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Madison County IL ARES

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SKYWARN Radio Net Procedures
Severe Weather Observation Reporting
Active Frequencies During Severe Weather
Winter Weather Road Watch

Madison County, Illinois Amateur Radio Emergency Service SKYWARN Radio Net Procedures

The following information provides the guidelines for radio net procedures on the 145.230 MHz SKYWARN repeater. These procedures should be used only during SKYWARN nets.

SKYWARN Net Control Procedures

1. The Madison County, Illinois SKYWARN nets will be initiated by one of the following: SKYWARN Coordinator, Assistant SKYWARN coordinator(s), the ARES Emergency Coordinator, ARES Assistant Emergency Coordinator(s) or any amateur radio operator appointed by one of the above. This person will assume the entire responsibility for the current session of SKYWARN activity.

2. The WX or WX-alert courtesy beeps should be activated on the repeater for any Watch/Warning statements issued by the NWS which affect our immediate area. The SKYWARN Coordinator or Assistant SKYWARN Coordinator(s) are responsible for this activation.

3. Madison County, Illinois SKYWARN nets will activate AFTER the St. Louis National Weather Servie Severe Weather Net (KC0EBW) is activated on 146.670 (or 145.130) MHz repeater. The only exception to the above is when life-threatening weather is affecting all or a portion of Madison County, Illinois and the St Louis National Weather Service (KC0EBW) net has not been activated. In this case, it will be left to the discretion of the coordinator, or an Assistant, to call a SKYWARN net.

4. Once activated, the Net Control Station (NCS) should immediately select a trained and competent amateur radio operator to act as liaison between the Madison County, Illinois SKYWARN net and KC0EBW, St. Louis National Weather Service Severe Weather Net. This person will monitor the 146.670 (or 145.130) MHz repeater for requests from the NWS and also relay any severe weather reports to the NWS as directed by the NCS. (It is suggested this person have previous net control experience or equivalent capabilities.)

5. At the discretion of the NCS, other liaison operators may be selected from the the check-ins to work with other SKYWARN nets active within the region. These liaison operators are expected to gather and disseminate severe weather reports to other regional weather nets as necessary. (See frequency list below.)

6. The Net Control Station should collect reports of severe weather and storm damage from stations which check into the net. At the NCS's discretion, severe weather reports should be relayed to KC0EBW, St. Louis National Weather Service Severe Weather Net. As needed, the NCS should update the check-ins with new statements or warnings issued from the NWS.

7. Once severe weather has passed through the Madison County, Illinois area, the net may be secured by the NCS. However, the NCS should check with KC0EBW to verify no further information will be requested from them. Also, surrounding counties may request "relay" stations to KC0EBW. If assistance is requried, the NCS should not secure the net until all requests can be handled properly.

8. Pending closure of the SKYWARN net, NCS should notify all liaison stations to notify their contacts of the impending status of closing the net. The net should not be closed until it can be verified by the liaison stations the net is no longer required.

9. Upon closure, the NCS should return the SKYWARN repeater back to normal operations and decativate the WX tail message.

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SEVERE WEATHER OBSERVATION REPORTING

WHAT NOT TO REPORT:

WHAT TO REPORT:

WHERE:

WHEN:

Estimating Wind Speeds *

MPH

* Adapted from the Beaufort and Fujita Wind Scales.

Estimating Hail Size

(in inches)

Lightining Intensity

Also state if you are reporting "CLOUD TO CLOUD" or "CLOUD TO GROUND" lightning.

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Active Frequencies During Severe Weather

During times of severe weather watches or warnings, the following frequencies may become active and may be of interest to the amateur radio operator and scanner listener. Any or all of these frequencies may prove helpful in determining the extent or path of impending severe weather. Stay tuned to your local radio and television stations for up-to-the-minute weather changes. Go back to top of page...

Winter Weather Road Watch

de N9FTA

During severe winter weather in the Metro-St Louis area, several VHF frequencies become active with a wide variety of road condition reports, weather reports, etc. Snowplow drivers and State Highway crews are often heard discussing road conditions along a particular route or highway. You might even hear weather forecasts being given to the Highway Department crews which are much more accurate than your favorite local TV weather person!

Illinois (Toll Free Information 1-800-452-4368)

Missouri (Toll Free Information 1-800-222-6400) Also, keep an ear to the 145.23 MHz repeater for the latest road conditions and weather reports during snow storms and winter weather. If you are traveling on the roads in the metro area, tune us in, and listen for the "WX" tail message indicating someone is monitoring the repeater. It's your indicator that someone has volunteered to help if you need it. If you know of other "good" road condition or winter weather frequencies, please let me know via e-mail at jnell@ezl.com.

If you have internet access, bookmark these sites for road conditions in the winter months! (For Illinois, it is only active Nov 15 through Mar 31.) They contain lots of information and graphics on current, up to date road condditions around Illinois and it's surrounding states: Illinois http://dot.state.il.us/operations/mo_state.html and for Missouri and other surrounding states http://dot.state.il.us/road/otherst.html.

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Please send any comments or inquiries to ljmiller at charter dot net

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Last Updated March 23, 2002