Severe weather network links: Using Skywarn and ham radios to track storms

Posted on Thu, Jun 24, 2010 : 11 a.m.

Severe weather network links: Using Skywarn and ham radios to track storms

By Edward Vielmetti

Skywarn logo, National Weather Service

I was tuned in to Skywarn last night for the first time as severe weather rolled through. This network, which is carried over amateur radio on repeater N8DUY (145.150 Mhz) and K8RUR (146.920 Mhz), is also carried on the Internet through Radio Reference. Skywarn told me about tornadoes observed by trained spotters, water across the road and trees down. Last night there were 35 people on the network, radioing in reports from all over Washtenaw County.

Here's more information about that emergency communications network, coordinated by the National Weather Service and used to coordinate real-time reporting of severe weather events nationwide. The Skywarn.ORG national home page gives you a single point of entry into the whole network.

What is Skywarn? The Washtenaw County Emergency Management Office has a good description:

"Skywarn is a volunteer partnership established by the National Weather Service and advanced by local emergency managers across the nation that utilizes FCC licensed amateur radio operators who take additional severe weather detection training and report severe weather events as they happen and in real time... using established communications links (called "nets") with county Emergency Operations Centers which are in direct contact with weather service meteorologists."

More information: Wasthenaw County Emergency Management severe weather

National Weather Service Skywarn gives a complete guide to the program nationwide:

"The effects of severe weather are felt every year by many Americans. To obtain critical weather information, NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, established SKYWARNÂ® with partner organizations. SKYWARNÂ® is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service."

The service is related to the StormReady program for communities, also run by the National Weather Service. StormReady provides a checklist for communities to improve their severe weather handling, and emergency communications is key to this effort.

Key to the network are a series of trained spotters. These are amateurs who have acquired a ham radio license and who have gone through spotter training. A Basic Spotters' Field Guide (.pdf) and Advanced Spotters' Field Guide (.pdf) give you a sense for the knowledge required, and it's about a 2.5 hour class to get up to speed.

Skywarn is an amateur radio network. It is not run over the Internet, so it doesn't depend on AT&T or Comcast or some router in some waterlogged basement network operations center working. It doesn't depend on the cell phone system, so a cell tower can be down or clogged with calls and the network can still work. Ham radios are easily powered by batteries, so it works when DTE has a power outage. Ham radios are also mobile, so the people running it can go where the action is and report from the field.

The Skywarn network is only activated in the anticipation of severe weather. If you read National Weather Service forecasts, you will see text like

SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT.
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT.

This is a signal to area emergency operations coordinators to notify spotters in their area to be ready to report damage.

Skywarn vs. Twitter

It's a worthwhile point of comparison to look at how Skywarn and Twitter differ for the reporting of severe events. Both systems were in widespread use yesterday. Twitter carried about 1,600 messages using the #earthquake tag yesterday, not all of which referred to the Ontario-Quebec 5.0 magnitude tremor. Over the past week, 57 people have used the #miwx tag for Michigan weather andÂ 51 people have used the #wmiwx tag for Western Michigan weather. Indiana weather and Ohio weather also get some measure of routine use.

Twitter is great, except of course when it doesn't work. The World Cup has strained that network, with periodic outages that persist for minutes - minutes that count when a storm is bearing down on you. Radio, because it doesn't require a central coordinating computer system to run, is more resilient in times of extremes.

Because it is run over radio frequencies that don't travel very far, Skywarn networks can carry traffic which is readily described as "hyperlocal." A tree down across a road is not something that needs to be broadcast throughout the globe, but getting that news to local authorities and area citizens in time can save a life.

Edward Vielmetti writes about severe weather from his basement for AnnArbor.com. Contact him at edwardvielmetti@annarbor.com.Â

Comments

Moms Kitchen

Sun, Aug 15, 2010 : 6:27 a.m.

Ed, you should take the weateher spotter training. Sure, there are lots of ham radio people that are into it, but I've been doing it for years without the ham radio. I really think the phone is the best way to do my reporting.

Dalex64

Sun, Jun 27, 2010 : 5:58 p.m.

You do not need an amateur radio license to participate in SKYWARN. After training, everyone gets a card. One of the phone numbers on the back is for the Washtenaw County Emergency Operations center. They are the ones who coordinate the SKYWARN effort. You can phone your severe weather reports to them. If you combine that with a scanner that receives 145.15, you'll make yourself and the people around you more safe.

Brian Bundesen

Thu, Jun 24, 2010 : 5:17 p.m.

I too want to say thanks to Ed for consolidating this information so quickly and providing links to the network of amateur radio outlets, scanners, and weather maps. The extent of my contribution is to occasionally Tweet after looking out the window here at Lohr & Ellsworth. It's comforting to know that a communications network is in place should the worst happen. My thanks to all who are part of this network.

Lisa

Thu, Jun 24, 2010 : 4:08 p.m.

Thanks for lending some bandwidth to some of our community's unseen heroes. Not only do these people spot and report the sever weather, many would also set up emergency communications should phones, electricity, cell towers, etc. go out. Part of the Field Day Dan talked about is to practice taking the communications off-grid. Should a crises hit Washtenaw County, these folks will be ready.

Sam Proud

Thu, Jun 24, 2010 : 4:05 p.m.

I would also mention that there are severe weather radio receivers on the market that warn the public when severe weather is anticipated (severe thunderstorm and tornado watches or warnings) or other threatening events and emergencies. These receivers work 24 / 7 and can alert you even when your asleep. They also have a battery backup for power failures. Units cost under $60.00 and are available and many retail and electronic stores.

Larry Works

Thu, Jun 24, 2010 : 3:59 p.m.

Not 1 but 2 tornadoes!!!, Details of the touchdowns from Skywarn released at 4:23pm today. Cheers. Larry - kd8mzm PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 423 PM EDT THU JUN 24 2010...TWO CONFIRMED TORNADOES WEDNESDAY EVENING... MONROE COUNTY... AN NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN JUST NORTH OF THE CONE RD EXIT OFF US 23...ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTH OF MILAN. THE TORNADO LIFTED ABOUT 2 1/2 MILES NORTHEAST OF MAYBEE...NEAR STEFFAS RD BETWEEN SCOFIELD AND ZINK. TOTAL PATH LENGTH WAS 11 1/2 MILES AND THE PATH WIDTH WAS 50 YARDS. THE TORNADO WAS RATED AN EF0 ALONG MOST OF ITS PATH. HOWEVER...EF1 DAMAGE WAS FOUND NEAR TUTTLE HILL RD WHERE A ROOF WAS TORN OFF OF A POLE BARN AND SUBSTANTIAL TREE DAMAGE WAS FOUND. THE WIDTH OF THIS TORNADO HAD BRIEFLY EXTENDED TO 100 YARDS IN THIS LOCATION. SEVERAL HOMES ALSO HAD ROOF AND SHINGLE DAMAGE. THE NWS STORM SURVEY INDICATED THAT ONCE THE TORNADO LIFTED...DAMAGE BECAME INDICATIVE OF STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE. THIS DAMAGE EXTENDED FROM THE POINT THE TORNADO LIFTED INTO THE NEWPORT AREA AND INCLUDED DOWNED TELEPHONE POLES...MINOR TREE DAMAGE AND PLASTIC BEING TAKEN OUT OF A GREEN HOUSE. WASHTENAW COUNTY... AN NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF MILKEY RD AND SALINE-MILAN RD...2.5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SALINE. THE TORNADO LIFTED NEAR CARPENTER RD BETWEEN JUDD RD AND WILLIS RD...TOTAL PATH LENGTH OF 3.5 MILES. THE TORNADO WAS RATED AN EF0 WITH WINDS OF 70 MPH AND A WIDTH OF 75 YARDS. NO MAJOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS REPORTED WITH THIS TORNADO.

Dan Romanchik

Thu, Jun 24, 2010 : 1:08 p.m.

Thanks for the great story, Ed. I'd also like to point out that this weekend, ARROW, the local amateur radio club, will be participating in perhaps the biggest amateur radio event of the year, Field Day. Field Day is part emergency-preparedness exercise, part amateur radio contest, part club get-together, and part PR event. We will be setting up seven different amateur radio stations out in the field at Domino's Farms, near the Petting Zoo. The event runs all day Saturday through 2pm Sunday. If you're interested at all in amateur radio, and what amateur radio operators do, please come visit us. 73,

Chris Goosman

Thu, Jun 24, 2010 : 11:29 a.m.

Thanks Ed. One note, the 145.150MHz frequency is the primary Skywarn Net frequency for Washtenaw County, 146.920MHz is the secondary (backup) frequency. For those readers outside of the Washtenaw County area: Livingston County, Skywarn activity will be on 146.680 MHz and Lenawee County on 145.360MHz Any of these are easily monitored using a radio scanner. Even the most basic, modern ones include these Amateur frequencies. If you hear the callsign K8MZO that's me! For more information on Amateur Radio: http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed http://www.w8pgw.org/