North East Indiana
District 2
S K Y W A R N

The Northeast Indiana/Northwest Ohio Storm Spotter Program
by Joel Tye, KB9RH  --  February 2008

With the severe weather season just around the corner, it’s time again to get prepared. One of the ways is by attending a storm spotter training session and having meteorologists from the National Weather Service review severe thunderstorms while also bringing us up to date on the latest research.

One of the many aspects of amateur radio is public service, which includes reports by trained spotters of certain specific weather conditions. In our area, these reports are directed to the National Weather Service office in North Webster, Indiana where forecasters compare the information to other reports and to radar images. The office is responsible for issuing forecasts and warnings for 37 counties in northern Indiana, northwest Ohio, and the border counties in Michigan.

Even though significant advances have been made in radar technology, meteorologists cannot see what is happening at the surface because of the curvature of the earth. Therefore, our "ground truth" reports supplement what is being seen on radar.

The two most important aspects of storm spotting are safety and accurate reporting. For those and other reasons, the National Weather Service conducts spotter training sessions in every county each year. If you cannot attend the training for Allen County, the dates for other sessions can be found at the NWS North Webster home page www.weather.gov/iwx.

If a tornado or severe thunderstorm watch is issued by the Storm Prediction Center, the staff at the North Webster office will evaluate the situation and determine when and if spotters need to be activated. Even if there is a watch in effect and no severe weather in our area, we may initiate a "standby" net. Under certain atmospheric conditions, severe weather may develop very rapidly and we need to be ready. An operator may be called in to staff the amateur station at the Weather Service office. That station operates under the call sign WX9IWX.

When we are activated, the net itself operates on the 146.88 repeater (146.76 backup) as a directed net. By definition, a directed net is a radio net in which no station (other than net control) may communicate with any other station in the net without first obtaining permission from net control. The net controls are responsible for managing traffic on the net. Please follow their instructions.

The counties under the jurisdiction of the North Webster office are divided into four quadrants; we are southeast or Quad 2. There are 10 other counties in the quad, so reports will also be coming in from liaison stations to those county nets.

Most of the severe weather in our area is the result of squall lines of thunderstorms. The classic "supercell" thunderstorms are rare in this part of the country - but they occasionally do happen. As the storms approach and move through our area, net control or his designated station will attempt to give updated radar information to spotters in the field. We may also get radar updates and special weather statements from the amateur operator at the WX9IWX station. Every effort is made to insure spotters have the latest information, but that is not always possible.

Here are the specific weather conditions the National Weather Service would like to have reported:

1. Tornadoes, Funnel Clouds, and Wall Clouds (remember there must be rotation).

2. Winds 45 miles per hour or greater (and note if winds are estimated or measured).

3. Any Hail (NWS requests we do not report "marble size" hail). Please report hail size as pea-size, dime, nickel, quarter, etc. Even better, measure it with a ruler.

4. Heavy Rain (1 inch or more in 1 hour or less, or storm totals of 2 inches or more).

5. Flooding in progress (rapid pooling of water on roadways, etc).

6. Storm damage (large trees, branches, any structural damage, etc).

Keep your reports short and to the point. Speeches are not necessary. Your report should take 10 or 15 seconds at the most. If the storms are especially severe, there may be a flurry of reports in a short amount of time; this happens often. Depending on the situation, net control may ask spotters to hold lower-priority reports for a few minutes (if there is a tornado on the ground, that situation takes priority over a pea-size hail report!).

If you believe you have a reportable condition, but are not sure, report your suspicions to the net. An example would be if you are observing low-hanging clouds underneath the rain-free base, but are too far away to tell if there is rotation. There may be other spotters in the area, and your report can also be checked out on radar.

There are times when severe weather occurs even though there is no official weather watch in effect and a net has not been called. If you have something to report, please give your call sign and indicate that you have a severe weather report. Any station with access to a telephone can call in your report to the North Webster office.

Space limitations do not permit a complete discussion of all situations which may occur during a severe weather net. Just remember to use common sense when a net is activated and always put safety first - we want you to be here for the next severe weather event. Be sure to operate from a location where you can safely observe the sky, and always have an escape plan if the unexpected should happen.

If there is a disaster - either a tornado disaster or widespread wind damage in Allen County - the 146.94 repeater has been designated as the hub of recovery operations. Please monitor that repeater for information on possible activation. Nets on the 146.88/146.76 repeaters are concerned with operations before and during the event; the 146.94 covers operations after the event.

from Joel, KB9RH

Severe Weather Notes