Greetings to all!

 

I’d like to thank Paul – KC8BDK for giving me the opportunity to again serve as SkyWarn Director for Macomb County. I will make every effort to serve the NWS and the county to the best of my ability.

 

I want thank all of you for your dedication and participation to SkyWarn so far this year because without your help, the program would not work as well as it does.  I would like to see check-ins from more stations in the northern portion of the county as we seem to be a little thin there.  If you live north of 22 mile road and know of or see other hams in your area, PLEASE ask them to participate or ask them if they would like to be a storm spotter. Remember, being a part of SkyWarn DOES NOT require you to “chase” storms, only to report what you see at your location.

 

And remember, the training classes are FREE! If there are enough people in the rural areas that would like to attend a class but feel having to drive a long distance to the classes in Clinton Township is too much of a bother, other classes are always available at different locations, or we may be able to add a location with the NWS. Check the NWS website for locations, dates and times. At this time, there are no classes scheduled and the next classes will not be held until the spring.

 

There are going to be some small changes coming soon. Most notably will be a notification system to alert those who wish to participate in SkyWarn of weather events that require us to put a net into service.  

 

What I will need from those interested is either an SMS phone number (Cell phone WITH texting features), a regular (Land-Line) phone, pager or email address to where these notifications can be sent.  PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT NOTIFICATIONS CAN AND WILL BE SENT AT ODD/LATE HOURS. It is not beyond the realm of possibility  that you could get a notice at 2:00am.  Since Michigan does not usually get severe weather at late hours, there is a small chance, but it can happen (and has). SkyWarn is NOT just a 9-5 operation. I know that spotting at night can be difficult, especially for Tornadoes, however the full range of weather events need to be reported. I would like to get us back to a zero missed events level with the NWS.

 

Next, again, I am seeking those individuals who are (or may be) interested in Net Control/Key Station operations. Nets can (and usually are) run from a residence. Macomb DOES NOT require you to re-locate yourself to any particular location. As long as you have a transciever (NOT an HT) that can effectively access the repeater, you are better than 50% percent capable of being an NCS or Key Station. Also, please indicate if you are available for odd/late hours. Sometimes we need at least a stand-by net that may start at 8pm, but could last until 3 or 4am, and yes, we can change NCS’s during a net so that one person is not “up all night” monitoring the weather, especially if they need to be to work the next morning. I would like to see NCS’s changed during long or late nets.

 

There really are no other requirements, however, the ability to monitor radar via a computer is helpful. I or Paul – KC8BDK can fill you in on what else may be utilized to help you out.

 

In addition, the guidelines for starting the net that are posted on the site will be tweaked a little. We are still going to run a Stand-by/Green/Yellow/Red system, so that will not change.

 

I also want to add (YES, here it is) that you please remember that when a net is in progress to closely listen to the NCS as to what weather events are being asked to be reported. Nets are for SEVERE weather reports, NOT for “It’s clear here”, “it’s not raining at my location”, or “the sun is shining at my QTH” or anything similar. The Net Status (Stand-by/Green/Yellow/Red) will also indicate what types of reports are being accepted. You can look those up on this site by reading the NCS scripts. Giving “fair weather” reports may be taking valuable air time from a report that MAY need to be quickly reported. 

 

Remember, your reports do several things. Foremost is to help the NWS determine if other warnings need to be issued, as well as determine “ground truths” or verification of what they are seeing on their radar is actually what is happening in a particular area.

 

In addition to the spring and summer weather nets, I would like to have some of the winter snow storms covered as well. These will be mostly stand-by nets to disseminate current weather and snowfall totals as well as to relay snow/ice/sleet reports to the NWS. Reports can be taken from anyone wishing to give the information. The net will also assist with requests for help and may also disseminate traffic conditions during winter weather events. Please let me know your thoughts on the winter weather nets.

 

Finally, I can be contacted at 586-265-6887 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you have questions, concerns or may have any ideas that can help us serve better.

 

Thank you all for being a valued Storm Spotter!!