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Saturday, 7 December 2002, was SKYWARN Recognition Day.
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Read our latest issue of the NWS Tallahassee SKYWARN E-Newsletter.
Welcome to our SKYWARN page! The most important goal of the National
Weather Service (NWS) is to protect lives and property through timely watches and
warnings, and the SKYWARN program is an essential part of achieving this goal.
Since SKYWARN began in the 1970s, thousands of volunteers have helped the NWS issue more
accurate and timely severe weather warnings by acting as spotters. The role of the spotter
is to serve as the eyes and ears of the NWS during severe weather situations. To learn
what types of weather the NWS wants to have reported by spotters, and to learn what the
County Warning & Forecast Area (CWFA) of the Tallahassee office encompasses, click here.
Most SKYWARN volunteers are involved with amateur (HAM) radio, because HAM radio operators are well-equipped to relay
their reports of severe weather. However, the SKYWARN program also includes law enforcement agencies, emergency management
personnel, public utilities workers, and even people who are simply interested in the weather.
Although the NWS office at Tallahassee has obtained modernized equipment such as the WSR-88D Doppler radar
to better detect severe weather, SKYWARN spotters continue to be
essential to our warning process. Even with all the new technology, an accurate report from a SKYWARN spotter
often provides the critical piece of information needed by the forecaster to issue a timely warning, which can save lives.
Become a Spotter
If you live within our CWA, we invite you to become part of the SKYWARN
program. We offer seminars that train Spotters to identify and report severe weather, and to also look for indications
that severe weather may be imminent. Check the schedule to see if a SKYWARN training session is already scheduled
for your area.
HAM Radio
A very important part of our SKYWARN network is Amateur (HAM) Radio.
HAM radio operators, or HAMs, are a valuable resource to the NWS because of their ability to communicate during times
of severe weather when other communication media may fail. Many HAMs have radios in their cars, which allows them
to "go mobile" and get to areas where severe weather is occurring.
At least one HAM is also stationed at the NWS office when severe weather is occurring.
It is the duty of this HAM to act as a network controller by relaying information between HAMs in the field and NWS
personnel. HAMs report their positions and eyewitness reports, while NWS personnel give information about
storm locations and motions. This allows the net controller to instruct other HAMs where to go.
Area HAMs recently set up an Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) at the NWS Tallahassee office. APRS uses
packet radio to relay data that
can be displayed on a computer.
If you want to learn more about Amateur Radio, a good place to start is the
Amateur Radio Relay League.
Excellent resources for getting started in HAM radio can be found at local HAM Radio clubs.
Any amateur radio or county government organization that would like to receive SKYWARN training should contact
Bob Goree, NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist in Tallahassee.
Please send questions or comments about this page to T.J. Turnage.
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National Weather Service
Tallahassee Weather Forecast Office
Love Building
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4509
Phone: (850) 942-8833
FAX: (850) 942-8850
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