[CoARES-D10] NWS SKYWARN Recognition Day

[Randy & Karen Long]

Hi Guys and Gals,

National Weather Service is having its annual NWS/ARRL SKYWARN Recognition
day again this year. We have been asked by them to have the station at NWS
Boulder up and running for the 24 hour period of 0000 hrs UTC thru 2400 hrs
UTC December 6,2003. That translates to Friday evening thru Saturday evening
local.

We are taking the lead on this for the Front Range areas served by the
Boulder NWS Office and I wanted to give all of you first chance at time
frames. Second choices will be going to other districts in the metro area,
so my recommendation is to get your bid in early for your choice time slot.
Just send me an e-mail with your name, call, license class
and choice of time slot that you can operate. We would like to see 2 hour
slots as to make it worth your time to drive to Boulder as a minimum.

We will be operating from the National Weather Service office in Boulder!
Bob Glancy, whos name you may recognize from our training the past two
years, is the Forcaster in charge of SKYWARN from the Boulder office. He
went to some significant effort to get NWS to purchase a very nice HF rig to
complement their station.

We will need at least one General Class licenssee on each of the time slots,
but will try to pair up lower class operators to give you an opportunity to
operate as well. This is primarily an HF event, so there is that requirement
that we need to cover for FCC regs.

Below you will find the article that was written and published in QST.

I will not be putting this out on the state net till next week so please get
your requests in for time slots before next Friday to be reasonably sure
that you get your first choice. This is on a first come first serve basis.
Time stamps on your e-mail will be used to determine assignment preference

Thanks for your participation and we look forward to getting as many of you
involved as we can. Lets show the metro area what D-10 has always shown
them. That we have lots of good ops, looking to keep our ties to our served
agencies strong!

Thanks and  73,

Randy, W0AVV
Severe Weather Coordinator, ARES D-10/Races/SKYWARN



NWS/ARRL SKYWARN Recognition Day

By David Floyd - N5DBZ,
Warning Coordination Meteorologist,
NWS Goodland, Kansas
david.l.floyd@noaa.gov


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".


This year, radio amateurs once again proved their worth. On May 4th, after
tornadoes knocked out all communications in Stockton, Missouri, temporary
ham radio stations were set up and staffed by volunteers, with licensed NWS
employees forwarding specific forecasts to hams at the Stockton Emergency
Operations Center (EOC). In August, an Amateur Radio storm spotter in Iowa
tracked a tornado until it lifted, providing the local NWS office in the
Quad Cities with ground truth. This resulted in more specific information
being disseminated to the public, and also earlier warning.


The story doesn't stop there. Hams in Fairbanks, Alaska, deployed during a
winter storm last March and reported pinpoint locations of freezing rain and
snow. The information was relayed on 2 meters, which allowed the local NWS
office to pinpoint the warning area and provide detailed statements of ice
accumulation. In Wisconsin, a volunteer operator reported to the office at 6
AM and solicited snowfall reports from amateurs across the region, allowing
the NWS to produce a detailed snow graphic and Public Statement summarizing
the storm. Amateur Radio success stories such as these occur every year, all
across the country.


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, check out the
NOAA Web site.