🚀 go-pugleaf

>Date:    Sat, 22 Aug 1998 08:19:00 -0500
>From:    Kim Walker <mkwstar@CYBERRAMP.NET>
>Subject: Re: Spotter Nets
>
>Sorry, folks, for the long post.  But, this is an important topic that has been
>raised!
>
>>      Sam Barricklow wrote:
>>
>> Currently, most SKYWARN organizations, especially those organized under
>> RACES, are under either county or city control.  In many cases, such as
>> with Dallas County RACES, the focus of the group is within the county.
>> Typically, SKYWARN nets are shut down when storm activity moves out of
>> Dallas County into the surrounding rural counties.  (There are a few
>> dedicated spotters from Dallas County who will track stronger storms
>> outside of the county.)

While the Omaha area is not nearly as large as the DFW area, we do cover
several
counties with a "local net".  Midlands ARES is based in Omaha and when the
new NWS facility was located in a small town near by, we took up the gauntlet
of being the ears for the outlying area. We are the ones who get the page to
provide communications. (thank God I work for an understanding company who
allows
me to leave work, although mostly this year is was spotting by lightning flashes
in the dark) We decided to do this based solely on the knowledge that if the
NWSFO had moved to another city, we would want that ham group to be there
for us.

Myself and the County EC are often called out to serve as radio operators
for storm
events in counties that are several counties over and often are not going to be
tracking into the Omaha area.  Ken (County EC) and I have spent many a late
night
after our local net was secure, keeping in touch with spotters in other
counties.
We are very fortunate in the eastern 3rd of Nebraska and the far western Iowa,
as we are working together to make sure that the coverage is there for the
spotters
and for the forecasters.  Its a two way street, if there were no spotters in the
field, there would be no reason for me to be there.

Recently (June 23rd), the Des Moines area radar was knocked off line by a
powerful storm.  Phone service was out into and out of the office.
The NWSFO in Omaha (Valley Ne, acctually) was standing in with radar coverage
but there was no communications. Thanks to the newly formed relationships with
the hams smaller communinties, we were able to establish a direct 2mtr link
to the Des Moines forecast office within 30 to 45 minutes.
These people came to my assistance in large part, because I (or someone
else from the ARES group in Omaha) am/are there for them.

We are working hard to expand this range, to make more people aware of the need
for communications. We do not run their nets, we either eavesdrop on active
nets
on area repeaters, or where that is not possible, there is a liason station
that
feeds us info and gets feed back from the forecasters. They activate as they
see fit,
they stay on spot as long as they feel the need.  We stay at the NWSFO
until the threat has passed out of the Omaha/Valley warning area.
My job is NOT political.  My job is to be the ears for the NWS staff so that
they
can find out what the spotter is seeing.

We are able to provide the outlying area with the track of the storm, speed,
history
of severity, etc.  In return the forecasters often come to us, asking if
there is a
spotter in a particular area, as they want some feed back.  We currently can
communicate
on 7 frequencies from the NWSFO(all radios were donated or belong to the
local ARC),
we try never to staff with less than two, preferably 3 hams.
Our job is to share info.  If the storm is currently in a neighboring county,
and we get GOOD reports of wall clouds, funnels, hail, what ever this storm
is doing, we will tell the spotters in the next county over.
Many area EOC's have ham radios that are staffed by a ham.  The spotters may
not be hams,
but they rely on hams to get the information to and from the NWS. We can even
speak to another forecast office via ham radio and share data.

Granted, the Nebraska is a smaller population base, turf wars are not much
of an issue.
We are still organized at a local level.  But more and more the area EC and
EOC's are
asking us if we want their spotters out.  This joint effort is working and
getting
stronger and stronger.  The fact that the NWS is listening to them has seemed to
renew the spotters enthusiasm.  There are more and more training sessions
every year,
many of the NWS forecasters have there licenses, so these folks are fast
becoming
friends.  It is turning into a real partnership of the area hams. It is
evolving with
every activation and turing into something that is only increasing interest in
ham radio and SKYWARN.

We are hoping to get together a meeting of all area EC's and EMA directors from
the 38 county warning area that we serve.  The meeting is to exchange ideas,
educate each other and work out our commmunication bugs and cover the gaps.
This meeting will be for them to tell the Midlands ARES staff what we can do
to serve them better and for us to let them know just what we can do for them.

This year has been busy, I was beginning to look for houses in Valley to save me
the 30 - 45 minute drive to and from.  We were at the Valley  NWSFO at least
twice
a week for nearly two months. Fortunately my husband is a spotter and usually
goes with me.  Ken's wife is understanding, as they lived through a tornado,
she knows what a value hams are as spotters and for communications in a
devestated
city.  These two things make our method work, but even we are enlarging the
pool of those trained for operations at the NWSFO. If we can do this in an
area with
relatively few hams and much rural area, then other areas should be able to find
an method that works for them.  It hasn't been all roses here, we have had turf
disputes, (someone in a near by town talking directly to us, rather than via
their county net has upset a couple of EC's), but we talk it out, work it
out and
come to a happy resolution.


>> (Snip). . .
>>
>> As a result of these factors, it is time to consider a basic
>> reorganization of RACES and SKYWARN, changing from a local organization
>> controlled by a city or county government to a regional organization.
>> The governmental focus of responsibility should be either the National
>> Weather Service Forecast Office (NWSFO) with warning responsibility for
>> the location or a state controlled multi-county organization that
>> parallels NWSFO responsibility.
>>
>> (Snip). . .
>>
>> Comments?
>
>> Allan Moller wrote:
>
>>      (Big Snip). . .Second, it may be difficult, because of local politics,
>> to develop
>>      spotter nets on a regional basis.  The politics of the current city
>>      and/or county spotter nets can be difficult enough to deal with!
>>      Trying to pull many spotters together from varying areas could be a
>>      major problem.  However, if people can make it work, so be it!
>>
>>      (Snip). . .
>>      Finally, the NWS likes Amateur Radio spotters because of their
>>      superior communications systems.  The amateur frequencies allow
>>      weather-trained Amateurs to talk efficiently to each other and to the
>>      net controller, so that initial tornado reports can be confirmed (or
>>      denied) by others.
>
>Kim Walker's thoughts:
>
>This is a very interesting subject to come up on the list.  As a local D/FW
>spotter (well, local as in Kaufman County), I would like to add some thoughts
>and comments.
>
>I have often wondered why there is not a more concerted effort on the part of
>current RACES organizations to provide multi-county coverage during severe
>weather events.  The only response I have ever received from those whom I dared
>ask is that "politics" will never let that happen.  I have to just get a little
>emotional here, folks--albeit unprofessional:
>
>     There should be no "politics" when it comes to the business of providing
>important,
>     possibly live/property saving information for those who live in and near
>our
>     neighborhoods.  PERIOD.
>
>Kaufman County RACES is currently not very active, even with training nets.
>The lack of severe weather is the probably cause of this.  But, when conditions
>warrant, we provide communications for and spot for the NWS into Van Zandt
>County.  Often, we would like to feel welcome to communicate back to the NWS
>through the 146.880 machine in Dallas.  But, we are often met with indifference
>and the feeling that we are interfering when we attempt to do just that.  Is
>this "politics" in motion?  Probably.
>
>When storms develop in "this area," they develop mostly near the Palo
>Pinto/Parker County area (in terms of those that will be going through the
>metroplex), and move through very rapidly.  For any particular community, the
>severe weather begins and ends within two hours.  It makes perfect sense to
>have a regional effort for RACES/ARES, or some other entity willing to make the
>effort, for the provision of emergency communications and tracking severe
>weather.
>
>I don't know how many times a RACES unit from Tarrant Cty. has attempted to
>enter a Dallas RACES net to report the characteristics of a storm that has been
>being tracked, or even to provide a report from the fringe of the county--and
>Dallas RACES has not allowed this to happen.  We here in Kaufman County hang on
>the edge of our seats to hear that report so we will have a better idea of what
>we are facing.
>
>These comments are not meant to be inflammatory but simply to point out part of
>the reasons why I believe Sam and Alan are right.  This area needs to have a
>much better communication method and procedures for effective surveillance of
>severe weather.  I am not the one to suggest how this might be done, at least
>not in this forum.  But I, for one, am perfectly willing and eager to work with
>others in making this happen.  The idea of being able to learn about weather,
>participate with others during severe weather and to have a reason to be mobile
>(I hate staying at my house when severe weather is nigh) was the sole reason
>for my making the effort to "get into" HAM radio.
>
>Sam, you've sort of taken the ball and bounced it.  I would love NOT to see
>this die.  What can we do?  Alan, you made the implication that the NWS would
>see this as a favorable evolution.  It is the NWS that we are here for and who
>we work with.  What would the NWS like to see in terms of broad-spectrum
>coverage?  There are ways that relays of communications could be provided
>probably in the entire area you serve--if HAMs would stay on frequencies long
>enough for that to happen!
>
>I am excited now!  Let's keep this going.
>
>Kim Walker - W5TIT
>
>


I plan on living forever.
So far, so good!

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