Hams in AR and AL Help Provide Assistance to NWS During Severe Storms:

Strong winds and tornadoes moved through Arkansas and Alabama on Sunday, January 22. In response to the storms, the National Weather Service office in Little Rock activated Arkansas SYWARN the same afternoon, while ARES® members were activated in parts of Alabama.

Arkansas SKYWARN Program Coordinator Danny Straessle, KE5WLR, summoned a team of radio amateurs and headed to the NWS office to provide communications support to the forecasters. While Straessle was enroute to the NWS office, Daryl Stout, AE5WX, brought up the Weather Watch Net, a pre-net for Arkansas SKYWARN. By 6 PM, the Arkansas SKYWARN net control team was in place and the NWS issued the first tornado warning for the area. At this time, Straessle and Shane Lee, KF5FBR, took over as Net Control for the Arkansas SKYWARN net. They were assisted by Mona Blacklaw, KM5ONA. The NWS received reports of tornadoes in Arkansas, Dallas, Lonoke, Prairie and Cleveland Counties.

In addition to activity by Arkansas SKYWARN, ARES® members in Alabama also helped to provide communications support in that state. According to David Gillespie, W4LHQ, of the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency, hams across Central Alabama began monitoring the storm conditions in preparation for a possible activation. "Hams deployed to the National Weather Service office to relay storm observations and damage reports," he told the ARRL. "When the NWS issued a tornado warning that evening, local ARES® members began an emergency communications net. Net Control logged reports from 34 stations through the night. When the storms cleared, these damage reports were used to dispatch first responders to the areas that sustained the most severe damage." Fourteen hams reported to the Jefferson County EMA, where Gillespie coordinated communications for three shelters run by the American Red Cross. Read more here http://www.arrl.org/news/hams-in-arkansas-and-alabama-help-provide-assistance-to-nws-during-severe-sunday-storms.

Source:

The ARRL Letter

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