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Weather

National Weather Service

The local branch of the National Weather Service is located in Ruskin, Florida. This is in the southern part of Hillsborough County. They maintain a web site and can be reached by phone at (813) 645-2323. The local NOAA weather radio station, KHV32, transmits on a frequency of 162.550 MHz.

Weather Bulletins

The West Central and Southwest Florida Hazardous Weather Outlook is made available on the web by the NWS-Ruskin at http://www.marine.usf.edu/nws/spstbw

These local severe weather bulletins can be e-mailed to you automatically through the AutomatedWeather Notification System. To subscribe, you send e-mail to [email protected] containing the line:

SUBSCRIBE WX-TBW Your Name

This system monitors the National Weather Service web site for new bulletins and e-mails them to you as they appear. Since this is not a daily weather update, you can go a week or more without seeing anyupdates. Don't worry. When the weather hits, you'll see them.

WFLA TV (Channel 8 - NBC) also has a similar service that you can subscribe to through http://www.wfla.com/storm/wxwarn/wxwarn.htm

Skywarn

Skywarn is a volunteer weather-spotting program. Volunteer spotters take a weather spotting course and examination to qualify. When a spotter observes severe weather (tornadoes, hail, damaging winds,flooding rains) occurring, they make weather reports to theNational Weather Service. The local National Weather Service maintains a Skywarn web site.

Skywarn training classes are held irregularly, but you can locate one by contacting your local National Weather Service or listening to your local NOAA weather radio station. In the Tampa Bay area, you can contact the National Weather Service by emailing [email protected], calling (813) 645-2323 during normal business hours, or writing to NWS Office, 2525 14th Ave SE, Ruskin, FL, 33570

Skywarn and Ham Radio

Many Skywarn spotters are ham radio operators. During any severe weather, radio nets activate on local repeaters. This allows quick reporting ofsevere weather even when the phones go out.

There are some recent developments in this area. A West Central Florida Skywarn Group has formed. They have put in quite a bit of work at the NWS office in Ruskin and throughout the area. There is now a functional ham station at the NWS office, complete with APRS, operating under the callsign of WX4TBW. This station is manned during most severe weather outbreaks.

County	Repeater(s)	Coordinator	Web page
Hillsborough	147.105+, 146.940- (PL 127.3)	Jeff Greenspon, KF4LGG ([email protected])
Pinellas	145.170- (PL 156.7) 147.210+ (PL 156.7)	Kevin Heyboer, KD4UYR ([email protected])	http://home1.gte.net/scout/skywarn.htm
Pasco	146.640-	Ron Wright, N9EE ([email protected])	http://www.qsl.net/ku4bx
Polk	146.655- (PL 127.3)	Paul Womble, KT4LL ([email protected])	http://www.winternet.com/~daveej/polkfl.html

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Last Updated 05/14/1999 - Contact Me