SKYWARN Newsletter #29
Hello to all...
Blizzard of 1997 Net Reports...
CHANGE IN THE NEXT SKYWARN STRATEGY MEETING (PLEASE READ!!!!)....
SKYWARN Training Update...
SKYWARN Training Schedule for April and May...
Above Average Hurricane Season Expected...
***Newsletter issued 4/6/97.
Blizzard of 1997 Net Reports...
The Blizzard of 1997 paralized the region with heavy snow, strong
winds, downed trees and power lines, and loss of power for hours
and even days in some cases. The complete public information statement
on this event was sent out to all observers, and now as promised the
net reports from each area from the Blizzard of 1997 which in many
cases was the worst blizzard to hit the region since the Blizzard of
1978.
Greater Boston Metro Area and the North Shore report provided by
Bill Ricker, N1VUX:
When I got home Monday, I couldn't copy or hit Danvers from my QTH,
so I left messages for Phil N1HWA & Ed N1VSJ to that effect;
I didn't hear SKYWARN activity on Waltham, so called Jeff N1FWV's
home. Jeff wasn't aware activation had been requested; he
authorized me to run SKYWARN net on Waltham while he checked over
on Danvers to see if it was running, since I'd not been able
to get either of them on the phone, and he can hit that from
home easily. Jeff got back to me (on .64) that Danvers was up, and
Ed filled me in later that they'd been up since 10AM.
Monday: 7PM to 1AM, 6 hrs,starting informal and drifting into formal
net operation; 59 stations checked in, over 110 reports or queries.
We were sharing the frequency amiably with MEMA stations;
N1CPE at MEMA Framingham provided weather statements and answered
some questions, and the MEMA <-> MEMA region and MEMA <-> ARC (N1FWV)
traffic provided added interest.
Both N1HWA and N1VSJ checked in periodically, with updates on the
condition of the Danvers repeater and Phil's QTH's power etc.
We had two checkins from NH OES stations offering relay from
NH OEM via packet, callsigns of which I relayed to MEMA.
The NTS net at 10:30 volunteered to move to Boston 145.23.
Boston 145.23 ran it's .-- / "Weather net on .64" file for the
worst of the evening.
During the evening, Jeff checked the status of the other folks
on the Waltham list; both the other fellow on his & Terry's list
and the other fellow in the 1.4 book (KB1EB) were without power,
so I had no relief (Jeff had to catch a nap before taking an ARC shelter
shift in the early AM), and we agreed to close the net at midnight
and pick up in the AM; as it happened, I kept going until new
information tailed off. When I closed, I left the NWS club call
& 146.76 and the packet station's ID with a night-owl on emergency
power (N1USS, who wants to attend training this spring) in case
something urgent came up. I probably should have had him land-line me
to give him the 800#.
Tuesday: 10:30AM to 1:30PM, 3Hrs, only 40 reports
including 9 stations not previously heard.
We tracked to progress of the sun behind the last band of snow
and collected some impressive totals (e.g., N1KML, 33", N.Bellingham).
Technical:
Circuits busy when dialling the 800# was the worst problem
encountered. We probably need to plan relays between 2m nets or
on a 6m backbone. I'm working (slowly) on getting packet
capability, which might help here.
Northern Connecticut Report by Len Matheiu, N1PTG:
As a result of your phone call with a heads up for the storm,
we on the 147.00 repeater monitored it for damage reports starting at
14:30 hrs Monday. At that time we didn't call a net up but made everyone
on the repeater aware we were monitoring for reports. Starting at 18:00
hrs and every two hrs there after we called for snow depth reports and
any other storm related damage reports which we passed to NWS Taunton.
We continued this until 04:00hrs on april 1st. I passed the last report
to Walter Drag (NWS) at 04:10 hrs april 1st. Through-out this period we
had a total of 32 stations reporting in from time to time.
Western Massachusetts Report by Jim Bernotas, N1VMH:
In Franklin and Hampshire counties we took hourly snowfall
totals and sent the data to nws via spotter line. I ran the nets inormally
on the 146.94 and 146.985 machines from about 4:00 pm until 10:30 pm, with
a additional final call at 6:30 am the next morning.
All went well.
Rhode Island and Southeast Massachusetts including the Cape and Islands
by Rob Macedo, KD1CY:
SOUTH SHORE SKYWARN Report from Gil Follet, WA1GDJ:
On March 31, 1997 at 8:00 PM, under the leadership of Ted N1WAI and Carl
N1FYZ, The South Shore SKYWARN Group activated under a severe snow storm
that covered New England with many feet of snow. The storm became to be know
as the Blizard of '97.
After putting out the call for activation the members of the group responded
with the conditions in their areas. Reports came in with blizard snow
conditions, trees down, power and telephone lines down, and cars off the
road. One member, who was out walking his area responded with a call for
notification of police for a accident happening in front of him. Control
center made proper notifications.
The net was maintained until 10:00 PM when everyone was settled down at home
and all the reports had been gathered.
Many thanks to all the members that responded and to the leaders that
activated and controlled the Net.
CONDITIONS SUMMARY OF BROCKTON AREA
Average snowfall about 19 inches.
Drifting severe to about 5 feet in areas.
Many trees and wires down.
Winds in access of 45 mph (recorded 45)
Many vehicle accidents.
FINAL NOR'EASTER REPORT:
SKYWARN was active from 4 PM-6 PM through the efforts of ML Baron,
KA1WBH, and from 6 PM through 3 AM through the efforts of Louis
WA1GDE, and Rob KD1CY. SKYWARN activated again from approximately
6 AM-Noon, with the regular weather net at 8 PM providing a mop-up
report of this event. Information was gathered on both the 145.49
Fairhaven repeater, and the 147.045 Yarmouth repeaters, here is
the report:
Snowfall Reports:
Acushnet: 17"
New Bedford: 14"
Fairhaven: 14.5"
Newton: 27"
Norton: 22.8" (Power Outage for 24 hours.)
Milton: 22.5"
Hingham: 23"
Scituate: 18"
Danvers: 16"
Warwick, RI: 15.9"
Onset: 15"
East Falmouth: 8"
Pocasett: 8"
Tiverton,RI: 7.5"
Hyannis: 6.5"
Martha's Vineyard: 5"
Nantucket: Trace!
Rainfall Reports: (With/Without Water Equivalent where applicable)
New Bedford: 2.60"
Acushnet: 2.08" (With Snowmelt, 3.89")
Tiverton,RI: 1.36"
Fall River: 1.34"
East Falmouth: 2.50"
Warwick,RI: 1.10" (With Snowmelt, 3.60")
Onset: 1.89"
Nantucket: 1.94"
Lowest Barometric Pressures:
Onset: 29.19"
Pocasset: 29.33"
Falmouth: 29.27"
Acushnet: 29.24"
Tiverton, RI: 29.26"
Fall River: 29.25"
New Bedford: 29.23"
East Falmouth: 29.39"
West Island: 29.23"
Nantucket: 29.07"
Wind Reports (Peak Gusts for the Storm):
Little Compton,RI NE @ 71 MPH
Onset NE @ 64 MPH
West Island NE @ 55 MPH
Nantucket NE @ 55 MPH
New Bedford NE @ 42 MPH
Warwick,RI NE @ 50 MPH
Pocasett NE @ 46 MPH
Coastal Flooding:
Coastal Flood Damage Reports and Tide Reports:
Onset: Tides ran 2.5 feet above normal with no damage.
Nantucket: Tides ran 2.5 feet above normal with beach erosion and
minor shore road flooding, with no structural damage. Beach
erosion was most prevelant in the Codfish Park area per the
RACES Radio Officer of Nantucket, George Allen, N1NBQ.
Chatam: Minor flooding to a business along the Chatam coast, per
Red Cross liaison in Hyannis.
Power Outage/Damage Reports/General Storm Effects:
Power outages occurred in several areas for varying periods.
As of this report, Norton has had no power for 24 hours!
Other towns reporting outages with the power being restored
later were:
Dartmouth
Westport
New Bedford
Fairhaven
Acushnet
Shelters were activated in Hyannis as well as Westport due to
power outages per Emergency Management. Also, three of four
major transmission lines from Cape Cod went down in the storm.
Only one line remains from the Cape to the islands.
Here in the New Bedford area, an 'ARES Roadwatch' was put into effect
and myself and my Assistant EC helped stuck and stranded motorists
get to safety. This occurred during the peak of the storm from 7 AM-10 AM
today.
This is the final report on this Nor'easter.
73,Rob-KD1CY.
Congratulations to all on a GREAT performance for this event, and hope
we can continue this momentum for further situations to come.
CHANGE IN THE NEXT SKYWARN STRATEGY MEETING (PLEASE READ!!!!)....
Please note that due to a scheudling conflict the SKYWARN meeting
for Thursday June 5th has been changed to Thursday June 12th at 6:30 PM
at NWS Taunton, please spread this information to all interested parties.
SKYWARN Training Update...
Not much change in the status here, except for the fact that Don Dillaby,
KA1GOZ, is continuing his efforts to get a date in Nashua during the
months of July or early August for his region.
SKYWARN Training Schedule for April and May...
Here is the complete schedule for April and May for further publicity
purposes:
Upcoming SKYWARN Training Sessions:
4/9/97 6:30PM-9:30 PM NWS Taunton
Wed. 445 Miles Standish Boulevard
Taunton, MA
NOTE: THIS IS A LIMITED SEATING TRAINING SITE!!
PLEASE CONTACT GLENN FIELD at (508) 823-1983, or
MYSELF FOR PREREGISTRATION. THE PREREGISTRATION IS FOR THIS SITE
ONLY.
4/16/97 7PM-10PM Worcester Holy Cross
Wed. Hablin Hall Room: 103
Worcester, MA
Contacts are: Ted Agos-N1SBM at (508) 865-5613, Worcester SKYWARN.
Robert Macedo-KD1CY ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton.
4/28/97 6:30-9:30PM Windham High School - 355 High Street
WILLIMANTIC, CT
Contacts are: Glenn Field-Warning Coordination Meteorologist, (508)823-1983.
Robert Macedo-KD1CY ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton.
5/1/97 Noon-3PM Walpole Town Hall
Thurs. Walpole, MA
Contacts are: W1ZSA-Roger Turner at (508) 668-2237, Walpole EMA.
Robert Macedo-KD1CY ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton.
5/7/97 6:30-9:30PM Canton High School
CANTON, CT
Contacts are: Glenn Field-Warning Coordination Meteorologist, (508)823-1983.
Robert Macedo-KD1CY ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton.
5/17/97 Noon-3PM Fitchburg Public Library
Sat. Fitchburg, MA
Contacts are: Jeanine Swick-N1QIT, Fitchburg Emergency Coordinator.
Robert Macedo-KD1CY ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton.
5/22/97 6:30-9:45PM Brockton VA Hospital
Thurs. Brockton, MA
Contacts are: Carl Aveni-N1FYZ, South Shore Emergency Coordiantor.
Robert Macedo-KD1CY ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton.
5/24/97 Noon-3PM Falmouth Town Hall
Sat. Falmouth, MA
Contacts are: Henry Brown-N1SNH, Vice President of FARA.
Robert Macedo-KD1CY ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton.
5/28/97 7PM-10PM North Tiverton Firehouse
Wed. 85 Main St.
Tiverton, RI
Contacts are: Fred Lightell-N1OSX at (401) 683-6595 RI SKYWARN Coordinator.
Robert Macedo-KD1CY ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton.
Above Average Hurricane Season Expected...
Dr. Gray is forecasting an above average hurricane season with 7
hurricanes and three expected to be major hurricanes. Hurricane
Season runs from June 1st to November 30th of each year. Glenn
Field has stated that if the pattern from winter continues
water temperatures will be warm and the potential for a stronger
hurricane to come up the coast and hit New England would be
increased if a storm forms and tracks up the east coast. It could
be an interesting summer.
That's all for this edition of the SKYWARN Newsletter, comments, questions
and suggestions are always welcome and the next SKYWARN Newsletter
will be issued on the April 13th-14th timeframe.
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Greater New Bedford ARES Emergency Coordinator
Pager #: (508) 354-3142
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: (508) 435-1000 Ext.: 3411 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@ma.ultranet.com
Packet Address: KD1CY @ AA1FS
http://www.ultranet.com/~rmacedo
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