WEATHER CONDITION REPORTING FOR AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS

 By Mike Davis, N4FOZ

Over the years, there have been many questions as to the proper way, format, and when to report incidents, such as weather events, over Ham Radio.

It first should be said that way before there were organized groups, such as Storm Watch, Storm Ready, NWA, AMS, Skywarn, IBISEYE, Maritime Svc. Net, Intercontinental Net, Hurricane Watch Net, StormTrack, the National Warning System (NAWAS), and more,  Amateur Radio operators from all over have been reporting events with great success to various sources including other Hams, county Emergency Operations Center, Law Enforcement, National Hurricane Center, local and national news media.

This again relates to the fact that by choosing and maintaining your own equipment, and learning how to use it, it makes one able to communicate during almost any situation, when properly prepared.

This is why I have been interested in Ham Radio and emergency communications for the past 45 years.  We, as Amateur Radio Operators, can learn in an unlimited way and report what we observe.  It is an excellent concept that dates back to the beginning of communication and spans much more than just talking about the weather.

This is the first of multiple articles on the subject.  Even though Weather will be the primary focus, there may be discussions of other disasters in which Ham Radio communication is important.

There are various areas of Weather Reporting.  Let’s talk about each one:

Weather Forecasting: Weather is known as an “inexact science”.  Hams, many of whom are certified Meteorologists, predict future weather for Storm Chasing, contingent emergency deployment strategy, and as a challenge to learn and become better at their craft.

Weather Nowcasting:  A fairly new term for the real time observation and interpretation of actual conditions and data, such as RADAR.  Nowcasters provide immediate information concerning the dynamics of weather events.

Weather LSR Reporting:  LSR stands for “Local Storm Reports”.  After the storm has passed, gathering information of damages assists in disaster relief and improves weather forecasts of the future.

Weather information is passed by persons with varied backgrounds:

The first are Hams without formal training in weather whose jobs put them in a position to observe.  These include Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters and Ambulance Drivers, along with transportation workers, the Press, and on site outdoor personnel.  Although well meaning and many times very helpful, time has shown that these contributors would be of more assistance with the proper training.  I have always advocated that any Severe Weather Training should be open to any and all interested persons.

When these Operators receive formal training, they are many times in a natural position to observe weather events, but when not trained, their reports are sometimes weighted with more value only due to their job title.

Hams with formal training and experience are those who have attended training courses and have learned at least the basic criteria for weather and emergency events.  They are less effective when not deployed, but even from a fixed location, they can provide valuable real time information.

For those who want to report any emergency condition, knowing your location and clearly speaking information is vital to success:

1. If you are at home, knowing where you are by learning your GPS Position (Latitude/Longitude), which is available by various means; knowing your nearest cross street, and which direction the emergency is from your location.

2. If you are mobile, learn to always know your location.  Think if you were involved in an incident and needed to report your location for rescue.  (Side note: Years ago I trained new Police Officers on the road by riding with them and saying,  "I'm shot.  Where are we?!?"  They understood quickly the importance of knowing the location.)

Emergency Dispatchers and Net Controllers all advise the critical importance  of the  4 W's:

WHO.. Is making the report
WHAT.. Are you reporting
WHEN.. Did it happen
WHERE.. Did it happen
And sometimes.....
WHY.. are you calling, if there are other special details

On the other side of that equation is the information provided to the Ham in their area.  Of prime importance is knowing the location, the “Point of Entry”, of a storm into your area, and the path in which a storm or other emergency, such as smoke or toxic cloud is predicted.  If the emergency communicator does not provide this important data, ask them!

A word about Weather Radios:

Although I think all probably know by now, the old days of constant alarms going off in the middle of the night for every warning for every county are gone.  The S.A.M.E. (Specific Area Message Encoder) weather radios and the areas covered are incrementally being upgraded.  Setting your Weather Radio (Now a Multi-Hazard Radio) to just the counties you want, and someday, just the area of a county you desire, makes it easy to be alerted when it is important to you.

These radios have now become inexpensive, with many under $40.  For safety and information, it is highly suggested that every home and vehicle have one.

For severe weather, it not only is important to know the criteria for making a report, but knowing why the particular criteria is important.

- High Winds

- Wall Clouds/Funnel Clouds/Tornadoes

-Hail