[BARC-List] Skywarn ??

[William Ricker]

> 1.  Is there a map that shows which repeaters support Skywarn activities 
> for various geographical areas?  For instance, if I was to fly to Fort 
> Lauderdale, how would I figure out which repeater does Skywarn for that area?

No, there is no official centrral national registery of local Skywarn groups of which I am aware.  www.skywarn.org is unofficial but may have the info you need, but may be out of date.

You can find the local NWS office website via www.nws.noaa.gov , and from their probably find Skywarn.

The annual Skywarn Appreciation Day Operating event is a close approximation, but some NWS offices and local ARES/RACES do the event without doing Skywarn, and others with Skywarn who don't partipate in the (mostly) HF event. See http://hamradio.noaa.gov/ .

> 2.  If Skywarn is activated for a particular area / repeater, is there any 
> way of figuring this out, other than listening to the repeater?  Is there 
> some sort of paging system or alert tone that goes out to signify this?


The repeater and the weather you see out your window will give you a good idea. NWR and your usual forecast sources will give you a clue. Your local Skywarn training seminars will provide specifics for your locality.

There is no national standard on ham bands. If you have a SAME Noaa Weather Radio on alert, it will alert you if Warnings are issued, which would frequently indicate activation soon or already somewhere nearby.

The local weather office should mention the possibility or likelyhood of activation in their daily HWO (Hazardous Weather Outlook) or AFD (Area Forecast Discussion). See www.nws.noaa.gov ; Boston office is http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/box/ .

The MLB http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mlb office in east central Florida has a very specific Spotter information page for their area.

73
bill n1vux  
Waltham/Boston Skkywarn Net Mgr

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William Ricker wdr at theworld.com
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