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citizens dedicated to protecting life and property!
STORM FURY ON THE PLAINS - A spotter presentation by the NWS Wichita
 National Weather Service Office in Wichita, KS Many thanks to Warning
Meterologist Chance Hayes along with Ken Cook, Robb Lawson, Jim Caruso, Kevin Darmofal, Paul Howerton and Brad Ketcham and the many other long-term staff - the many years of
service to central and southeastern Kansas.
|
NWS offices around the country utilize various spotter networks for severe and other inclement weather verification and reporting. The various spotter networks are comprised of emergency management officials, law enforcement, fire fighters, EMS personnel, and road crews. We also utilize the general public with training taking place during the late winter and early spring as NWS personnel travel to various counties to provide training. A final group of spotters utilized by our NWS office are amateur radio operators.
- SKYWARN® (formed in the early 1970s) is the National Weather Service (NWS) program of volunteer severe weather spotters. SKYWARN® volunteers support their local community and government by providing the NWS with timely and accurate severe weather reports. These reports, when integrated with modern NWS technology, are used to inform communities of approaching severe weather. The focus of SKYWARN® (and of the NWS) is simple...to save lives and property.
- Since the early 1990s, the WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar) has provided valuable information to forecasters...with better detection of severe storm phenomena and more accurate and timely warnings. However, even with the advance in technology..."ground truth" is still a very important part of the warning process. "Ground truth" is what is actually occurring. Is the storm tornadic? Is it producing large hail? How about damaging winds? Most of the "ground truth" is provided by trained storm spotters (through SKYWARN®)...or the "eyes of the NWS."
SKYWARN® is an open volunteer
organization. That means we accept reports from anyone in the
public whether they have an amateur radio license or not. Whether
they are out in their cars 1/8th of a mile from a tornado or in
their homes in their favorite chair whether on their cell phone or
on their ham radio.
There are NO requirements to be a SKYWARN® member.
To be a good SKYWARN® member - to be someone who:
- is safe and not in the way
- gives concise meaningful weather ground truth information
- refrains from giving unnecessary weather reports
- who has good equipment that functions
- who continues to improve their weather education
There is room for people who are new ... and experienced... in SKYWARN®!
How can I get involved?
- Every year the National Weather Service in Wichita conducts spotter training sessions. Individuals as to look for and where to find them. What and how to report information and basic severe weather safety are also covered. The class is a multi-media presentation which includes detailed video. The class typically takes around 1 1/2 hours. More information on Storm Spotter clases will be posted on our Spotter Talks Page when they become available.
- Feel free to sign up at spotternetwork.org and enter your reports in realtime.
- To view online spotter guides click here.
- For information on the weekly Amateur Radio net
Amateur Radio Operators
Ham radio operators are a vital link in the spotter and communication network used by the NWS during severe or otherwise inclement weather. Hams are duty bound by holding an FCC license to help without picuniary gains in many emergency responses. Not only do they report what they see with their own eyes, but they can report what others see, and also provide communications to other NWS offices should normal communication modes fail. New repeaters continue to be installed by dedicated and hard-working hams to expand their networks. We also continue to learn of and put into use these new systems as soon as possible.
If you notice errors or omissions, know of new repeaters that need to be added, need to change your spotter address or phone number, or just have a SKYWARN®/spotting question, drop the Skywarn Advisory Group a line so we can take care of your request ASAP. Note: This email address is not for sending severe weather reports, but instead is for administrative tasks.
Hunt for the Supertwisters
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Join SKYWARN® ICT NWS Served Area Group
I would like to notify all SKYWARN members including amateur and non-amateur radio operators that a new amateur radio advisory group has been established to further enhance the program that is currently in place.
The members include: Chance Hayes - KC0QBY - NWSIf you have any ideas you would like for the advisory group to take into consideration, please feel free to share through this forum, or contact me personally, so that I may take the idea to the advisory group. My email is chance.hayes@noaa.gov Thanks for your time and patience. We are looking forward to what the future brings and will try our best to meet the needs of the group, be it amateur radio or non-amateur radio, in helping to serve the people of central and southeast Kansas stay safe during times of hazardous weather. Chance Hayes &&&posted October 11, 2010 16:24 |
As Faces Change, A Lot of Thing Remain the Same The staff at the National Weather Service has to move forward and prepare for a new Meteorologist in Charge; however a number of Skywarn members may not have ever had the chance to meet Richard Elder, MIC, who served the Wichita National Weather Service for 20 years. During his tenure at the Wichita office, many new things came into existence as technology grew exponentially in the meteorological world. Richard retired from the Wichita office the end of 2011, after the first dual-polarized radar in the nation was installed at the Wichita office. Richard worked in several NWS offices in his career, which may be detailed in the Fall Newsletter on a page of the NWS Wichita site. This is our chance as a Skywarn group to wish Richard well. Now he anticipates us to protect him as he plans to retire in the Sedgwick county area. We will do our best, as he and Chance and a notable percentage of the staff have trained most all of us in some way. Enjoy your retirement Richard, as you get a chance for new activities and new level of relaxation! |
Updated Sunday, January 15, 2012 12:43
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