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Winter Spotter Training Class (2018)   New ~ 13 Sep. 2018

Class will be given at: Owosso Township Hall; 410 S. Delaney Rd., Owosso, MI 48867

Class starts at 7:00 PM on 08 November 2018 and expected to about 2 hours in length. It is 'open to the public'.

Shiawassee radio amateurs should attend if at all possible. We need to be ready for the up-coming spring weatherr!

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

Amateur Radio Emergency Coordinator [EC] for Shiawassee County (Communications):

For the most current SHIAWASSEE COUNTY {local} information, contact Phil Bates.

Phil Bates, AC8FW Email via: ac8fw (at) arrl.net (replace 'at' with @) Phone (cell) is [810] 919-9906

Phil as our county EC handles coordination of ARES, RACES & Skywarn Communications for Shiawassee county.

The county has two assistant ECs, Kevin Middleton, K8MID, and Don Warner, WB8GUS.

Reporting Methods:

   Shiawassee County Skywarn Net: 147.02 +600 (PL 100.0 Hz)

   Online Storm Report: www.srh.noaa.gov/StormReport/SubmitReport.php?site=dtx

   FACEBOOK: NWSDetroit

   Twitter @NWSDetroit

   Winlink: K8DTX@winlink.org

   NWS Chat: Cell Phone App

   email: nwslidtx@noaa.gov Email Link  {Least Preferred method}

 

Skywarn Net Operation Manual ~ Shiawassee County New ~ May, 2018

The local ARES/Skywarn team with Shiawassee Amateur Radio Association [SARA] has a Skywarn "Net Operation Proceduress" manual. This is used for the radio Skywarn net operations in the Shiawassee county area. Please printout the manual and have available for your usage. Net is on Shiawassee County Skywarn Net: 147.02 +600 (PL 100.0 Hz)

 

NWS Chat Application

Shiawasse county Emergency Manager, Trent Adkins, suggets that our weather spotters get signed up for 'NWS Chat'. Send (email) your initial request to Phil Bates and Don Warner include your email address and call letters. They will forward to Trent for NWS usage. Then you can follow these steps to request 'offical' approval:

1. Go to: NWS Chat Create Account.
2. Read "Terms of Use".
3. In the 'Prefix/Affiliation' area select: Ham Radio. Fill in your name.
4. Use "shia-mi-ares-your call letters-your lastname" as the common name on account.
5. Enter your Email address.
6. Enter your Phone Number.
7. For your affiliation use: "ares-shiawassee".
8. Enter the 12 character password, using the rules spelled out.
9. Under the 'Weather Forecast Office' tab select from 'Michigan' the "DTX Detroit office as your PRIMARY center.
10. Hit the "Create Account" button at the bottom.

You should get a message that your request will be reviewed. (Can take up to 30 days for approval.) Once approved you should be able to sign-on. This will allow a 'quick exchange' and monitoring of current weather events when we are called out for Skywarn duties.

The 'main page' for NWS Chat is: http://nwschat.weather.gov>.

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.

 

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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 (Sizes)

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 {via Internet}

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

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Some Skywarn WEB links of interest are:

Location/Level	Link/Information
Local	National Weather Service Detroit Homepage: http://www.weather.gov/dtx/
Local	NWS Chat: http://nwschat.weather.gov
Local	Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov
Local	NWS Detroit/Pontiac Home Page (White Lake Site): http://www.weather.gov/dtx/
Local	NWS White Lake Preparedness: http://w2.weather.gov/dtx/preparedness/
Local	Central Michigan Emergency Network: https://w8cmn.net/tiki-index.php
Michigan	National Weather Service Detroit Homepage: http://www.weather.gov/
National	NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration: http://www.noaa.gov/
Michigan	Lansing - SKYWARN Lansing Area/Ingham County SKYWARN http://www.lansingarpsc.com/skywarn.html
Michigan	Genesee ARPSC http://www.gc-arpsc.org/
Michigan	Grand Rapids NWS http://www.weather.gov/grr/
Michigan	St. Clair County - SKYWARN http://www.stclaircounty.org/offices/emerg_mngmt/skywarn.aspx
Regional	Midwest Severe Storm Tracking/Response Center: http://www.midwestsstrc.org/
Training	What is Skywarn? http://www.nws.noaa.gov/skywarn/
Training	National Weather Service Safety Education Page: http://www.weather.gov/safety
Training	Role of the Skywarn Spotter: https://www.meted.ucar.edu/training_module.php?id=817
National	Storm Prepardness: http://www.readt.gov/
National	Spotter's Guide ~ Weather Spotter's Guide: http://www.srh.weather.gov/jetstream/downloads/spottersguide.pdf
National	Spotter's Glossary: https://www.weather.gov/oun/spotterglossary"
National	Weather Prediction Center: http://www.ncep.noaa.gov/
National	NOAA Madius Surface Weather Map [CWOP Results]: NOAA Madis Surface Weather Observation Map
National	Storm Prediction Center: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/
National	Climate Prediction Center: http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/
National	National Centers for Environmental Information: http://www.ncel.noaa.gov/
National	Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL): http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/

 

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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 'Quicklinks').~ Weather and Hurricane Links (2014) from Randy Johnson, N4TYV

Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center ~ WX4NHC in Miami, FL

Hurricane Frequencies ~ By Hugh Stegman NV6H ~ Many places to listen.

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Some Hurricane Nets of interest are:

Name	Frequency	Time	Some Information
VOiP SKYWARN/Hurricane Net	Echolink WX-TALK; IRLP Reflector 9219	0000 UTC Sundays	A weekly Prep Net is held on Sundays at 0000 UTC, which is Saturday evenings for most of North America. Join by connecting to the EchoLink WX-TALK conference server, IRLP Reflector 9219 or if necessary to one of the backup systems. Monitor the net during hurricanes and other major severe weather events.
Caribbean Emergency & Weather Net	3.815 MHz	Daily 1030Z and 2230Z	The Caribbean Emergency and Weather Net was established in 1958 by Colonel Henry Frew, KV4BZ, for the purpose of having a general calling frequency for the Caribbean Islands and their North and South American friends. The net's original name was the Antilles Emergency Net.
Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network [SATERN]	14.265 MHz		The purpose of the SATERN net is to support the Salvation Army operations in local, regional and international disaster situations, as well as other functions.
Hurricane Watch Net	14.325 MHz (day)7.268 MHz (night)		Activated whenever a hurricane is within 300 statute miles of expected land-fall. Disseminates storm information and relays meteorological data to National Hurricane Center via embedded NHC station WX4NHC. Also relays post-storm damage reports and other relevant information.
Intercontinental Net	14.300 MHz	0700 EDT	Provides a means of emergency communications to any location where the normal means are disrupted by local disaster such as fire, earthquake, storms, floods and terrorist activity.
Maritime Mobile Service Net	14.300 MHz	1200 PM to 1000 PM EDT	The network acts as a weather beacon for ships during periods of severe weather and regularly repeats high seas and tropical weather warnings and bulletins from the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center.
14.300 MHz Net Information	14.300 MHz		More information about nets on 14.300 MHz.

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