[WIham] Fw: SKYWARN: Skywarn Recognition Day (Ham Radio)

[Mark Thompson]

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Milw Area Skywarn Assoc <svoros at execpc.com>
Sent: Fri, November 19, 2010 11:13:02 AM
Subject: SKYWARN: Skywarn Recognition Day (Ham Radio)

This message is for the amatuer radio operators in our Skywarn community.
A very large percentage of storm spotters are also amatuer (Ham) radio 
operators.
Each December the National Weather Service recognizes their contributions and 
sets up
a special event radio program that provides the hams with fun and pleasure. This 
is a
welcomed relief and in sharp contract to the often life threatening tornado 
reports they
submit during the summer.

Regards,
Skip Voros WD9HAS
Milwaukee Area Skywarn Association


SKYWARN Recognition Day Set for December 4

http://www.arrl.org/news/view/skywarn-recognition-day-set-for-december-4
11/18/2010

The 12th Annual SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) Special Event will take place 
Saturday, December 4, 2010. SRD is co-sponsored by the ARRL and the National 
Weather Service (NWS) as a way to recognize the commitment made by Amateur Radio 
operators in helping to keep their communities safe. According to SRD 
Coordinator David Floyd, N5DBZ, Amateur Radio operators can visit their local 
participating NWS office, working as a team to contact other hams across the 
world throughout the 24 hour event.

The idea for the first SRD took shape in the summer of 1999. 
Meteorologist-in-Charge of the Goodland, Kansas NWS office Scott Mentzer, N0QE, 
tried to find a way to recognize the valuable contributions storm spotters make 
to the National Weather Service. “Since many of those storm spotters were also 
hams,” Floyd told the ARRL, “it seemed like a natural fit for the recognition to 
be centered on Amateur Radio.”

With the approval of NWS headquarters and a commitment to participate from many 
local NWS offices across the country, the first National Weather Service Special 
Event took place on November 27, 1999. “At the end of the event, almost 16,000 
QSOs were logged, with contacts made to all 50 states and 63 countries,” Floyd 
recounted. “The Des Moines forecast office took the honor of making the most 
contacts of any office that first year with 761 QSOs, and went on to lead the 
pack until 2003 by logging between 1300-1500 contacts each year.”

Floyd said that feedback from that first event was “overwhelmingly positive” 
from both the NWS staff and the local ham clubs: “Many local club members who 
came to that first event had never visited an NWS office before. When they came 
for the special event, they learned the value of their reports and how they were 
used in conjunction with existing technology.”And so began an annual tradition. 
The following year, 85 of the 122 NWS offices -- almost 70 percent -- 
participated in the event, making nearly 24,000 QSOs.
In 2001, the name of the event was changed to SKYWARN Recognition Day, a name 
Floyd said better relayed what the day was all about: “Each year since the 
inception of SRD, the number of NWS offices participating with local ham clubs 
has increased; more than 100 offices sign up each year to take part. The most 
contacts made during any SRD occurred in 2006 when -- thanks to and local hams 
in the Grand Junction, Colorado area -- 1640 QSOs were logged!”

Station call signs have also changed over the years. Floyd said that some NWS 
offices and clubs apply for a special event call sign, “such as W3B in 
Brownsville or N0Y in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Other call signs hint at office 
location, including WX9GRB in Green Bay and WX4NHC at the National Hurricane 
Center. Still others represent more of the big picture, as in KC0SKY in Pleasant 
Hill, Missouri.”
Floyd said that as SKYWARN Recognition Day has grown throughout the years, he 
has seen a greater use of digital communications in addition to CW, RTTY and 
packet radio: “Each year, more and more contacts are being made using EchoLink, 
Winlink and the use of e-mail reflectors.” In keeping with the NWS setting, 
stations are asked to include a weather report of their location in their 
exchange.
In 2009, the Melbourne, Florida office (WX4MLB) reported the most QSOs -- 1373 
QSOs -- than any other NWS office; the Des Moines, Iowa office (K0DMX), with 912 
QSOs, placed second. Melbourne also contacted 77 NWS offices, the most reported. 
Lincoln, Illinois (WX9ILX) was close behind, with 72 QSOs to other NWS offices.

2010 SKYWARN Recognition Day will be held on December 4 from 0000 UTC-2400 UTC. 
Last year, contacts were made in all 50 states and more than 40 countries during 
the 24 hour event. Even if you make just one QSO to an NWS office, you are 
eligible to receive a certificate. Just submit a list of the station(s) you 
worked (along with a self-addressed stamped envelope) to SKYWARN Recognition 
Day, 920 Armory Rd, Goodland, KS 67735. Many NWS offices also send out special 
QSL cards for this event. If you haven’t yet joined in the fun of SKYWARN 
Recognition Day, make 2010 your year to do so!


Distributed by the Milwaukee Area Skywarn Association. Nonprofit and IRS 501c3 
tax exempt. 

Skywarn is the identification, evaluation, and reporting of dangerous weather. 
Everyone talks about the weather, but storm spotters do something about it. Fear 
is not an option. 

WISCONSIN SKYWARN RADIO CHANNELS: http://www.mke-skywarn.org/radio.html 
Our best spotters always practice safety first.