National Capital Area SKYWARN Support Group

Amateur radio volunteers helping NWS Sterling, Virginia in its mission to protect life and property. Vienna Wireless Society – October 11, 2019 Paul Savidge, N4PSS Relay League (ARRL) (NOAA-NWS) Memorandum of Understanding

ARRL volunteers (HAMS) coordinate their services, facilities and equipment with NWS in support of nationwide, state and local early weather warning and emergency communications functions … to enhance the nationwide posture of early weather warning and readiness for any conceivable weather emergency. Weather Forecast Offices

There are 122 WFO’s in the United States NWS Mission

Provide weather, hydrologic and climate forecasts and warnings for the protection of life and property.

Working Together to save lives The Role of Amateur Radio Our Mission

Move time-critical spotter reports to the NWS forecasters by the most expedient means possible.

Assist NWS by seeking out reports from areas where is occurring, or thought to have occurred. Why Amateur Radio?

• There are over 760,000 licensed amateur radio operators in the United States, many of them trained SKYWARN spotters.

(Fewer than that are active HAMS.)

• Amateur radio doesn’t rely on commercial communications infra-structure.

• Spotters using amateur radio are able to transmit reports to the NWS, when other communication methods fail. Sterling SKYWARN Program • We use Amateur Radio as our primary means of reporting severe weather to the forecasters in real time. • This is primarily done on VHF FM repeaters, but we have also used Echolink, APRS, Packet, UHF, HF, and VHF Simplex. Amateur Radios

Hand Held UHF/VHF Transceivers Single and Multi Band UHF/VHF Mobile Transceivers Multi Band High Frequency Transceivers Mobile Radios What we do:

We work directly with the forcasters at the Sterling Weather Forecast Office (WFO) to provide real time, ground truth about severe weather events happening within the County Warning Area (CWA). Weather Forecasting Office Area of Responsibility Approximately 27,000 square miles Serving ~9.5 Million People Maryland 13 Counties City of Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Tidal Potomac

West Virginia 8 Counties

Virginia 22 Counties 11 Independent Cities

District of Columbia Region is prone to all types of weather hazards! Amateur Radio Supports: • Severe and warnings • Hurricane and Tropical Storm Watches and Warnings, and the remnants of those systems. • Flash Watches and Warnings • Watches and Warnings

Amateur Radio Does This Through: • Operation of WX4LWX at NWS Sterling, VA • Directed Nets on Local Repeaters

• Use of “Report Mode” to gather reports during less intense weather events SKYWARN Desk NWS Sterling , VA

.1 VHF/UHF Yeasu 8800 (new) .2 VHF Radios – 144-148 MHz • UHF Radio – 440-450 MHz • HF Radio – 1.8-30 MHz

• APRS on VHF at 144.390 MHz

• Echolink

• Desktop Computer

This radio station was initially funded by a grant from the National Capital Foundation for Amateur Radio - and recent contributions from HAMS in the Washington, DC area.. NWS Sterling, VA Real Time Communications • Main SKYWARN Net – 147.300 Mhz (Bluemont) Backup Net – 146.955 Mhz (Rockville) Backup Net – 145.210 Mhz (High Knob) Subnets – those reachable throughout the CWA

• Hurricane Watch Net – 14.325 Mhz

• Old Dominion Emergency Net – 3.947 Mhz Virginia Digital Emergency Net – 3.578.5 Mhz

• Local ARES/RACES/Red Cross nets and adjacent State Emergency Nets.

• Communication with adjacent SKYWARN support groups if required. Also … • Any licensed amateur may report severe weather through the amateur radio nets. We require that reports meet severe weather criteria.

• Many amateur radio SKYWARN spotters are also members of ARES, RACES and other emergency response groups.

• Amateur radio operators may be called on to perform emergency communications and damage assessment support in addition to our SKYWARN mission. What Storm Spotters Do ? Report observed weather to the NWS during potentially severe weather events. Who you are. What you are reporting. When did the event occur?

Where are you located? What we need to know!

The National Weather Service is looking for reports of the following:

• 1. Tornadoes, funnel clouds, or rotating wall clouds

• 2. (please give the size as compared to US coins)

• 3. gusts in excess of 50 miles per hour measured with an anemometer.

• 4. Flooding of streams, creeks, or rivers out of their banks

• 5. Roads, or streets made impassable due to water

• 6. An inch or more of rain accumulation measured in rain gauge

• 7. Any damage by wind or

• 8. Downed trees, large branches, or power lines? Movement of Information

NWS Forcasters

WX4LWX (when active, phoned in when not)

Amateur Radio Net

SKYWARN Spotters and other HAMs 2011 Virginia NOAA - National Weather Service National Capital Area SKYWARN Support Group Program Management: Chris Strong - NWS Sterling Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) SKYWARN Amateur Radio Leadership: Tim Dennison AI4TD - Amateur Radio Coordinator Tom Horn W3TDH- Assistant Amateur Coordinator for Net Control Richard Morani KE4AJL - Assistant Amateur Coordinator for Subnets Paul Savidge N4PSS - Assistant Amateur Coordinator for Outreach/Education/Training Rob Seastrom AI4UC - Assistant Amateur Coordinator for Station Management … and a cast of thousands!! For More Information

WWW.WX4LWX.ORG – SKYWARN Support Group Website. NWS Baltimore/Washington www.weather.gov/lwx Does it work?

Joplin, MO May 22, 2011 SKYWARN Emergency Communications Red Cross/Local Agencies ARES/RACES Support Statewide Coordination East Coast Derecho What We Can Contribute

• Radio amateurs bring a wealth of resources to the public service and emergency communications table:

• Many amateurs possess a broad range of communications and technical skills outside of amateur radio, thus creating interoperability, at both the systems and operations levels.

• Many amateurs are familiar with Emergency Management, public service and Red Cross communications, practices and equipment. Amateurs practice many of their commun- ications skills on a daily or weekly basis.

• They bring the ability to set up communications systems quickly and then effectively communicate with them. HELP WANTED! We Need

Desk Operators at the National Weather Service Sterling, VA

And Net Control Operators Desk Operators Desk Operators man the SKYWARN Desk at the National Weather Service in Sterling, VA

When SKYWARN is activated. Desk Operator Requirements

• Must have SKYWARN Basic 1 training.

• Should have some Net Control or comparable experience.

• Experience in an Operations Center environment desirable.

• Flexible schedule (retired?) helps.

• Training on SKYWARN Desk Ops and OJT provided. Amateur Radio Operators are uniquely qualified to assist when severe weather occurs in our area. Be a part of the on-the-ground eyes and ears of the National Weather Service. Further the safety and welfare of your community by making emergency managers aware of hazardous weather conditions

Ask us how to become a part of the National Capital Area SKYWARN Support Group. QUESTIONS?

Contact: Paul Savidge, N4PSS at [email protected]