Skywarn Presentation to AARC

     There was a presentation for the monthly AARC meeting on the Skywarn system. Barbara Watson , from the National Weather Service, and John Perry, a ham who volunteers during Skywarn activations, both presented information on Skywarn.

     Skywarn volunteer "spotters" are a crucial element in the National Weather Services plan for dealing with weather emergencies. In spite of the most technically advanced Doppler weather radar, it is often impossible to know what is really happening on the ground. Barbara gave as an example the severe flooding which struck Madison County a number of years ago. The Weather Services radar for that area was not operating up to par. About 10 pm in the evening, they received a skywarn report from an observer in the Madison area. The report was that 9 inches of rain had accumulated in a two-hour period, indicating a very severe flooding emergency was eminent. Emergency personnel in the area were brought on duty to deal with what became one of the worst flooding disasters in Central Virginia. Without that critical Skywarn report, it would have taken authorities much longer to respond to the emergency.

     In order to become a spotter for the NWS, it is necessary to take at least one class (typically about 3 hours long). This is to teach spotters when and what to report to the Skywarn nets. There is also a class on net procedures for net control operators running Skywarn spotter nets. Both classes could be taught in the Charlottesville area if there is enough local interest.

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