN Spotting are assisting in doing a vital ARES function for the National Weather

Service. Most of the MMRA Repeaters are linked up for this net and immediately follow

RACES Nets held across the state on RACES repeaters between 7-8:30 PM on the

first Monday of every month.

The next net is Monday February 7th, 2005 at 8:30 PM on the MMRA Repeater system. For

further details, please go to the Eastern Massachusetts ARES web site at

http://ares.ema.arrl.org

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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