NEWINGTON, CT, Nov 16, 2002--The fourth annual SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) takes place December 7 (UTC). This is the day that Amateur Radio operators set up stations at National Weather Service (NWS) offices and contact other operators around the world. The event is sponsored by the ARRL and the National Weather Service.

"THE purpose of the event is to recognize the vital public service contribution that Amateur Radio operators make during National Weather Service severe weather warning operations," said David Floyd, N5DBZ, warning coordination meteorologist, at the NWS Goodland, Kansas, office. "It also strengthens the bond between Amateur Radio operators and the local National Weather Service office."

FOR several decades now, hams have assisted the NWS by providing real-time reports of severe weather and storm evolution. Although the NWS operates a network of 120 Doppler radars to track severe storms, at greater ranges weather radar has a difficult time sampling conditions close to the ground.

THE information radio operators located near a storm can provide plays a key role in aiding forecasters. Just this month, SKYWARN operators in several states activated to spot and track an outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes November 10.

SKYWARN Recognition Day will take place December 7 from 0000 UTC to 2400 UTC. Scott Mentzer, N0QE, who's the meteorologist-in-charge of the NWS office in Goodland, Kansas, is the creator and annual organizer of SRD.

"THERE are currently 92 stations officially registered to participate," Mentzer said this week, adding that he expects the number to rise to at least 96. That's up from the 80 NWS sites that participated during last year's event. In previous years, participating operators have communicated with stations in Chile, South Korea, New Zealand, The Philippines, Denmark, Croatia, South Africa and Japan.

MOST participating NWS stations will operate on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, and 2 meters using SSB and FM. Some sites will employ other modes, however, including PSK31, packet and CW. The use of repeaters is allowed. All contacts will be made utilizing the General or Novice portion of the bands.

STATIONS will exchange signal report, location and a one-word description of the current weather at their respective locations ("sunny," "partly cloudy," "windy," etc).

THIS is not a contest, so no scoring will be computed.

SINCE SRD is being held on Pearl Harbor Day, each NWS office will transmit a special message from approximately 1800 to 1900 UTC--approximately the time of the Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, attack on December 7, 1941--to honor the World War II veterans. Operators working the NWS office in Honolulu during the SRD plus any NWS office between 1800 and 1900 UTC during this year's SRD will earn a special endorsement.

MENTZER says the digital mode endorsement will be eliminated this year, however. "There simply haven't been too many people who have qualified for this in past SRDs," he said. The digital endorsement may be replaced by an endorsement for working stations having a WX prefix. A full endorsement list will be available on the SRD Web site.

IN another twist, Mentzer says, a number of NWS offices will be equipped to support Internet Radio Linking Project stations.

THE deadline to register an NWS site is December 1. Contact Mentzer to register.

THE NWS offers participation and endorsement certificates to Amateur Radio operators who request one along with their log sheet(s). To obtain your certificate, submit a list of all NWS SRD stations that you worked and indicate any endorsement applied for. Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope and mail it National Weather Service, 920 Armory Rd, Goodland, KS 67735.

COMPLETE information is available on the 2002 SKYWARN Recognition Day Web site. hamradio.noaa.gov.