|
Hancock
County Amateur Radio Severe Weather Net Greg Chaney, ARES
Emergency Coordinator, N9MOX 523 N. Windswept
Road, Greenfield, In 46140 317-462-3748 (home
phone) 317-980-3274 Arch Alpha-numeric pager e-mail:
n9mox@insightbb.com |
|
Date: April
01, 2003
To: Hancock
County Amateur Radio Operators
From: Greg
Chaney, ARES Emergency Coordinator
Subject: 2003
Severe Weather Net Procedures
Welcome to the 2003 severe
storms spotting season in Hancock County. I trust that our weather spotting
activities will be safe, accurate, timely, valuable to the National Weather
Service and to Hancock County, and, most of all, enjoyable for the
participants.
As amateur radio weather
spotters, we provide a valuable service for the NWS and for Hancock County.
That has been proven time and time again. But for most of us, amateur radio is
a hobby and weather spotting is something we do as part of our hobby. Sure, we
want to contribute to the good of the county and to local weather forecasting,
but if we don’t have a good time, we aren’t likely to stay in the program. If
you aren’t having a good time, let us know. Our net control operators, our HARC
officials, and myself are here to help.
First off, I encourage
everyone to participate, regardless of his or her club or organizational
affiliations. Severe weather spotting in my opinion crosses the lines of RACES,
ARES, and any other organized amateur radio group. The purpose of severe
weather spotting is to report on severe weather activity. You do not have to be
a member of any particular club or organization to participate. All you have to
do is show a dedication to the task at hand, display a willingness to follow
procedures (and be constructively critical of those procedures if you see a
problem with them), and adopt an attitude that we are all here to work
together.
Secondly, severe weather
spotting is not a competition. There is plenty of room elsewhere in amateur
radio for contests, awards, and prizes. There is no special recognition for the
number of tornadoes spotted or the highest measured wind gust. And there
certainly is no recognition for inaccurate, incomplete, untimely, or, worst of
all, false reports. Our recognition is a pat on the back and a “job well done”
delivered by the NWS or by the county.
Thirdly, we will continue to
work a plan to get our nets up and running before
the weather service calls. Our plan empowers the hams in this county to
initiate weather nets using very simple criteria so that we can have our people
into position and ready when the weather service calls. This plan is triggered
by severe weather announcements from the National Weather Service, which are
available to just about anyone. Once a net is initiated, it can proceed and
advance in tune with the developing weather patterns. The key, from our
standpoint, is to try to be one step ahead of the weather service.
So, to those of you who have
been regular participants in Hancock Country Severe Weather Net, I’m glad to
have you onboard! I’m counting on you to uphold our fine tradition and to help
bring along those folks who are new to the program. To those of you, who are
new to HCSWN, welcome! We are always glad to see new people involved in our
program. There’s a lot to learn and some of it may be a bit overwhelming, but
just take things one step at a time and soon you will be an old hand. To those
of you who participated in the past, but drifted away for whatever reason,
welcome back! Some things have changed; some things have stayed the same. Our
purpose hasn’t changed, though, and that is to provide the best amateur radio
weather spotting around.
My many thanks to Bob Burns,
N9KRS, for graciously allowing me to steal his Skywarn procedures from his Hendricks County SKYWARN website. As you
can see a great deal of time and effort was required to produce the original
document and procedures.
Now, the details of Hancock
County Severe Weather Nets for 2003
How
are we organized?
Operationally, we act in
cooperation with the National Weather Service. We report to the NWS Forecast
Office in Indianapolis and they give us direction regarding where to look and
what to report. In Hancock County, Skywarn is an outgrowth of ARES and HARC
activities, though we are not specifically or exclusively a function of those
groups.
How
do you prepare for the net?
The bare minimum for
participating in the net is a radio capable of operating effectively on the net
frequencies.
Here are some additional
suggestions for your home station:
·
A
radio capable of operating on battery power. This can be a handheld or a
base/mobile rig with appropriate batteries. Make sure your batteries are
charged and make sure you have spare or backup batteries on hand.
·
An
indoor antenna.. A ¼-wave mag-mount antenna on a refrigerator or steel file
cabinet should work well, too.
·
A
pad of paper and a pencil.
·
A
county map.
·
A
rain gauge and/or other weather measuring instruments.
·
Binoculars
if you have a view of the distance that isn’t blocked by nearby trees or
buildings. Be careful with binoculars since looking towards a lightning strike
with binoculars can dazzle your eyes.
·
A
copy of the NWS Spotter’s Guide
(http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/skywarn/spotterguide.html) and the Advanced
Spotter’s Field Guide (http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/sguide.htm).
·
A
radio/antenna capable of reaching the 146.970 repeater or access to a telephone
in case the Net Control assigns you a special task.
If you plan to go mobile,
the list is basically the same, but with a few additions and modifications:
·
Our
repeater’s coverage has been vastly improved since last year with it’s new location
at 500 N and 300 E. My thanks to HARC,
the repeater committee, Hancock Rural Telephone and Central Indiana Power and
many volunteers who made this possible. The 145.330 now has backup power and a
better enclosure that should reduce the likelihood that it will be knocked off
the air due to a power outage. A low power mobile should be useful at all parts
of the county. HT’s are now more useful should be limited in your choice of
mobile rigs..
·
A
back-up antenna. A low-hanging tree branch might snag your normal antenna. A
¼-wave mag-mount carried in the trunk would make a good substitute.
·
Your
pad of paper should be accompanied by a lead pencil. If you step out of the
car, your pad may get wet. A ball-point pen won’t write very well on damp paper
and the ink from a felt-tip or roller-ball pen will likely run if it gets wet.
At all times, consider your personal safety first. If
you feel you must take shelter or close your station, do so at your discretion.
Be sure to let the Net Control know before you sign off. And if you need
assistance at your location, we are here to help.
What
frequencies do we use?
The assigned frequencies for
Hancock County Severe Weather nets are, in order of preference: 145.330 MHz
repeater (-600kHz), 145.330 MHz simplex, 147.150MHz repeater and 147.150MHz
simplex. For your information, the Skywarn nets in the surrounding counties are
on Marion – 146.760-, Shelby County 145.500 simplex, Johnson
County 146.835-, Madison County 146.820-, Henry County 147.360, Hamilton County
147.390.
How do we call up a net?
Historically, one of our
biggest problems in past years is getting organized in time to provide
effective spotting for the NWS. This is a particularly bad problem during
weekdays when most local amateurs are at work.
We encourage all to participate in the nets whenever possible. If you
don’t feel confident, you can practice by volunteering to help with the normal
HARC Tuesday night net. One of the
reasons the net is held is to practice net procedures. You can’t mess up the
Tuesday night net! Just listen to me!
To alleviate this problem,
we will continue to use a three-tiered net structure which sets forth some,
hopefully, clear rules by which we can operate. In the following chart, “When”
spells out the conditions we will use to move from level to level. These
conditions are triggered by severe weather alerts from NWS or actual conditions
in the county. This is a two-way street. If a Tornado Warning is issued which
upgrades the net to Red status, when the warning expires or is canceled, the
net will automatically revert to Yellow or Green status depending on
conditions. “Who” defines the people who have the responsibility to take
control of the net under the various levels. “What” explains the kinds of
traffic and activities the net will support at each level.
|
Status |
When |
Who |
What |
|
Green |
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch or Tornado Watch has been issued by NWS for Hancock, Marion, Shelby, Madison, |
Any amateur radio operator who copies the issuance of the watch. Preferably, a Hancock County Skywarn Net Control operator will take control of the net, but anyone may act as net control if an assigned NC is not available. |
The frequency shall remain open for normal use, though stations should keep transmissions short so that the net may be quickly upgraded if required. Stations should start preparing to observe and report on the weather conditions from their fixed location or prepare to go mobile. |
|
Yellow |
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued by NWS for Hancock County or the NWS specifically directs us to open a formal net, either directly or through the Central Indiana Net. |
· A Hancock County Skywarn Net Control operator at the direction of NWS or EMA. · Any amateur radio operator if an assigned Net Control is not available. |
Formal net status. All traffic shall be directed through Net Control and non-weather-related traffic should be kept to a minimum. Mobile spotters should be dispatched. |
|
Red |
· A Tornado Warning has been issued by NWS for Hancock County. · A Skywarn weather spotter or a law enforcement agency has spotted a funnel cloud or tornado in Hancock County. |
· Net Control · NWS · EMA |
Only traffic related to a sighting or the NWS’s area of immediate interest may be handled. All other traffic is to standby. |
How
is severe weather traffic passed?
During a net operation, our
Net Control Operator and our Central Indiana Skywarn Net Liaison report to the
Central Indiana Skywarn Net, usually conducted on the 146.970MHz
(-600kHz) repeater in Indianapolis. Alternatively, the state net can be contacted
on 442.650+MHZ. This can be useful for a liaison that has a dual band radio.
The Central Indiana Net passes information to us from the NWS and we pass
reports to the NWS through the Central Indiana Net. The reason for this is very
simple. The folks at the NWS office are usually very busy during a severe
weather event. By having one point of contact with the amateur radio spotters,
through the Central Indiana Net, the number of people the forecasters have to
deal with is considerably reduced. Additionally, the Central Indiana Net acts
as a filter and buffer between the spotters in the field and the NWS. While a
thunderstorm in Hancock County may be very important to us, the NWS may be
dealing with a tornado on the ground in another county. The Central Indiana Net
prioritizes the information and makes sure the NWS gets just the information
they need at the time. If the
Central Indiana Net is not active, but we are active in Hancock County and we
have information to pass along, the Net Control or Net Liaison can call the
report into NWS by telephone (317-856-0359). In either case, our Net Control will
dispatch spotters per NWS request or our best assessment of the situation at
hand.
What
does the NWS want from us?
Before we go on, let’s talk
a bit about the basics. The weather service wants accurate and timely reports
of:
·
Tornadoes
– rotating funnel clouds or wall clouds
·
Hail
– any size (as modified in 2002 by the NWS)
·
Wind – damaging winds of 50 mph or greater or
signs of wind damage
·
Rain – at a rate of 1" per hour or greater
or flash flooding
To be blunt, if it’s not on
this list or the weather service doesn’t specifically ask for it, reporting it
only ties up the net and distracts everyone from the task at hand. When in doubt, though, ask
your net control.
Net
discipline
·
Please
check into the net when the Net Control asks for check-ins and/or you are ready
to participate in the net.
·
If
you check into the net, and then find that you must leave the net for any
reason, please advise the Net Control. Spotting tornadoes in the field can be
serious and life-threatening business. If you are in danger, consider your personal safety first.
Just let Net Control know what the situation is because if you simply disappear
from the net, we will feel compelled to send someone out to see what’s happened
to you. Additionally, we recognize that some of you have other duties with law
enforcement or fire/rescue in the county. Responding to those duties takes
priority over weather spotting. Just let Net Control know that you have to
leave the net.
·
The
Net Control may ask you to perform a certain task or report to a particular
area. Their requests are based on directions they receive from the Central
Indiana Net, NWS, or other authorities, their assessment of the situation, and
their knowledge of the county. If you feel that you cannot fulfill the
assignment, just ask for another assignment or excuse yourself from the net.
·
Keep
chatter to a minimum. Make sure your reports are concise. Think about what you
are going to say before you key the microphone. Remember the “4 W’s” that
reporters use: What, When, Where, Who.
·
Don’t
panic! If you feel like things are getting out of control, take a deep breath
and evaluate the situation. Put the greatest emphasis on the most important
tasks, but don’t neglect the rest of the picture.
·
Information
gleaned from scanners, radar, satellite imagery, etc., is of secondary
importance during net activities. No
Spotter shall report anything other than personally observed events. Net
Control Stations shall request and accept radar and instrument interpretations
from the NWS.
·
FCC
regulations shall be adhered to in all instances regarding station ID, Control
Operators, etc. FCC regulations shall supersede any policy or procedure of the
program should a conflict ever arise. Individuals are themselves responsible
for operating their stations in a lawful manner. Net participants shall ID
their stations with their full callsigns at the end of transmissions or at
least every 10 minutes during a series of transmissions.
·
Plain
language shall be used during the nets at all times. Q signals, 10 codes,
various prowords, or jargon are to be avoided as much as possible.
·
At
all times, conduct yourself in a professional and adult manner. Many people,
including law enforcement, emergency management, news media, and the public at
large, listen to our nets. Our nets go a long way to promoting good will
between amateur radio and the county.
Net
procedure
·
The
Net Control will activate the net with the following preamble:
CQ Net, CQ
Net, CQ Net. This is a Hancock County Severe Weather Net. On behalf of the
National Weather Service at Indianapolis, we are initiating weather spotting
activities in Hancock County due to the possibility of severe weather entering
the area. Your net control station is [callsign] and my name is [first name].
The net status is [net status]. Please check-in with your callsign, status
(mobile or fixed), and location.
A. The net
will now stand by for any priority traffic. Please call [callsign], Net
Control.
B. The net
will now take mobile check-ins, please call [callsign].
C. The net
will now take all other check-ins, please call [callsign].
·
Upon
logging all of the initial check-ins, the NCS will need a Liaison Station.
Please ask for someone to volunteer. If there are none, proceed through the
roster of base check-ins and ask each individual. NCS shall make sure the
Liaison Station is kept current on all net activities. The Liaison Station
shall establish and maintain contact with the Central Indiana Net, if
operating.
·
The
Liaison Station shall act, also, as a back-up Net Control. Should NCS not
respond within a reasonable time or find it necessary to leave the Net, the
Liaison Station shall assume the role of NCS. If this situation continues for
more than a brief period, the new NCS (former Liaison Station) shall ask for a
new Liaison Station.
·
At
this point, the Net is “up” and fully functional.
·
Should
NCS be unsure of the situation at this point, have Liaison check with Central
Indiana Net regarding any areas of particular concern. Deploy spotters per the
Spotter Preplan or as the individual situation dictates.
·
If
the Central Indiana Net asks us about a weather system they think is moving
into our area, try to get specific details from them about the system’s size,
direction, and speed. Our Liaison Station may have to be persistent with the
Central Indiana Net in order to get as much information as possible.
·
NCS
should log the following: time of Net, check-ins, severe weather events in the
county and traffic passed to the Central Indiana Net. After the net, please
provide me with a copy of this log by mail, fax, or email.
·
Pass
only the following spotter reports: winds
greater than 50 mph, hail ½" or larger, flooding, funnel clouds, wall
clouds, tornadoes, rain falling at 1" per hour or greater, significant
storm damage, and any other information as requested by the NWS. When
taking a Spotter report, you will need: the callsign of the Spotter, the time
and location of event, the type of event and any possible descriptive data,
such as hail size, etc. Determine if the reported data is measured or
estimated.
·
NCS
should maintain control of the frequency and net operation according to the
status of the net. Encourage participants to not engage in unnecessary
“chatter”...someone may need the frequency to report something important, maybe
even life-threatening! Remember, when in a formal net status, all traffic
should be directed through Net Control.
·
Pay
particular attention to mobile spotters. Keep track of their location and check
with them frequently to make sure they are OK. Remember that they are trying to
drive and spot weather at the same time...usually at the worst time–during
storms! If one does not respond, send someone to check on him/her, call their
house, and keep checking until you are certain of their welfare.
·
At
least every 10 minutes, identify the net as follows: This
is [callsign], Net Control for the Hancock County Severe Weather Net. The net
status is [net status].
·
If
the net status changes, identify the net and stress the new status.
·
At
the close of the net, identify and indicate that the net is closing. Make sure
to thank everyone for their participation in the net.
Mobile
spotter preplan
The Spotter preplan is
suggested for use by Hancock County Severe Weather Net participants in order to
maximize the personal safety of individual mobile Spotters and maximize the
effectiveness of individual mobile Spotters.
When a person is driving a
vehicle during severe weather and observing weather events, his/her attention
is divided. This presents an unnecessary hazard to the Spotter and general
public, as driving becomes more difficult and hazardous. To make the situation
worse, the Spotter is expected to give more than average attention to things
other than driving. A fixed location Spotter is more able to give most of
his/her attention to observing weather events. Since events can occur at any
location within the County, however, mobility is a necessity.
The result is a system of
pre-planned locations in which mobile spotters can position themselves to
observe events. While the advantage of mobility is retained, the Spotter is
able to “fix” him/herself, for a period, and give full attention to observing.
The Net Control Station
shall advise Spotters of the area(s) of concern and suggest good locations for
observation. The mobile Spotter should deploy to the area and position
him/herself in a location affording good observation. The preplanned locations
offer good visibility and multiple escape directions should the situation
escalate beyond comfort. The Spotter should determine the best location for
observation and advise the NCS of his/her position.
|
Number |
Location |
|
|
|
1 |
1-70 and SR 9
(In the business parking lot
that affords best view of current weather |
|
|
|
2 |
300 S and SR 9 |
|
|
|
3 |
SR 9 and 234
(Fire Station parking lot) |
|
|
|
4 |
Southwest
of Fortville on 35 with view to SW |
|
|
|
5 |
SR9 and 52 (Parking lot on NE corner) |
|
|
|
6 |
600 W (Mt Comfort Rd) and 52 (Strip mall lot) |
|
|
|
7 |
600 W (Mt Comfort Rd) and I-70 (96 Mile Marker)
Gas Station lot NW corner |
|
|
|
8 |
McCordsville at 234 and 35 (Any area with clear
view to incoming weather) |
|
|
|
9 |
US 400 and 500 W (Hoosier Poet motel) |
|
|
|
10 |
Sugar Creek Fire Station (US 40 and 300 W) |
|
|
|
11 |
Shirley ( 109 and 234) |
|
|
|
12 |
Mount Vernon High School |
|
|
Always keep your personal
safety and the safety of others in mind. Park as far off the road as possible
so as to not block traffic. Turn on your parking lights and/or four-way
flashers so others can see you. Be aware of your surroundings, especially
possible flying debris or rapidly rising water in ditches.
Handy
references
The following section lists
terms and definitions associated with supercell thunderstorms. The terms and
definitions are from NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS SR-145, A Comprehensive
Glossary of Weather Terms for Storm Spotters (available on the web at
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/severewx/glossary.html)
Rain-free base: A dark, horizontal cloud base with no visible precipitation beneath
it. It typically marks the location of the thunderstorm updraft. Tornadoes may
develop from wall clouds attached to the rain-free base, or from the rain-free
base itself - especially when the rain-free base is on the south or southwest
side of the main precipitation area. Note that the rain-free base may not
actually be rain free; hail or large rain drops may be falling. For this
reason, updraft base is more accurate.
Downburst: A strong downdraft resulting in an outward burst of damaging winds on
or near the ground. Downburst winds can produce damage similar to a strong
tornado. Although usually associated with thunderstorms, downbursts can occur
with showers too weak to produce thunder.
Wall cloud: A wall cloud, according to the storm spotters glossary, is a local,
often abrupt lowering from a rain-free base. Wall clouds can range from a
fraction of a mile up to nearly five miles in diameter, and normally are found
on the south or southwest (inflow) side of the thunderstorm. When seen from
within several miles, many wall clouds exhibit rapid upward motion and cyclonic
rotation. Rotating wall clouds usually develop before strong or violent
tornadoes, by anywhere from a few minutes up to nearly an hour. Wall clouds
should be monitored visually for signs of persistent, sustained rotation.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground. A
condensation funnel does not need to reach to the ground for a tornado to be
present; a debris cloud beneath a thunderstorm is all that is needed to confirm
the presence of a tornado, even in the total absence of a condensation funnel.
A description of tornado intensity classification is shown below.
LP storm (or LP supercell): Low-Precipitation storm (or Low-Precipitation
supercell). A supercell thunderstorm characterized by a relative lack of
visible precipitation. Visually similar to a classic supercell, except without
the heavy precipitation core. LP storms often exhibit a striking visual
appearance; the main tower often is bell-shaped, with a corkscrew appearance suggesting
rotation. They are capable of producing tornadoes and very large hail. Radar
identification often is difficult, so visual reports are very important. LP
storms almost always occur on or near the dry line, and therefore are sometimes
referred to as dry line storms.
HP storm or HP supercell: High-Precipitation storm (or High-Precipitation
supercell). A supercell thunderstorm in which heavy precipitation (often
including hail) falls on the trailing side of the mesocyclone. Precipitation
often totally envelops the region of rotation, making visual identification of
any embedded tornadoes very difficult and very dangerous. Unlike most classic
supercells, the region of rotation in many HP storms develops in the
front-flank region of the storm (i.e. usually in the eastern portion). HP
storms often produce extreme and prolonged downburst events, serious flash
flooding, and very large damaging hail events. Mobile storm spotters are
strongly advised to maintain a safe distance from any storm that has been identified
as an HP storm; close observations (e.g., core punching) can be extremely
dangerous.
Estimating Hail Size
|
pea
size |
1/4” |
|
marble
size |
1/2” |
|
penny
size |
3/4” |
|
quarter
size |
1” |
|
golf
ball size |
1
3/4” |
|
baseball
size |
2
3/4” |
Estimating Wind Speeds *(miles per hour)
|
25-31 |
Large branches in motion;
whistling heard in telephone wires |
|
32-38 |
Whole trees in motion;
inconvenience felt walking against wind |
|
39-54 |
Twigs break off trees;
wind generally impedes progress while walking |
|
55-72 |
Damage to chimneys and TV antenna;
pushes over shallow rooted trees |
|
73-112 |
Peels surface off roofs;
windows broken; light trailer houses pushed or overturned; moving automobiles
pushed off roads |
|
113-157 |
Roofs torn off houses;
weak buildings and trailer houses destroyed; large trees snapped and uprooted |
|
158
& up |
Severe damage; cars lifted
off ground |
*Adapted from the Beaufort
and Fujita Wind Scales.
Tornado Intensity – Fujita Scale
|
F-Scale |
Winds |
Character
of Damage |
Relative
Freq. |
|
F0
(weak) |
40-72 mph |
light
damage |
29% |
|
F1
(weak) |
73-112
mph |
moderate
damage |
40% |
|
F2
(strong) |
113-157
mph |
considerable
damage |
24% |
|
F3
(strong) |
158-206
mph |
severe
damage |
6% |
|
F4
(violent) |
207-260
mph |
devastating
damage |
2% |
|
F5
(violent) |
261-318
mph |
incredible
damage |
<
1% |
Web
Resources
Hancock Amateur Radio Club –
http://www.w9atg.org/
Central Indiana Skywarn –
http://www.cisw.com/
Indianapolis National
Weather Service Forecast Office – http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ind/
NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction
Center – http://www.spc.noaa.gov/
Current Severe Weather
Watches and Warnings – http://www.met.tamu.edu/weather/warning.html
Stormwarn – a system which
delivers weather bulletins to your email or pager – http://www.stormwarn.com/
