Skywarn is the National
Weather Service (NWS) program of trained volunteer severe weather spotters.
Skywarn volunteers support their local community and government by providing
the NWS with timely and accurate severe weather reports. These reports,
when integrated with modern NWS technology, are used to inform commmunities
of the proper actions to take as severe weather threatens. Skywarn, formed
in the early 1970's, has historically provided critical severe weather
information to the NWS in time to get the appropriate warnings issued .
Thus the key focus of the Skywarn program is to save lives and property
through the use of the observations and reports of trained volunteers.
(Gropper, 1993)
Despite the elaborate radar and forecasting equipment
at the National Weather Service, they are only able to determine the potential
for severe weather. They rely on reports from the public and law enforcement
personnel and actual severe weather.
Accurate and reliable information from the general public
is difficult to obtain. Severe weather is complicated and confusing. The
NWS has found that only regular training of weather spotters improves the
quality of information. The National Weather Service (NWS) collaborates
with Amateur Radio organizations and others to put together training programs.
The NWS brings its weather knowledge, the Amateur Radio Service brings
its expertise in emergency communications, and together they work with
local government and the Red Cross.
The Amateur Radio's operators participation in the Skywarn
program is formally acknowledged and encouraged in a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) between the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) and the NWS. This agreement
indicaties thet ARRL will encourage its local volunteer groups operating
as the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) to provide the NWS with
spotters and communicators as requested by the NWS during times of severe
weather. (Gropper, 1993)
Many civil disasters are the direct result of severe weather
and/or are exacerbated by severe weather. Accordingly, the NWS may utilize
the Skywarn Amateur Radio operators not only to obtain and disseminate
severe weather observations and warnings, but may also use them to maintain
close coordination with the Red Cross and Emergency Managers from local
government entities under ARES or Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service
(RACES)(Gropper, 1993). RACES is organization of volunteer Amateur Radio
operators trained in emergency communications and severe weather spotting.
Authorized and regulated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
RACES provides essential communications and warning links for state and
local governments during emergencies. The importance of this additional
role for Skywarn was demonstrated during the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew
in August of 1992.
Trained Skywarn observers provide the Weather Service
with accurate, and timely reports from radio equipped cars and homes. The
NWS is most interested in severe weather reports. Severe weather includes
flash flooding, hail, damaging winds, a wall cloud (which is the area of
a thunderstorm where a tornado could form) and a tornado funnel. If the
NWS confirms severe weather with radar and other available information,
it then notifies local authorities who then can activate Civil Defense
sirens. The news media recieves notification so they can make reports on
local broadcast stations.
Skywarn volunteers donate thousands of hours and the use
of their own personal radio equipment and vehicles to give their communities
advanced warning of life threatening weather. Since the NWS instituted
the Skywarn Program, there has been a significant decrease in the death
rate due to tornadoes and other severe weather.
Many VUSIT members are active Northern Indiana Skywarn
Members, and we hope this cooperation between VUSIT and Skywarn will continue
in the future.
