Subject: Skywarn Net Operations "Directed Net Procedures for Skywarn Spotters" Adapted from the Skywarn Net Control Operations Manual Copyright 1996, Daniel R. Gropper, KC4OCG and from material by Dick Rawson, N6CMJ originally published in the SVECS Handbook Training for Skywarn cannot (and should not) take place "on the net" during severe weather. For Skywarn to be effective, everyone in the "system" needs to know their roles before severe weather strikes. All amateurs who monitor and participate in Skywarn should use proper directed net procedures to ensure effective flow of severe weather information between SKYWARN spotters and the NWS and/or emergency management personnel. They must also use standardized severe weather criteria set by the National Weather Service (NWS). All Skywarn participants should take the Basic I Spotter Course. If you monitor the weather net and haven't taken this course, it is highly recommended that you do so. To pre- register for this (free) 3-hour class, contact the National Weather Service Dulles forecast office at (703) 260-0107, extension 231. Basic I provides an overview of Skywarn, including severe weather criteria and how to properly call in reports. Completion of this course is required to receive a Skywarn ID number and is a prerequisite for all further NWS courses such as Basic II, Hurricanes, Winter Storms, Floods and Storm Damage Assessment. Having an ID number is important because it informs the Net Control Station (NCS) and monitoring forecasters that you are trained and understand how to recognize severe weather and submit reports in the proper format. Quite often, well meaning, but untrained amateurs contact the weather net, causing valuable net time to be lost when Net Control must screen unnecessary reports of non-severe weather or respond to inappropriate queries. If the Skywarn net is to run efficiently, participants must avoid calling unnecessarily. When Skywarn has been activated, please do not call Net Control if you are not experiencing severe weather in your area! This is because non-severe weather reports and queries beyond the scope of approved NWS bulletins tie up the frequency and may prevent stations with urgent traffic from contacting Net Control . If you are unable to attend a Basic I class, listen carefully to the instructions and severe weather criteria provided by net control. In summer these criteria are prioritized to identify severe thunder storms having potential to form tornados, cause flooding, or structural damage to buildings: 1. TORNADOES, (in contact with the ground, or airborne debris is clearly visible) FUNNEL CLOUDS OR ROTATING WALL CLOUDS (apparent rotation without evidence of airborne debris) 2. LARGE HAIL ( dime size or larger) 3. HIGH WIND 50 MPH OR GREATER (threshold for damage to unanchored structures and danger from wind blown debris) 4. FLOODING 5. RAIN ACCUMULATION IN EXCESS OF 1 INCH OR MORE PER HOUR (Measured accumulation, don't guess if you don't have a rain gage). Do state observations indicating heavy rainfall such as severely reduced visibility or standing water in roadways. 6. DAMAGE CAUSED BY WIND OR LIGHTNING. This includes structural damage to buildings, windows broken by flying debris or fallen tree limbs of 4" diameter or more. 7. DOWNED TREES, OR POWER LINES During winter severe weather criteria are: 1. SNOWFALL IN EXCESS OF 4 INCHES (deemed a traffic hazard) 2. SEVERE ICING (>1/4 INCH) ON TREES, STREETS, OR POWER LINES 3. A change to SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN 4. WIND IN EXCESS OF 30 MILES PER HOUR (when snow is present, falling or blowing, also note difference from 50 mph in summer due to wind chill) 5. DOWNED TREES OR POWER LINES 6. IMPASSABLE OR CLOSED ROADS PLEASE REFRAIN FROM CALLING SKYWARN IF THERE IS NO SEVERE WEATHER OCCURRING IN YOUR AREA! Before calling Net Control, think about and know what you are going to say, so that valuable net time isn't wasted in Net Control having to query you for information or to repeat your traffic. The following directed net procedures are highly recommended: 1. Establish initial contact with NCS by stating your call sign only. Wait for NCS to recognize you before transmitting further. If you jump in without being recognized, you may double with someone who then must repeat their traffic. 2. When recognized by NCS, don't speak immediately as you press the "PTT". Wait a half second before speaking. This is because the transceiver takes an instant to change from receive to transmit. There is also a slight delay when going through the repeater. Most hand helds power down after several minutes of standby and need an instant to "wake up." 3. Answer Net Control's questions as directly as possible. Speak slowly and clearly, using short, simple phrases. Do not offer lengthy explanations. If you think that additional information you have is vital, be brief. Let NCS ask for more detail. 4. Keep all contact with net control brief and to the point. This allows others to "break" in if they have an emergency. 5. Organize your thoughts before calling. Experienced spotters write down their observations and the time before calling. 6. Be prepared to give Net Control your compass direction and distance from the nearest town or State road intersection. Do not use a place names unless shown on a State road map or USGS topo. 7. Always release your "PTT" when you stop speaking. Otherwise you tie up the frequency so no one can break in. 8. Never use Q-signals on phone. Use only plain language because it is more readily understood, with less possibility for misunderstanding. 9. Use correct "procedural words." These quickly convey complex ideas, but are effective only if everyone understands them and uses them correctly: "OVER" Indicates end of transmission, when a reply is expected. "CLEAR" Indicates end of transmission when no reply is expected, returning the frequency to service, but indicating the station is standing by, ready to receive further bulletins or instructions. "OUT" Indicates end of final transmission when changing frequency or leaving the air when no operator will be accessible to the radio. "ROGER" Means that the traffic has been received and understood in its entirety. It does not mean "yes" or signify agreement. "AFFIRMATIVE" or "NEGATIVE" Are always used instead of "yes" or "no" because their sound is distinctive and their meaning is clear under marginal conditions. "DIRECT" Refers to the ability to copy traffic from a third party directly, without requiring a relay from Net Control. "WAIT" Cease transmission and stand by until contacted by Net Control. "BREAK!" USED ONLY IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY to clear the frequency for urgent traffic involving immediate threat to safety. 10. Just because it is noisy don't yell into the radio! It's natural to do this, but it only makes matters worse. This is because when you over-modulate, your transceiver deviates outside the pass band of the repeater, clipping your audio so that you can't be understood. The only way to overcome background noise is to reduce it, by closing the car window or shielding the mike from the wind, or simply waiting until it passes. 11. Disconnect outside antennas during thunderstorms! Skywarn operators should always be prepared to operate from an indoor antenna and on emergency power. A 2-meter hand-held transceiver with 12 volt DC power source, providing 5 watts output, connected to a quarter-wave, magnetic mount antenna, placed indoors on an improvised ground plane such as the top of a refrigerator, washing machine, filing cabinet or other large metal object, makes a safe and satisfactory severe weather station, capable of reaching the 147.300 Bluemont repeater from Northern Virginia, most of suburban and western Maryland and the West Virginia panhandle. 12. When conditions are poor (or if your signal is weak so that copy is difficult) spell your call sign and place names phonetically. Always use the ITU phonetic alphabet. Don't say the letter "OH" as in OSCAR , if you mean the figure "ZERO." If you follow the above operating procedures, your reports will be easily understood and less net time will be wasted in unnecessarily repeated traffic. Good radio procedure reflects pride, efficiency and competence. Please do your part to set a good example for your fellow operators. If you are experiencing severe weather in your local area and neither the primary Skywarn net on 147.300, nor the Northern Shenandoah subnet on 146.82 or the Eastern Maryland subnet on 145.35 have been activated, relay your severe weather information to NWS by telephone. This enables forecasters to determine if a "watch" or "warning" should be issued, or the weather net activated. Use the following telephone numbers ONLY for reporting SEVERE weather: Washington DC metro area: (703)-260-0205 long distance: (800)-253-7091 Administrative questions and training call: (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays) (703)-260-0107 Please do not ask questions at the end of your report and please keep your reports brief. Someone may be trying to reach the NWS with a critical report that may save a life, even if it's sunny where you are. You are encouraged to check out the following web sites for additional information on Skywarn: http://www.skywarn.org http://www.aresva.org http://www.nws.noaa.gov Skywarn Spotter Safety Tips Adapted from the National Skywarn Safety Guide and Concepts for Severe Weather Spotting, National Severe Storms Laboratory The National Weather Service is dependent on spotters to provide independent observation and reporting of what is actually happening below the radar horizon where Doppler is shadowed by hills or urban ground clutter. The mission of Skywarn spotters is to observe and report, NOT to chase the storm ! Because Skywarn Spotters often must make weather observations from their vehicles, the following safety precautions are essential: Know Where You Are In Relation to the Storm Spotting conditions vary greatly. In the northeast and mid-Atlantic visibility is obscured by terrain and vegetation, and tornadoes are hidden by torrential rain. Severe thunderstorms often track from southeast to northwest, but not always. Some severe northeast storms follow a "northwest flow" from northwest to southeast. As a Skywarn spotter it is critical for you to know where you are relative to the location, track and speed of the storm. Otherwise you may be overrun and be caught unprepared for dangerous conditions which may accompany the storm. Drive Safely! Stop in a safe place to make your weather observation and call it in on the radio. If you need to observe a weather feature requiring taking your eyes off the road, or use the radio, pull completely off the roadway, onto a paved shoulder or parking lot. Be wary of low areas or standing water. As little as one inch of standing water can cause hydroplaning and dangerous loss of control. Be especially cautious at night. Always slow down in reduced visibility conditions such as blowing rain or snow. Turn on your headlights whenever you turn your wipers on. (This is the law in Virginia). Stay off secondary roads at night. Falling branches or large trees could leave you stranded. Never drive or walk into flooded areas. Flash floods which occur at night are difficult to see. Abandon vehicles which stall in high water. Lightning Awareness Don't be the tallest object in the immediate area. Avoid open fields and hilltops. Remain in your vehicle or a strong interior room if possible. Outdoors, stay within the cone of protection (45 degrees down from the peak) offered by tall objects if high winds are unlikely to blow them down. Don't touch high objects, such as power poles, antenna towers or guy wires, etc. In woods, take shelter under the shortest trees. On the water get to shore and away from the water and shore line as quickly as possible. AM radios may alert you by cracking and whirring noises indicative of antenna arcing immediately preceding a strike. If you feel skin tingle or hair stand on end, squat low to the ground on the balls of your feet, placing hands on the knees with your head between them, minimizing ground contact. Move away from overhead wires, loose debris or other hazards which could fall on you or your vehicle as the wind picks up. Take a CPR class! Most cardiac arrests from lightning strikes can be resuscitated. Have an Escape Plan NEVER go out into a severe storm unless assigned to "shadow" police, fire, EMS, damage assessment or surface hydrology teams, then follow all prescribed safety procedures and check in with net control as directed to update your status, location and conditions. Substantial structures and highway overpasses offer the best protection from hail, high winds and wind borne debris. Avoid situations which restrict your mobility, such as dead-ends which could be blocked by fallen trees or low stream crossings oe being on the DC Beltway during rush hour!