Hello to all….

….Link for the presentation updated. Remainder below is unchanged…..

For our weekly net at 0000 UTC this week, a presentation will be given on the New England May Floods of 2006 that affected Southeast New Hampshire and Northeast Massachusetts. It will cover the operations as they unfolded in this area, what was done by SKYWARN and ARES folks in the region during the response and recovery phases and some of the impacts that linger today.

A Power Point has been uploaded to the web site at the following link and an email has been sent:

May Floods of 2006 Presentation

With the interview with Sparky-N1YLQ last week and the presentation on the floods this week, we will be on track for monthly presentations for the weekly net. This is an objective of the net management team for 2007.

Hope to have many folks on the net this Saturday Evening. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all….

****Recording uploaded to the web site and links to NWS Melbourne, Florida web site on Tornado information added and announcement refreshed.****

As folks across the US and internationally may be aware of, Central Florida was hit by several long-track supercells that caused a major tornado outbreak in 4 counties in Florida. One Amateur Operator who is involved with the VoIP Hurricane Net as well as ARES-SKYWARN Operations in Central Florida and Eastern Massachusetts, Mike “Sparky” Leger-N1YLQ was available at the last minute Saturday Evening February 3rd, 2007 and we staged a special topic that evening on the Central Florida tornadoes which was in an impromptu “interview” format.

The recording of this edition of the VoIP Hurricane Net has been uploaded to the web site at http://www.voipwx.net under the Main Menu under the VoIP WX Net Presentations Archive link.

For continuing information on the classification of the tornadoes, damage pictures that will become available and other information, please check the following links to the NWS Melbourne, Florida web site:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mlb/surveys/020207/index.html
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/productview.php?pil=LSRMLB&version=9&max=10
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/productview.php?pil=PNSMLB&max=10

Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net 1
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http://www.norman.noaa.gov/nsww2007/ is the web page for the 2007 Severe Weather Workshop in Norman, OK.

This is an annual severe weather conference. It is attended by Skywarn volunteers, media, emergency managers, and National Weather professionals.

Designed for emergency managers, storm spotters, media, educators, meteorologists, and other weather enthusiasts, the workshop will offer a unique opportunity to expand your understanding of the role of the Storm Prediction Center, National Weather Service forecast offices, Emergency Managers, broadcast meteorologists, educators, and others involved in severe weather events.

Experience \”The Scenario\” where Emergency Managers, Media, and NWS personnel switch places to learn how the others perform during severe weather.

Tour the new National Weather Center, home of meteorological entities from the University of Oklahoma, the National Weather Service, the Storm Prediction Center, the National Severe Storms Laboratory, the Warning Decision Training Branch, the Radar Operations Center, and the Oklahoma Climatological Survey.

Sponsored by:

* NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NWS: National Weather Service (NWS)
National Centers for Environmental Prediction

Storm Prediction Center

Warning Decision Training Branch
Southern Region Headquarters

Norman Forecast Office

Central Region Headquarters
OAR: Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
National Severe Storms Laboratory

* OEMA: Oklahoma Emergency Management Association
* COCAMS/NWA: Central Oklahoma Chapter of the American Meteorological Society/National Weather Association

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Hello to all….

On behalf of the entire VoIP Hurricane Net Management team, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy and safe holiday season for those celebrating other holidays during this festive time of the year. The 2006 Hurricane Season brought very little action to our net from an activation perspective but we have made many improvements and put much work into the net through the efforts of so many that help make this net run.

Kevin Anderson-KD5WX and Danny Musten-KD4RAA remain key players in our net today. While not as active participating on the net as in the past, Danny worked diligently to do a major upgrade to the IRLP 921 reflector that also hosts the *WX-TALK* Node: 7203 EchoLink Conference server after it went down in late March 2006. The new system was brought online in late June/early July 2006 and has worked flawlessly. Kevin-KD5WX has allowed us to maintain the *WX-TALK* conference with IRLP reflector 9219 during this timeframe as well and has offered consultation and advice when needed on net matters.

Dennis Dura-K2DCD took on the role as Assistant Director of VoIP Hurricane Net Operations in late May 2006. Dennis has helped out consistently with net control duties for both net activations and the weekly hurricane preparation nets and assisted in SKYWARN Recognition Day activities on the EchoLink *WX-TALK* Node: 7203/IRLP Reflector 9219 system. With Dennis’ roles as NWS Philadelphia-Mount Holly SKYWARN Coordinator, Assistant RACES Radio Officer for the state of New Jersey and his professional role in New Jersey Emergency Management, Dennis has brought a high degree of knowledge and professionalism to the net.

Lloyd Colston-KC5FM took on the role as the Public Information Officer for the VoIP Hurricane Net also in the June-July 2006 timeframe. Lloyd assisted in PR efforts during net activations for Ernesto and Florence and his efforts led to mentions not only by the ARRL but also by Amateur Radio Newsline. Lloyd also assisted with PR for SKYWARN Recognition Day activities. Lloyd’s experience with Emergency Management in Oklahoma as well as in public information has benefited the net greatly.

Matt Hoppes-KB3MSE took on the role as Net Control Trainer for the VoIP Hurricane Net in June 2006. Matt led training sessions during the summer months that trained roughly half of the net controls utilized for the weekly preparation and activation nets. Matt has also taken on a role in SKYWARN in his local area of Pennsylvania which will add to the degree of knowledge he can bring to Net Control training and for the net. Matt has also served as net control for the weekly preparation net when his schedule has allowed him to do so.

Tony Langdon-VK3JED remains one of our longest contributors to the net management team as our VoIP Hurricane Net Technical Coordinator. Tony did a fantastic job in assisting the net by providing the *VKEMCOMM* Node: 270177/IRLP reflector 9508 as backup for our net when the Raleigh reflector went through its upgrade and used his technical skills to alias the *WX-TALK* conference server to the system when *WX-TALK* was brought down during the Raleigh upgrade which assisted Kevin-KD5WX as SKYWARN folks local to Kevin’s area use the *WX-TALK* system for SKYWARN purposes. Tony also provided the conference killer script to kick stations from conferencing to prevent interference. Tony is currently working on mechanisms that would make HF VoIP linking more feasible. Tony remains one of the core contributors to the VoIP Hurricane Net.

Kevin Huyck-KB9WOB assisted with net control work and activation scheduling during the 2006 Hurricane Season. Kevin has been with the net since 2004 doing net control duties and assisted in scheduling net controls in 2005 and 2006. Kevin is going through some job changes and has resigned as the Activation Net Control Scheduler but will continue to be a net control for the weekly net and for activations when possible. We thank Kevin for his tremendous efforts in serving the net as the Activation Net Scheduler over the past 2 years.

Jim Palmer-KB1KQW took upon the position as Weekly Net Control Scheduler for the VoIP Hurricane Net at the beginning of 2006 and has done a tremendous job managing the scheduling of net controls for the weekly net and providing guidance to new net controls. Jim brings a wealth of experience from being North Shore Massachusetts ARES Emergency Coordinator and North Shore Massachusetts SKYWARN Coordinator and has done net control work in some of the most significant situations weather can bring to an area. Jim will be picking up the activation net control scheduling work from Kevin for the 2007 Hurricane Season and we thank Jim for his continuing support of the VoIP Hurricane Net.

The revamp of the VoIP Hurricane Net web site and reporting form was made possible through the efforts of Phil Temples-K9HI, webmaster for the Eastern Massachusetts ARRL/ARES web site and Phil McNamara-N1XTB, who hosts the Eastern Massachusetts ARRL/ARES web site for free and created the Eastern Massachusetts ARES online registration form and database. These two men dedicated time and energy that has bolstered the Hurricane Net’s standing on the web and through Phil-N1XTB’s efforts, created the same user friendly input form that we had previously with the output for the forecasters and Hams at WX4NHC that would be easier for them to read. The new form also captures past reports that have been entered from past nets. The web site work would not have been possible without their efforts and it also saved the cost involved with maintaining the web site that Kevin-KD5WX was handling on his own.

Our thanks to all the net controls who assisted during 2006’s weekly prep nets and activations. Without all of you being there assisting with the net and providing the calm, steady voice that people in the affected area need when their reporting key information into the National Hurricane Center, the net wouldn’t be where it is today. Net controls from Australia to Canada to the US and Caribbean and everywhere in between made the net run efficiently and effectively in 2006. Having these net controls and having them participate from all the different time zones is a huge asset for this net. The Net Management team looks forward to working with all of you once again in 2007.

Our thanks to all the reporting stations in the affected area of hurricanes who gave us reports during this quiet year. The Coordinators for WX4NHC appreciate those reports and they add value and credibility to the VoIP Hurricane Net. We hope you will be with us once again in 2007 and that you will spread the word about the net to those stations in hurricane prone regions so that we can expand the reach of reporting and the reach of our net for the protection of life and property.

Finally, our thanks to all those who may not be in the affected areas of hurricanes who check into the weekly net and monitor our net through our standard listen only channels or actually on the net system. We appreciate all of you being there and we appreciate the fact that some of you either have helped the net in some small way or that some of you have taken a greater role in the net by listening to its operations.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holidays to all of you! Look forward to hearing from many of you in 2007!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
1
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Hello to all….

The last VoIP Hurricane Prep Weekly Net for 2006 will be December 16th, 2006. Tony-VK3JED will be net control. We will then take a 2 week break for the holidays so everyone can enjoy time with their friends and families during those weekends and hold our next net on January 7th, 2007 at 0000 UTC which is January 6th, 2006 on a Saturday Afternoon/Evening for much of North America and continue weekly nets on that timeframe throughout 2007.

Thanks to all for their support of the VoIP Hurricane Net during the quiet 2006 Hurricane Season! As we enjoy the holiday break and move into 2007, we will need to renew and prepare for the 2007 Hurricane Season and whatever activity it may bring.

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
1
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Hello to all….

On Friday December 8th, Dr. Gray’s Seasonal Hurricane Outlook for 2007 was posted. A link to the 2007 forecast and prior forecasts is listed below:

http://typhoon.atmos.colostate.edu/forecasts/

The forecast summary is quite detailed and technical. For those that are not that “technical” in terms of weather, Dr. Gray’s team is forecasting an above average 2007 hurricane season. Key risks/issues to that 2007 season being predicted as above average is the current moderate El Nino conditions which are expected to subside as the Hurricane Season starts along with other unfavorable indicators from 2006 becoming more favorable.

One of the main reasons for the lack of tropical systems in the 2006 season was the El Nino conditions of the past year. This resulted in higher than normal activity in the Eastern Pacific with near to below normal conditions in the Atlantic.

As with any long-range outlook, there are risks that the forecast will be wrong or changed as we get closer to the 2007 Hurricane Season. It should also be noted that the number of named systems is less significant than the location and intensity of the systems near land areas. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew caused significant devastation to Florida and Louisiana but was one of only 6 named systems that year. The location and intensity of the systems near land and public impact is typically what people will remember about any hurricane season versus the actual activity level in terms of named systems.

The next outlook from Dr. Gray’s team will be in early April 2007. NOAA typically issues their seasonal Hurricane Outlook in the April-May timeframe of each year.

Hope this information is helpful. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
1
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Hello to all….

On Wednesday December 6th, NOAA announced that a new National Hurricane Center Director has been named and held a press conference. Bill Proenza has been named the new National Hurricane Center Director replacing Max Mayfield who is retiring on January 3rd, 2007 after 34 years of service to the National Hurricane Center. The following link has audio clips, conference photos and a biography on the new National Hurricane Center Director:

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2006/s2752.htm

I’d encourage those interested in hurricanes and living along coastal areas to review the link and check out the audio clips on the press conference. I have reviewed the link and it was interesting to learn about the new director who is moving from the position of long-time Southern Regional Director of the National Weather Service.

Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net 1
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SKYWARN Recognition Day 2006 will have National Weather Service Forecast Offices from throughout the United States and some Weather Offices in Canada on IRLP Reflector 9219 and *WX-TALK* Node: 7203. Other integrated conference systems may also have NWS Offices on for SRD 2006.

Click here for more information
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SKYWARN Recognition Day 2006 will have National Weather Service Forecast Offices from throughout the United States and some Weather Offices in Canada on IRLP Reflector 9219 and *WX-TALK* Node: 7203. Other integrated conference systems may also have NWS Offices on for SRD 2006.

Click here for more information
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Hello to all….

….Updated to confirm VE4WWO for its 1300 UTC time slot. Also, Hams on the system may ask NWS offices to make contact with other NWS offices that maybe on the system during a NWS office’s designated time slot. NWS offices, at their discretion, can allow Amateurs who want to make contact with other NWS offices during their time slot, if they so desire when requested by a station or at their own discretion. Remainder below is unchanged….

Here is the latest update on SKYWARN Recognition Day. 3 NWS offices have been added to the schedule. Please see the update below:

SKYWARN Recognition Day 2006, which will be on Saturday December 2nd, 2006 from 0000-2400 UTC, will feature VoIP operations on *WX-TALK* EchoLink Node: 7203/IRLP reflector 9219 as in past years along with NWS offices making contacts via HF/VHF/UHF, PSK-31 and other digital modes. We currently have 13 NWS Forecast Offices confirmed for various 1 or 2 hour time slots including WX4NHC, the National Hurricane Center in Miami Florida. Here is the schedule as of Monday 11/26/2006:

Time in UTC NWS Office Call-Sign
0000-0100: WX1BOX
0100-0200: WX2PHI
0200-0300: WX4MLB
0300-0400: WX2ALY
0400-0500: Open
0500-0600: WX9GRB
0600-0700: WX0GLD
0700-0800: WX0GLD
0800-0900: Open
0900-1000: WX7PHX
1000-1100: Open
1100-1200: Open
1200-1300: Open
1300-1400: VE4WWO
1400-1500: WX2PHI
1500-1600: WX1BOX
1600-1800: WX4NC (2 hour time slot and time slot is from last year)
1800-1900: WX2ALY
1900-2000: WX4MLB
2000-2100: K0MPX
2100-2300: WX4NHC (2 hour time slot is from last year)
2300-2400: W4IAX (NWS Mobile, Alabama)

The contact from VE4WWO reports that there maybe issues with their IRLP node that may not allow them to do net control so they have been listed as tentative.

The following NWS offices have been contacted and have shown interest in being on the system for a possible time slot:

NWS Sterling, Virginia
NWS Honolulu, Hawaii
NWS Brookhaven, New York

Other NWS offices have contacted as well but its not clear if there is interest in participating on the system. This will be updated as things change. Its also possible that other NWS offices will be monitoring and participating on the system much like last year where various NWS offices got on to the system during open time slots or when NWS offices had exhausted making contacts on the system. If you are a NWS office SKYWARN Coordinator interested in utilizing a time slot for Net Control duties, please contact me and CC: Matt Mehle.

A few technical reminders for folks interested in making contacts with the NWS Forecast Offices:

-The system allows both EchoLink and IRLP connections. For EchoLink users, you connect to the *WX-TALK* Node: 7203 conference system. For IRLP users, you would connect to IRLP reflector 9219.

-If you are using EchoLink, the RF node or PC that you’re using must have EchoLink conferencing disabled. If it is not disabled, the system will automatically kick the node or PC off of the system. The reason this occurs is to prevent unintentional interference from a conferencing station that may not know the node is connected somewhere else. This will keep traffic moving on the net and reduce interference considerably.

For more information on VoIP Technical Configuration Tips, please go to our web site at http://www.voipwx.net where we have a link to that information on the main menu of the web site. This announcement will also be on the web site.

For those that want to do listen-only, New England IRLP reflector channel 9129 and the *VKEMCOMM* Node: 270177/IRLP reflector 9508 will be utilized for those that just want to listen to the event.

The New England Reflector system, IRLP reflector 9123, EchoLink Conference *NEW-ENG*, Node #:9123 will also be available for usage as required. NWS Taunton Amateur station, WX1BOX, will be on the system looking for contacts and stations and can designate the use of that system to other NWS offices on an informal basis. From NWS Taunton, we will be able to monitor both VoIP systems during our timeframe for operations during SRD.

Event information on SKYWARN Recognition Day can be found at http://hamradio.noaa.gov and can also be found in the December issue of QST on page 66.

Below is the ARRL Letter Annoncement of SKYWARN Recognition Day:

==> SKYWARN RECOGNITION DAY IS DECEMBER 2

The 8th annual SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) special event will take place Saturday, December 2, 2006. SKYWARN Recognition Day is an event co-sponsored by the National Weather Service and the American Radio Relay League, and it is the National Weather Service’s way of saying “thank you” to Amateur Radio operators for their commitment to helping keep their communities safe.

During the 24-hour special event, amateur radio operators will visit their local National Weather Service (NWS) office, set up Amateur Radio stations, and work as a team to contact other hams across the world.

“Ham radio operators volunteering as storm spotters are an extremely valuable asset to National Weather Service operations since they are cross-trained in both communications and severe storm recognition”, says Scott Mentzer (N***QE), organizer of the event and Meteorologist-In-Charge at the NWS office in Goodland, Kansas.

In typical warning operations, it is the direct communication between mobile spotters and the local NWS office which provides vital ground truth information. Spotter reports of hail size, wind damage and surface-based rotation in real time greatly assists the radar warning operator since that information can be correlated with Doppler radar displays. The result can range anywhere from a more strongly-worded statement to convey a greater sense of urgency, or the issuance of a tornado warning a few minutes earlier than would otherwise have been possible.

While National Weather Service offices utilize the real-time reporting of severe weather events to assist in warning operations, hurricanes and tropical storms have shown us that ham radio operators are equally important during the recovery phase of natural disasters.
There are countless stories where ham radio worked in tandem with more conventional technology to relay emergency traffic.

SKYWARN Recognition Day will be held on December 2, 2006, from 0000 UTC to 2400 UTC.

The object is for all radio amateur stations to exchange QSO information with as many National Weather Service Stations as possible on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2 meter bands plus the 70 centimeter band. Contacts via repeaters are permitted.

The exchange should include call sign, signal report, location, and a one or two word description of the weather occurring at your site (“sunny”, “partly cloudy”, “windy”, etc.). NWS stations will work various modes including SSB, FM, AM, RTTY, CW, and PSK31. While working digital modes, special event stations will append “NWS” to their call sign (e.g., N***A/NWS).

We hope to hear many Amateurs on VoIP and all other modes that will be utilized during SKYWARN Recognition Day 2006. Thanks to all for their continued support for the VoIP Hurricane Net as well.

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net 1
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