[NevadaARES] May 3 SKYWARN Drill; After-Action Report

[Matthew Parker]

(Jim & Dick C. - You might want to pass this on to your E.M. folks for your=
=20
counties to let them know that you were represented in the exercise)

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)
Washoe County, Nevada
After-Incident Action Report


Incident Name:  Spring 2002 Reno SKYWARN Drill
Incident Date:    May 3, 2002
Participating Agencies:  Northern Nevada Amateur Radio Services (NNARS)
Cooperating Agencies:  Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society
Management Personnel:  Matt Parker, ARES District Emergency Coordinator,=20
Nevada Northern Region


Details of Incident

A SKYWARN Drill was planned with the National Weather Service (NWS)=20
Forecast Office in Reno.  In conjunction with National Lightning Safety=20
Awareness Week, the drill was scheduled for Friday, May 3.  On this date,=20
the NWS had plans to test their alert and warning systems with the=20
inclusion of a test Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued by the Storm=20
Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.  The issuance of this watch and=20
subsequent tests of alert systems including EAS became the basis for a=20
drill net testing the abilities of amateur radio operators to support the=20
SKYWARN severe weather spotting program of the NWS by providing reports of=
=20
severe weather conditions during a simulated outbreak of severe weather=20
across the Northwestern Nevada region.


Response to Incident

Subsequent to the issuance of the test watch from the Storm Prediction=20
center, a drill net was called into action at approximately 1015 hours=20
local on the 146.61/147.39 linked repeater system. Upon the opening of the=
=20
net,  12 stations immediately checked in; of those, 9 were registered=20
SKYWARN spotters.  Five additional stations joined in the net at various=20
periods after initial check-ins were taken.

Announcements in advance of the drill had prompted potential participants=20
to generate their own reports of simulated severe weather conditions from=20
their respective locations.  Participants in the exercise responded=20
admirably to this request ; almost immediately after initial check-ins were=
=20
taken, the first simulated reports of severe weather were received at=20
NWS.  Participating stations continued to radio in frequent simulated=20
reports of changing conditions from around the area for a period of nearly=
=20
3 =BD hours through approximately 1340 hours.  The variety of conditions=20
reported was quite good as well, including such conditions as large hail,=20
heavy rain, damaging winds, frequent lightning, rising water and debris in=
=20
the Walker River, wall clouds, and a tornado.  Some participants included=20
simulated damage reports from their areas with updates regarding public=20
works clean-up/flood control efforts as well.

Things begin to wind down between 1340 and 1400 hours; with no further=20
simulated severe weather reports coming in, the net was called to a close=20
at the time the test watch expired at 1400 hours.  Through the course of=20
the exercise, 53 reports of simulated severe weather conditions or damage=20
were received.


Operational Issues

Two minor operational problems occurred during the exercise.  Due to the=20
proximity of the amateur radio equipment to that used by NWS personnel for=
=20
recording announcement  message for the weather radio equipment, we found=20
it necessary to cease net operations for approximately 10 minutes while NWS=
=20
personnel were recording a message on the system.  In addition, at one=20
point during the drill the software we were using to track stations=20
assigned on the net and log reports by computer locked up and had to be=20
restarted.  This issue was minor in scope as all data entered into the=20
program was still present when it was restarted.  This was our first use of=
=20
this software; it proved to be very useful for tracking stations assigned=20
in an incident as well as logging events by computer, and we are looking=20
forward to using it during future exercises as well as actual=20
responses.   Aside from the issues noted, all operations went very well.

I was very pleased with the job the participants in the exercise did.  As=20
previously noted, they did an exceptional job in generating simulated=20
reports of severe weather conditions and damage.  These reports were being=
=20
fed to net control at the NWS Office almost continuously throughout the=20
first 3 =BD hours of what was planned as a four hour exercise.  These=
 efforts=20
on the part of the participants filled out the time blocked for the drill=20
very well and made for an outstanding exercise that far exceeded my=20
expectations.  The manner in which the reports were handled by the=20
participating stations was outstanding as well.  The exercise provided a=20
successful demonstration of the readiness of area amateur radio operators=20
and the new radio station equipment installed at the NWS Office to provide=
=20
support for the Reno Forecast Office and it SKYWARN Spotter Program during=
=20
future occurrences of severe weather in this area.

The following persons participated in this exercise:

                 Jack Goetz, WA2FDK*             Bob Evans,=20
N6YMA*               Harry Bryant, KC7HVM*
                 Jack Martincavage, KC7TCO*      Ed Wolf,=20
N6HPQ                  Matt Parker, N7TOD*  **
                 Chad Odegaard, KD7JRL*          Zahra Anise,=20
W7ZMA*             Tony Ustica, KB7ZDT*
                 Ronnie Jo Janssen, K0RJO*       Rob Lewis,=20
K0ROB*                       Peter Young, KD7OZB
                 Dan Carpenter, KD7MAV           Steve Kruse,=20
KD7NGY             Cheryl Foreman, K7CAF
                 John Zinnick, KD7QFN            Mark Spencer,=20
WA8SME*           Jim Roche, N9UVH*

* Registered SKYWARN Weather Spotter
** Net Control at NWS Office

The following counties were represented in the exercise:

                 Washoe                          Carson=20
City                             Douglas
                 Lyon                                    Churchill=20
                      Pershing
                 Mono (California)

It is noteworthy that participants Ronnie Jo Janssen and Rob Lewis are both=
=20
from Dickinson, North Dakota and are registered SKYWARN spotters back in=20
their home territory.  They were in the Lovelock area as part of a road=20
construction crew working on Interstate 80 and took time to participate in=
=20
the drill, providing some excellent reports.  Also of note is that we=20
signed up one new spotter during the exercise and have signed up another of=
=20
the participants subsequent to the exercise.  Again, thanks are due to the=
=20
Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society for their support in allowing us to use=
=20
the 146.61/147.39 repeater system for this exercise.



Submitted May 16, 2002;
Matthew B. Parker, N7TOD
ARES District Emergency Coordinator - Nevada Northern District
Matthew B. Parker, N7TOD
Chairman, Northern Nevada Amateur Radio Services
http://www.qsl.net/nnars
ARES District Emergency Coordinator - Nevada Northern District=20

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