[Skywarn] Skywarn Digest, Vol 58, Issue 2

Mon Jun 2 12:27:55 EDT 2014

Hello Terry and all on this thread.  

Gregg, Bradly, and Dan all make great points.  It is important to remember
that the SKYWARN program is not, in and of itself, a ham radio program.  In
fact, as technology has improved over the past few decades, the number of
amateur operators involved in SKYWARN has probably decreased.

That having been said, here is a link for all SKYWARN frequencies and listed
groups in Texas:

https://www.sctxca.org/suncity/clubs-groups/sites/amradio/Skywarn_Frequencie
s/

Victoria County is listed as 147.160 with no sponsoring group.

In addition to the private individuals acting as sole spotters, many
volunteer severe weather spotter groups are directly related to local
emergency management using public service radio, REACT groups using GMRS
radio, as well as affiliation with ARES, AUXCOMM, or even RACES.  The use of
public service radio assigned to emergency management seems to be very
prevalent in what we all consider "Tornado Alley."

Every state, every ARRL branch, every WSFO, and every emergency management
agency operates differently.

So, Terry, try to find out if Victoria County, TX has an existing SKYWARN
program and join it.  If there is none, you may have to be the one who
creates it.  If WSFO Corpus Christi has an amateur radio station that they
man during anticipated severe weather, than there is a radio amateur who is
the trustee of that station who should know all the answers to all your
questions regarding the local area policies and procedures.  In virtually
every case, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) is your contact
person at the NWS Office.

When I moved to Murphy (Cherokee County), NC two years ago, the only SKYWARN
system in place was the WSFO ham station, WX4MRX, coming on the air and
asking for severe weather reports from untrained or under-trained ham
operators.  As we only have 40-60 thunderstorm days per year in the Great
Smoky Mountains and we have only had a handful of documented tornadoes in
the past forty years, it was a back burner concept.  Most people living here
think the mountains will stop a tornado.  Or, at least they did, until on
March 2, 2012, the county seat Town of Murphy took a direct hit from an EF-3
tornado (knocking out 911 completely, shutting down power to most government
agencies, knocking out the Sheriff's primary repeater, and blocking US 74
completely with debris, trees, and power lines....but no loss of life,
thankfully).

Even though I had just moved to the mountains after living and working in
Florida for 45 years, I took the opportunity to help start both an
ARES/NCAUXCOMM group and a SKYWARN group.   We now have our emergency
manager scheduling the next class for spotter training to encourage non-hams
to become involved as she does want more volunteers to cover our very large
county.

By the way, I worked as SKYWARN Coordinator for Pinellas County, Florida
under Dan Noah's predecessor Walt Zaleski at Tampa Bay Weather, and for a
short time while Dan was there as well.

Before I go, I will say that I was fortunate in that the WCM at WSFO
Morristown, TN, Anthony Cavallucci, is a general class ham radio operator
and he gives full support to ham radio SKYWARN operations. He also realizes
his RADAR cannot see below or in-between the Great Smoky Mountains, so
ground truth verification is vital to his operation, despite the best of
technologies.

Kevin Heyboer KD4UYR
AEC Cherokee County NCARES
Southwest Carolina SKYWARN Net Manager
http://www.cherokee-ares.net

-----Original Message-----
From: Skywarn [mailto:skywarn-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Terry
Turner via Skywarn
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2014 9:51 AM
To: skywarn at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Skywarn] Skywarn Digest, Vol 58, Issue 2

Thanks to Bradly McGarr and Gregg Hendry for some very interesting and
informative comments. Good job gentlemen. Keep up the good work. It is much
appreciated.

Terry L Turner
K5TLT
Victoria County
Victoria, Texas

On Monday, June 2, 2014 8:28 AM, "skywarn-request at mailman.qth.net"
<skywarn-request at mailman.qth.net> wrote:

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Skywarn Digest, Vol 58, Issue 1 (AL Massaro)
   2. Re: Skywarn Digest, Vol 58, Issue 1 (AL Massaro)
   3. MetEd Online Courses (Terry Turner via Skywarn)
   4. Skywarn "shortcomings" (Gregg Hendry)
   5. Re: Skywarn "shortcomings" (Bradly L. McGarr)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Sun, 1 Jun 2014 12:14:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: AL Massaro <almassaro at q.com>
To: skywarn at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Skywarn] Skywarn Digest, Vol 58, Issue 1
Message-ID:
    <988632940.762354.1401639290380.JavaMail.root at md26.quartz.synacor.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

I have taken both the online courses, and the classroom training. I have
also contacted my local NWS office with certificates, request for followup
info such as spotter ID,  etc. 
When we were in the training here I advised the trainer of my having
completed the online training, and he was unaware of the fact. 
To date I have yet to hear from the local office, I continue to wait
patiently.
-- 

Al Massaro
KF5SMH

------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Sun, 1 Jun 2014 15:20:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: AL Massaro <almassaro at q.com>
To: skywarn at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Skywarn] Skywarn Digest, Vol 58, Issue 1
Message-ID:
    <538573951.763801.1401650451012.JavaMail.root at md26.quartz.synacor.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Yes, perhaps, the next time I am in Albuquerque, I need an additional reason
to drive 165 miles one way. I do think it is a worthwhile endeavor though, I
am quite anxious to help with this as our state radar does not reach us
exceot for high altitude readings.
-- 

Al Massaro
KF5SMH

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Sun, 1 Jun 2014 15:48:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: Terry Turner via Skywarn <skywarn at mailman.qth.net>
To: SkyWarn <skywarn at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: [Skywarn] MetEd Online Courses
Message-ID:
    <1401662922.15929.YahooMailNeo at web120802.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

    When I finished the MetEd classes online for the Skywarn Spotter, I was
asked to send a copy of my diploma or certificate to the local NWS via email
which happened to be NWS Corpus Christi. I was promptly sent a welcome
letter and a phone number to make my reports. However, I was not referred to
any local chapters or county emergency management organizations/offices so I
was pretty much and remain on my own. I met a couple of other amateur radio
operators who attended a skywarn presentation at a local Hurricane and
Disaster Preparedness Conference in April 2014. ?There, we heard a
presentation by some operator/spotters from Tarrant county who were quite
well organized. I think we need more leadership of this kind on the county
level so that our efforts could be coordinated. The problem is finding
someone to lead in this capacity which is I suspect why there are not more
organizations to this end.?

------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2014 00:15:43 -0400
From: "Gregg Hendry" <gregghendry at frontier.com>
To: "SKYWARN Mailing List" <skywarn at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: [Skywarn] Skywarn "shortcomings"
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain;    charset="us-ascii"

Hi all,

I am not an employee or contractor for NWS - though as a retired Federal
Employee I can sympathize.

I've seen lots of posts lately about perceived, or actual, lack of support
from local NWS Offices for the Skywarn program.  Though it is an important
component of NWS, Skywarn isn't critical; that is, Skywarn's budget can
easily be slashed without effect to the overall mission of NWS.

When an NWS employee comes out to teach your group, they are on official
(duty) time.  The employee must also utilize a Government vehicle (or be
reimbursed for the use of their personal vehicle).  Both of these obviously
involve money.  Another problem, staffing shortages.  With hiring and budget
freezes, vacancies can remain unfilled for a year or more.  As a former
Federal Manager, I can tell you my priority was staffing the operation and
not public appearances.  This is part of why NWS is doing more webinar-type
training.

Our local office (Charleston, WV) recently began in-person Skywarn training
after a nearly 3-year hiatus.  They still work with a limited budget, so
don't expect fancy certificates and the like.  As for getting spotter
numbers, that is a decision made office to office.  Charleston used to
assign numbers but found it too cumbersome to keep such a database current.

So, this is the best advice I can give - take your training and affiliate
with a local ARES or emergency services organization.  Keep your knowledge
current and take more courses in weather and meteorology.  Find an
experienced spotter or two and have them mentor you.  In other words, make
yourself a valuable asset.  Don't worry about cards, certificates and
numbers - worry more about the quality of what you can provide.that is what
will save lives and property.

Gregg Hendry, W8DUQ
Barboursville, WV

------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 07:00:25 -0600
From: "Bradly L. McGarr" <brad at mcgarr.us>
To: <skywarn at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [Skywarn] Skywarn "shortcomings"
Message-ID: <57b0c92dc3ae3a9ac208f945ef967667 at mcgarr.us>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed

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Gregg,

Thanks for your message and the great points made. I'd only like to add 
a couple of things.

First, we have to remember we're all volunteers. As someone who has 
volunteered in Emergency Services from the American Red Cross, to local 
Fire Departments, to SKYWARN, scarcity is the name of the game. That's 
scarcity in support, scarcity in what is provided, slow response times 
to inquiries, etc. The best "support" I ever got was with a local fire 
department working as their IT Support Volunteer, but then again I was 
in the Chief's office 2-3 times a week at least. It's easy to get high 
amounts of support when you have the ear of the 'CEO' on a regular 
basis, but even then largely what I received was use of a Command Unit 
for performing department functions, t-shirt and credentials to get 
beyond police checkpoints. The Red Cross, for example, I had to buy 100% 
of my gear and supplies, and all I was provided were my forms and 
credentials.

SKYWARN, on the other hand, doesn't really qualify as an emergency 
services outfit so the need for formal credentials are non-existent, and 
as Gregg pointed out, the WFO is going to have different policies in 
place regarding ID numbers in each region based on their budget, etc. 
Boulder, for example, has a pretty robust SKWARN program where spotter 
numbers are assigned, letters are mailed upon first registration, etc.

What this should all tell us is that if we feel SKYWARN is a critical 
component of the NWS, you need to let those who control the purse 
strings know that: Your Congresspersons. A big part of that though would 
be asking Congress to better fund the NWS instead of treating it like a 
function that should be cut off and sold to the highest bidder in the 
private sector. Just based on my interactions with the NWS 
meteorologists in Boulder, they look at SKYWARN as a very important, 
critical resource in getting those ground-truths in to them, be it heavy 
rain and hail, snow, or a tornado. Our WFO may be unique in that regard.

- ---
REV. BRADLY L. MCGARR
Microsoft Certified Professional - Microsoft Technology Associate
CompTIA A+ Certified Technician
CIW Web Foundations Associate

Phone: 720.340.2327

A Founding Member of Societas Eruditorum North America
Where Technology and Science Meet The Greater Good
https://www.eruditorum-na.net

On 06/01/2014 10:15 pm, Gregg Hendry wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I am not an employee or contractor for NWS - though as a retired 
> Federal
> Employee I can sympathize.
>
> I've seen lots of posts lately about perceived, or actual, lack of 
> support
> from local NWS Offices for the Skywarn program.  Though it is an 
> important
> component of NWS, Skywarn isn't critical; that is, Skywarn's budget 
> can
> easily be slashed without effect to the overall mission of NWS.
>
> When an NWS employee comes out to teach your group, they are on 
> official
> (duty) time.  The employee must also utilize a Government vehicle (or 
> be
> reimbursed for the use of their personal vehicle).  Both of these 
> obviously
> involve money.  Another problem, staffing shortages.  With hiring and 
> budget
> freezes, vacancies can remain unfilled for a year or more.  As a 
> former
> Federal Manager, I can tell you my priority was staffing the 
> operation and
> not public appearances.  This is part of why NWS is doing more 
> webinar-type
> training.
>
> Our local office (Charleston, WV) recently began in-person Skywarn 
> training
> after a nearly 3-year hiatus.  They still work with a limited budget, 
> so
> don't expect fancy certificates and the like.  As for getting spotter
> numbers, that is a decision made office to office.  Charleston used 
> to
> assign numbers but found it too cumbersome to keep such a database 
> current.
>
> So, this is the best advice I can give - take your training and 
> affiliate
> with a local ARES or emergency services organization.  Keep your 
> knowledge
> current and take more courses in weather and meteorology.  Find an
> experienced spotter or two and have them mentor you.  In other words, 
> make
> yourself a valuable asset.  Don't worry about cards, certificates and
> numbers - worry more about the quality of what you can provide.that 
> is what
> will save lives and property.
>
> Gregg Hendry, W8DUQ
> Barboursville, WV
> ______________________________________________________________
> Skywarn mailing list
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> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
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>
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> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> This message was delivered to brad at mcgarr.us

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