SKYWARN Newsletter #240

---

Hello to all....

SKYWARN Activation Report for Severe Thunderstorms and Damaging Winds 12/1/06...

SKYWARN Recognition Day 2006 Summary....

Tornadoes Strike Central Florida in Christmas Day 2006 Severe Weather Outbreak....

Climatology of How Often White Christmas' Occur in Southern New England....

National Hurricane Center Names Bill Proenza as New NHC Director....

Dr. Gray's 2007 Early Hurricane Outlook Calls for Above Normal Activity....

VoIP Weekly Hurricane Preparation Net Every Saturday at 7 PM EST....

ARRL Letter Article: Colorado & Western Washington ARES Responds to Weather Emergencies....

Newsletter Issued: 12/28/2006.

SKYWARN Activation Report for Severe Thunderstorms and Damaging Winds 12/1/06...

An unusual SKYWARN Activation for early December occurred on Friday

December 1st, 2006 as damaging winds and severe thunderstorms stuck

the region as unusually mild temperatures for December and a strong

cold frontal passage affected the region. Severe Thunderstorms were

confined to Southwest New Hampshire, Western Massachusetts and

Northwest Connecticut while generally strong gradient winds affected

a wider area through Connecticut, Rhode Island and Southeast

Massachusetts. A Public Severe Weather Outlook was issued by the

Storm Prediction Center for the potential severe weather outbreak

that included New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Western Connecticut,

and Western Massachusetts. These outlooks are rarely issued by SPC

and even more unusual in this case given that it was December.

SKYWARN was activated at 4 PM for these threats. Ops at NWS Taunton

were initiated with Phil McLaughlin-KB1CYO and Rob Macedo-KD1CY

at the station. Friday December 1st at 7 PM was to be the start

of SKYWARN Recognition Day activities but these activities were

severely cut down on Friday Evening due to the strong winds and

severe weather.

SKYWARN was active on the 146.760-Scituate, RI Repeater. Ralph

Nahigian-KE1GL, who works for Smithfield, RI fire and was at the

Fire alarm center, gave numerous reports of trees and wires

down in Providence, East Providence, Smithfield, Kingston, Coventry,

Foster and Cranston, RI. One person was injured in Foster, RI from

a fallen tree. Smithfield, RI had a measured wind gust to 49 MPH

as the wind damage occurred in the region. N1MIX-Mike Lepore was

also on the New England Network system as Mike is with Smithfield,

RI EMA assisting with reporting and maintaining contact with

Ralph-KE1GL as the 76 repeater went down for a period of time

during the activation. Jim Lowrimore-KD4ONW, Portsmouth, RI EMA

Director, reported a couple pockets of large limbs down in

Portsmouth and Middletown, RI but not nearly as significant as

what was reported in other parts of Rhode Island. Other wind gust

measurements in the 50-55 MPH range were reported in Rhode Island.

Severe thunderstorms approached Southern New England from the west

and SKYWARN was active in Western Massachusetts through the efforts

of Eric Tuller-N1QKO and Ray Weber-kA1JJM. In Connecticut, SKYWARN

was active through the efforts of Steve Willimas-K1SJW, Roger Jeanfaivre,

K1PAI, and Harv Broverman-K1PZS. A Tornado Watch was posted for

Berkshire County Massachusetts and Litchfield and Fairfield Counties

in Connecticut until 8 PM with a Severe Thunderstorm Watch expanded

to cover Southwest New Hampshire, the remainder of Western and

Central Massachusetts and North-Central Connecticut until 10 PM.

As severe thunderstorms approached the area, gradient winds caused

damage with a 2 foot diameter tree down in Nassau, NY and a large

tree down on Walker Avenue in Lenox, Massachusetts. As the Severe

thunderstorms approached, Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued

for Berkshire County Massachusetts and Litchfield County, Connecticut.

Reports of Pea Sized Hail was received in New Ashford and Pittsfield,

Massachusetts. Penny Sized Hail was reported in North Adams,

Massachusetts and a tree fell on a house in Pittsfield, Massachusetts,

with numerous trees down blocking a road in Lenox, Massachusetts.

Reports from the 146.910 Mount Greylock Repeater were relayed via

the New England Network to NWS Taunton by Ray Weber-KA1JJM. George

Bourassa-KB2SAE had SKYWARN active on the Mount Greylock Repeater. This

prompted Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for Western Franklin County

Massachusetts. Eric Tuller-N1QKO relayed reports through the 146.790

Vernon, CT Repeater that was connected direct via IRLP to the 447.025

Barrington, RI repeater of reports of trees and wires down in

Northfield, Gill, and Greenfield, Massachusetts.

In Connecticut, reports of trees and wires down were received in the

Salisbury, Canaan and Lakeville, CT area per Steve Williams-K1SJW.

Strong rotation was noted on radar prompting a Tornado Warning for

Northwest Litchfield County, CT. No tornado touchdown was reported.

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were then issued for Hartford County,

Connecticut. A telephone pole was split in half due to strong winds

in Windsor, CT with power outages reported in the Granby, CT area as

relayed by the Hartford-Tolland County Net on the 146.790-Vernon,

CT Repeater. In Southwest Hampden County Massachusetts, a measured

wind gust to 53 MPH from thunderstorms was recorded in Southwick

with trees and wires down reported in Southwick and Granville,

Massachusetts. The Severe Thunderstorms weakened rapidly after they

hit the Connecticut River Valley.

Across Southeast Massachusetts, strong gradient winds caused damage

in this area. Wind gusts were measured of up to 62

MPH in the Marstons Mills section of Barnstable through WQ1O-Frank

O'Laughlin. Wind measurements of 61 MPH in Stow, Mass. 59 MPH in

Hull, Massachusetts, 57 MPH in Cambridge, Mass. and 51 MPH in Chelmsford,

Mass. were recorded. A wind gust of 50 MPH was measured at the

Acushnet Fire Department as Jerry Bergeron, W1AFD, reported

activity as the on-duty firefighter in Acushnet. Trees and wires were down

in Rochester, Vineyard Haven, Hanson, Plympton, Kingston, Lakeville,

Foxborough, Sandwich, Bourne, Wareham, Marstons Mills section of

Barnstable, New Bedford, and Fairhaven, Massachusetts. A tree was

blown down into a house in the Pine Crest beach area of East

Falmouth with trees and wires down in Hingham that included 2

vehicles damaged by fallen trees and wires. The Acushnet EMA Ham

Station, WA1EMA, assisted with the relaying of reports including

those from Rhode Island. SKYWARN was active on the 146.895-Walpole,

147.180-Bridgewater, 146.955-Barnstable, and 145.49 Fairhaven

Repeaters.

North Shore and Middlesex County SKYWARN was active on the

146.64-Waltham, 145.23-Boston and 145.47-Danvers Repeaters through

the efforts of North Shore and Metro Boston SKYWARN and coordinators

Jim Palmer-KB1KQW and Bill Ricker-N1VUX. Reports of trees and wires

down were received in Sudbury, West Newbury with poles blown down

in Boston.

The SKYWARN Activation secured around 11 PM as gradient winds dropped

off across the area. During the course of the activation, a few

NWS offices and other stations were worked as part of SKYWARN

Recognition Day but activities overall on Friday Evening were

affected significantly due to the SKYWARN Activation.

SKYWARN Recognition Day 2006 Summary....

SKYWARN Recognition Day 2006 at the National Weather Service in

Taunton, Massachusetts went very well and had numerous Amateur

Radio Operators participating from NWS Taunton making contacts

with other NWS offices from across the United States and some

participating weather offices in Canada. The following Amateurs

participated from NWS Taunton:

KB1CYO-Phil McLaughlin NWS Taunton Amateur Radio Operator

KB1G-Bill Boyes Rhode Island SKYWARN Assistant Coordinator

W1HGY-Ted Figloc Local Taunton, Mass. Amateur Operator

KB1KQW-Jim Palmer North Shore ARES-SKYWARN Emergency Coordinator

KA1NCF-Eric Horwitz North Shore ARES District Emergency Coordinator

W1MPN-Mike Neilsen Eastern Massachusetts ARRL Section Manager

KA8SCP-Terry Stader RACES Region 1 RACES Radio Officer/SKYWARN NCS

N1VUX-Bill Ricker Metro Boston ARES-SKYWARN Coordinator

KD1CY-Rob Macedo ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton

A total of 169 contacts were made with 159 contacts made subtracting

10 duplicate contacts that were made using a variety of means. 39

NWS Offices were contacted and 5 points was added for making contacts

via IRLP and EchoLink which qualifies NWS Taunton for the Nor'easter

SKYWARN Recognition Day certificate. Contacts on Friday Evening were

cut short due to the Severe Thunderstorms and strong damaging gradient

winds ahead of the strong cold front. Nonetheless, 13 contacts were

made on Friday Evening despite the SKYWARN Activation that took up

most of that evening. On Saturday, the remaining 146 unique contacts,

156 contacts counting dupes, were worked.

The National Weather Service in Gray Maine, WX1GYX, participated in

its first SKYWARN Recognition Day and contact between NWS Taunton,

Mass. and NWS Gray Maine was made via EchoLink. Various VHF/UHF

paths did not work and NWS Gray, Maine does not have HF capability

as of yet but this was the start of a great relationship between

the two NWS offices. Its noted that if issues arise from a

communications perspective that the NWS Gray, Maine office backs

up Taunton and the NWS Taunton office backs up NWS Gray, Maine.

NWS Taunton operators assisted in net control operations when

WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center

in Miami, Florida spent a 2-hour time slot on IRLP reflector 9219

and EchoLink conference server *WX-TALK* node: 7203. Many stations

made contact with WX4NHC and order was maintained through a net control

setup where lists of stations were sent through the VoIP WX Net

reporting form where it then sends an email directly to the National

Hurricane Center Amateur station.

An interesting exchange was made between NWS Taunton forecasters and

a former NWS Taunton forecaster who is now the Director of Operations

for the NWS Honolulu, Hawaii Forecast Office. Through the efforts

of Kevin Bogan-AH6QO, Pacific ARES Section Emergency Coordinator,

the NWS Honolulu, Hawaii Office was on the air for SRD for the first

time since 2004 and through IRLP, contact was made by Joe Dellicaripini

with Andy Nash who happened to be on shift that day. It created a

very memorable exchange between the two NWS forecast offices. The

NWS Honolulu, Hawaii office has expressed renewed interest in

SKYWARN and also the ability to use EchoLink/IRLP (VoIP) modes to

link their NWS office, which serves as the Central Pacific Hurricane

Center with Guam and the National Hurricane Center when needed. It

is hoped that this will be tested next year.

The WX1BOX QSL card was requested by roughly a dozen Amateurs to date. Those

that made contact with WX1BOX during SKYWARN Recognition Day can

find QSL Card information via the SRD web site at http://hamradio.noaa.gov

and an SASE is required to receive a QSL card.

It was another successful SKYWARN Recognition Day at WX1BOX. Special

thanks to all the Amateurs who made contact with WX1BOX during this

day.

Tornadoes Strike Central Florida in Christmas Day 2006 Severe Weather Outbreak....

On Christmas Day, a Severe Weather Outbreak slammed Central Florida

with several tornadoes and damaging winds. In the Deland and Daytona

Beach, Florida area, 2 F2 Tornadoes slammed the region causing severe

damage to an apartment complex and destroying 50-60 planes at the

Embry Riddle Aeronautical School in Daytona Beach and causing

severe damage to one of the halls at the school. A F0 Tornado

struck the Leesburg, Florida area from the same squall line of storms.

Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters in the NWS Melbourne County Warning

Area were some of the first reports of the tornadoes in the Deland

and Daytona Beach, Florida area. KD4LOL-John Hall, Volusia County

SKYWARN Coordinator was credited in the Local Storm Reports from

NWS Melbourne on providing reports of the tornadic activity and

significant wind damage as it affected the region.

A preliminary storm report including pictures and meteorology of the

event can be seen via the NWS Melbourne, Florida web site at the

following link:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mlb/surveys/122506/index.html

Special thanks to Mike "Sparky" Leger, N1YLQ, SKYWARN Spotter and

NWS Taunton Amateur Radio Operator who made major contributions to

this report. Sparky lives in the Daytona Beach, Florida area and

does SKYWARN Spotting in the Daytona Beach, Florida area but is

visiting family back here in Massachusetts and was able to contribute

some of the information presented here even though he was in

Massachusetts. Sparky is a graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical

School and works for the US Space Alliance on the Space Shuttle.

Climatology of How Often White Christmas' Occur in Southern New England....

The 2006 Winter has been very mild with very little snow across the

region today as is typical of a moderate to strong El Nino pattern.

Christmas 2006 was not a White Christmas across Southern New England.

Some may wonder how often a White Christmas occurs in Southern

New England. NWS Taunton has provided a link off their web site

on Christmas Day climatology that includes the probability of

a White Christmas at some of the official reporting stations in

Southern New England based on data from 1951-2000 as provided

by the Northeast Regional Climate Center. Below is a link to that

data:

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

The link shows data from Boston, Mass, Worcester, Mass, Hartford, CT and

Providence RI. Data on a White Christmas at a national level can be

found from the National Climate Data Center and that link is below:

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/extremes/christmas.html

National Hurricane Center Names Bill Proenza as New NHC Director....

On Wednesday December 6th, 2006, NOAA announced that a new National

Hurricane Center Director has been named and held a press conference.

Bill Proenza has been named the new National Hurricane Center

Director replacing Max Mayfield who is retiring on January 3rd,

2007 after 34 years of service to the National Hurricane Center.

The following link has audio clips, conference photos and a

biography on the new National Hurricane Center Director:

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2006/s2752.htm

The press conference was quite interesting as it was good to

learn more about the new director who is moving from the

position of long-time Southern Regional Director of the National

Weather Service.

Dr. Gray's 2007 Early Hurricane Outlook Calls for Above Normal Activity....

On Friday December 8th, Dr. Gray's Seasonal Hurricane Outlook for

2007 was posted. A link to the 2007 forecast and prior forecasts is

listed below:

http://typhoon.atmos.colostate.edu/forecasts/

The forecast summary is quite detailed and technical. For those that

are not that "technical" in terms of weather, Dr. Gray's team is

forecasting an above average 2007 hurricane season. Key risks/issues

to that 2007 season being predicted as above average is the current

moderate El Nino conditions which are expected to subside as the

Hurricane Season starts along with other unfavorable indicators from

2006 becoming more favorable.

One of the main reasons for the lack of tropical systems in the 2006

season was the El Nino conditions of the past year. This resulted in

higher than normal activity in the Eastern Pacific with near to below

normal conditions in the Atlantic.

As with any long-range outlook, there are risks that the forecast

will be wrong or changed as we get closer to the 2007 Hurricane

Season. It should also be noted that the number of named systems is

less significant than the location and intensity of the systems near

land areas. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew caused significant devastation

to Florida and Louisiana but was one of only 6 named systems that

year. The location and intensity of the systems near land and

public impact is typically what people will remember about any

hurricane season versus the actual activity level in terms of named

systems.

The next outlook from Dr. Gray's team will be in early April 2007.

NOAA typically issues their seasonal Hurricane Outlook in the

April-May timeframe of each year.

VoIP Weekly Hurricane Preparation Net Every Saturday at 7 PM EST....

After the holiday break, the VoIP Weekly Hurricane Preparation Net

will be back on the air on EchoLink Conference Server *WX-TALK*, Node:

7203, IRLP reflector 9219 beginning Saturday January 6th, 2007.

The weekly net is a chance for those interested in utilizing EchoLink

and IRLP nodes and for EchoLink PC users an opportunity to

participate in a net that utilizes this mode. On a once per month

basis, the net management team hopes to do presentations on various

weather threats including hurricanes. The net meets every Saturday

at 7 PM EST or 0000 UTC Sunday and during hurricane season, the net

activates when hurricanes threaten land areas that have EchoLink or

IRLP nodes and stations in the affected area to support surface

reporting to the National Hurricane Center Amateur Radio station,

WX4NHC.

ARRL Letter Article: Colorado & Western Washington ARES Responds to Weather Emergencies....

Colorado and Western Washington Amateur Radio Emergency Service

(ARES) groups activated for two storms that hit over the course of

December. In Colorado on December 20th, a major Blizzard caused

significant travel disruption across the Denver Metropolitan area.

In Western Washington on December 14th, a powerful Pacific storm

brought hurricane force wind gusts, flooding rains, significant

wind damage and power outages causing ARES to mobilize. Below is

an ARRL article detailing ARES efforts in these two ARRL sections:

==>COLORADO, WESTERN WASHINGTON ARES VOLUNTEERS RESPOND TO WEATHER

EMERGENCIES

ARRL Colorado Section Emergency Coordinator Ben Baker, KB0UBZ, says Amateur

Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers activated this week after a

blizzard struck December 20 and continued into the next day, paralyzing a

large part of the state and stranding thousands of air and highway

travelers. Snowfall totals averaging 20 to 30 inches around the Front Range

of Denver and 40 inches or more in the foothills west of Denver, Baker said.

"ARES districts all along the Front Range are active, reporting snow totals

as well as responding to served agency requests," Baker told ARRL

Headquarters December 21. "Amateur Radio operators supporting the Red Cross

and The Salvation Army have been staffing shelters, while other ARES members

have been using their four-wheel drive vehicles to transport essential and

emergency personnel to their assignments."

Colorado Gov Bill Owens declared a state of emergency and activated the

Colorado National Guard to assist in rescuing stranded motorists. The

Colorado Emergency Operations Center as well as county and local EOCs were

opened By week's end, major highways and Denver's airport were reopened to

traffic.

Elsewhere, ARES and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) teams

across Western Washington activated December 14 after severe weather struck

the Pacific Northwest, ARRL Western Washington Section Manager Ed Bruette,

N7NVP told ARRL. Eight people died, and nearly 1.5 million homes and

businesses lost electrical power in the wake of the strong winds and heavy

rainfall, although the communications infrastructure "pretty well stayed

intact," Bruette said.

"The need for ARES/RACES was to be staged and have circuits established at

the local EOCs and ECCs in case of major communication outages, with a

secondary mission to support Red Cross shelters," Bruette explained. "I'm

fairly certain every local ARES/RACES team in Western Washington was

activated." Fifteen American Red Cross shelters opened across the affected

region, and the state activated its EOC at Fort Murray.

Winds approaching 70 MPH were clocked at SeaTac Airport, Seattle's official

observation point, damaging the terminal and canceling flights. Bruette

predicted it could take several days to restore power in outlying areas.

Meanwhile, he noted, imprudent use of portable generators and other devices

had caused at least two deaths and sent many more to emergency rooms with

carbon monoxide poisoning.

"The number of CO poisonings in the area have been termed epidemic," Bruette

said. "In one case, 30 apartment dwellers were burning charcoal indoors to

stay warm." Gov Chris Gregoire urged Washingtonians to be aware of the

dangers of carbon monoxide poising and to spread the word to those without

power or heat.

Downed trees closed several major highways, while others fell victim to

flooding. Blocked roads affected public safety agencies' ability to respond,

Bruette said.

After weathering the worst of the storm at his fire district headquarters,

Bruette says he returned home to find he still had power -- and "all my

antennas are unharmed." Other radio amateurs in the region were not so

lucky, he added.

This is the last edition of the SKYWARN Newsletter for 2006. Happy

New Year to all and that's all for this edition of the SKYWARN Newsletter!

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

Back to the SKYWARN Newsletter Archive