Shiawassee Amateur Radio Association ~ W8QQQ
Whiskey 8 Quack Quack Quack
Baker College; Center for Technical Studies, Bldg 16; Room near 1632 (look for us); Owosso, MI 48867
Shiawassee County - Skywarn Information
Skywarn activities are managed by the National Weather Service [NWS] and for Shiawassee County handled by:
White Lake NWS
9200 White Lake Rd.
White Lake , MI 48436
Phone [248] 625-3309 FAX [248] 625-4834
Reporting Methods:
Online Storm Report: www.srh.noaa.gov/StormReport/SubmitReport.php?site=dtx
FACEBOOK: NWSDetroit
Twitter @NWSDetroit
Winlink: K8DTX@winlink.org
email: nwslidtx@noaa.gov Email Link {Least Preferred method}
Reporting Criteria ~ Includes Winter Weather
Spotters are asked to report any occurence of severe weather. The reports are used to better understand the weather below the radar images and help in understanding the radar and satelite images. The following events should be reported on an emergency traffic basis on the Ham Networks and gotten to the NWS immediately.
- TORNADOS, WATER SPOUTS, & FUNNEL CLOUDS.
- THUNDERSTORM WINDS producing damage. See table below.
- WIND GUSTS - Non-Thunderstorm of 40+ MPH or Damage Caused by Strong Winds
- HAIL - pea sized or larger. See table below.
- LIGHTENING that produces damage or injury.
- FLOODING, Ice Jams, Bankfull Rivers or Streams. Water covering roads or property (to a building).
- RAIN - Report amounts of an inch (1.0") or greater in 24 hours.
- FREEZING RAIN and SLEET - Estimate the amount of glazing (ie. 1/10 inch; 1/4 inch; 1/2 inch - Measure top of ice on object.
- SNOWFALL - Report when 1.0" has fallen, then each additional 2 inches, and a storm total. Need 12 hour totals ending at 7:00 AM and PM.
Reporting Reference Guides
Wind Scale
| MPH | Description |
| 25 to 31 | Large branches in motion; whistling heard in overhead wires |
| 32 to 38 | Whole trees in motion; inconvenience walking through wind |
| 39 to 54 | Twigs break off trees; wind generally impeded progress |
| 55 to 72 | Damage to chimmneys, TV antennas; pushes over small rooted trees |
| 73 to 112 | Peels surface off roofs; windows broken; light mobile homes overturned; moving cars pushed off road |
| 113 to 157 | Roofs torn off houses; cars li |
Hail Correlation
| Pea | 0.25 inch | Half Dollar | 1.25 inches | Baseball | 2.75 inches | ||
| Plain M&M | 0.50 inch | Ping Pong Ball | 1.50 icnhes | Large Apple | 3.00 inches | ||
| Penny | 0.75 inch | Golf Ball | 1.75 inches | Softball | 4.00 inches | ||
| Nickel | 0.88 inch | Lime | 2.00 Inches | Grapefruit | 4.50 inches | ||
| Quarter | 1.00 inch | Tennis Ball | 2.50 inches | CD/DCD | 4.75/5 inches |
Local Radio Monitoring
| W8CMN - Central MI Emergency Network (Broadcastify): | http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/21900/web |
| W8FSM - Fenton, MI (Broadcastify): | http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/10428/web |
| Shiawassee Police Dispatch - Broadcastify: | http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/22578/web |
| Broadcastify Home Site: | http://www.broadcastify.com/ |
| DTW "KDTW" Aviation Feed: | http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/13693 |
Some Skywarn WEB links of interest are:
Weather Related Sites
Includes Hurricane Links
Does not impact Michigan too much, but you need to steer clear of their operations and it can be interesting to listen in.
Click the name and it will take you to a Net's "WEB Site", for further information.
| Weather Links ~ By N4TYV a very large list of resources (several hundred).~ Weather and Hurricane Links (2014) from Randy Johnson, N4TYV ~ |
| Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center ~ WX4NHC |
| Hurricane Frequencies ~ By Hugh Stegman NV6H ~ Many places to listen. |