Pinellas County, FL. SKYWARN

What is SKYWARN? Volunteer program consisting of trained spotters who provide severe weather reports to the National Weather Service. Currently around 290,000 trained spotters.

Who is SKYWARN? Persons of all backgrounds who share an interest in severe weather and a desire to serve their communities. Private citizens, police officers, emergency management personnel, etc. Amateur Radio operators form the back-bone of the SKYWARN program.

Why do we need SKYWARN? Spotter reports provide critical ground truth. Severe weather detection technology can only indicate the existence of hazardous conditions. Radar effectiveness depends on the size and height of the storm and it’s distance from the radar. Only one instrument can identify and report severe weather with absolute accuracy…the Human Eye!

Spotter reports... Fill in the gaps left by radar. Help forecasters issue more timely and accurate warnings by providing reports of actual conditions on the ground… ...and confirming the existence of hazardous weather detected on radar. Provide verification information, helping to improve future warnings Improve public response to warnings due to confirmation.

Did you know? Spotters first used during WWII to alert artillery plants of lightning? After the May 25th, 1955 tornado in Udall, Kansas killed 80 people, the NWS decided to train their own severe weather spotters? First spotter training class held on March 8th, 1959 in Wellington, Kansas for 225 spotters? Program officially created in 1965? As of June 2008, there were 3,243 spotters in WCF, 748 of them ham operators.

How to get your SKYWARN training Take Basic Course online at www.weather.gov/tampabay Attend a SKYWARN class to get your Advanced certification.

Pinellas SKYWARN Mission Statement “To protect the lives and property of the people of Pinellas County by providing the National Weather Service with timely and accurate severe weather reports from amateur radio operators trained as storm spotters, leading to improved severe weather warnings.”

Does Pinellas County get severe weather?

April 4th, 1966 F-4 tornado with winds of 207 to 260 mph struck Pinellas County. Moved across Florida from Pinellas to Brevard Counties, or 135 miles. 11 fatalities and 530 injuries in Pinellas County.

February 19th, 1974 Tornado moved through Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco. 55 people injured.

May 4th, 1978 11:47am. F-3 tornado with winds of 158-206 mph struck Pinellas. 4 fatalities and 94 injured, including school children at Highpoint Elementary. 200 yards wide and path length of 2 miles.

October 3rd, 1992 8:40 am-9:30 am. Multiple tornadoes including one F2 and one F3 hit the county. F3 winds of 158 to 206 mph. 4 fatalities and 130 injuries. 200 yards wide with path length of 3 miles.

1993-2012 Tornado events About 31 tornadoes hit Pinellas Five F-1 tornadoes causing 5 injuries October 27th, 1997: F-1 tornado moved through central Pinellas injuring 4 people. On ground for 9 miles.

First reported by KI4VOS January 25th, 2011 First reported by KI4VOS

March 31st, 2011

March 31st, 2011

Tropical Storm Debby Multiple tornadoes moved through West-Central Florida. EF-2 in Highlands County with 1 fatality At least 2 tornadoes hit Pinellas EF-1 tornado hit Pass a Grille causing significant damage and multiple injuries

Close calls February 22/23, 1998: Tornado outbreak with three F-3 tornadoes near Kissimmee. 42 fatalities and 260 injuries. Deadliest event in FL. February 2, 2007: Tornado outbreak with two F-3 tornadoes near Lady Lake/The Villages. 21 fatalities and 76 injuries.

Why Amateur Radio? Ability to communicate with NWS if normal methods fail. Provides a common point of report collection. Consolidates calls made to NWS. Easy means of following up on reports. Common contact for NWS. Improved awareness. Prioritization of reports.

Who can participate? All amateur radio operators! You do not need to be a member of any club, group or organization. Preferably certified as a SKYWARN spotter.

Chain of Command NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist. Pinellas Emergency Management Director ARES Emergency Coordinator Pinellas SKYWARN Coordinator.

When we activate A severe weather warning has been issued for the county. A severe weather watch has been issued and/or potential severe weather is approaching the county. A trained spotter has reported severe weather. The National Weather Service has requested activation.

Activation Levels Condition Yellow: Severe weather is posing a potential threat, but no warnings have been issued and no severe weather has been reported. Condition Red: A severe weather warning has been issued or a spotter has reported severe weather. Condition Black: A trained spotter has reported a tornado, funnel cloud, rotating wall cloud, or waterspout near shore.

Condition Yellow Informal,standby net. Check in with your call sign, spotter number, and location relative to major streets/landmarks. Routine communication is allowed, but keep transmissions short with frequent pauses. The net may be upgraded to Condition Red at any time.

Condition Red Formal emergency net. Report severe weather and SEVERE WEATHER ONLY!

What to report during Condition Red. Tornadoes, funnel clouds, waterspouts, and rotating wall clouds. Hail of any size. Winds of 50 mph or higher, as well as any wind damage. Rainfall rates of 2” per hour, or 4” in 24 hours. Significant flooding. If in doubt, report it!!!

Condition Black Highest alert level. Report only tornadoes, funnel clouds, rotating wall clouds, and waterspouts! Hold all other non-tornadic reports! If you are the station reporting the tornadic event, you will be given clear air to provide continuous updates.

How to make a severe weather report. Call sign and spotter number Time Event Location Movement Determine all this information before you key up!

Example: “KJ4RUS with a hail report” NCS: “Go ahead KJ4RUS” “KJ4RUS, PIN 872A. At 4:13pm, I observed quarter size hail near the intersection of 113th Street and Ulmerton Road in Largo.”

Pinellas SKYWARN Frequencies. Primary: WE4COM Repeater on 145.170- (PL 156.7) Secondary: WD4SCD Repeater System on 147.030+ (multiple PL tones) Simplex if necessary

Regional SKYWARN Nets The NI4CE Repeater System serves as the Regional SKYWARN frequency. Informal activation: Limited severe weather event. Net run remotely. WX4TOR not activated. Formal activation: Widespread severe weather event. Net run from NWS office. WX4TOR activated.

Which net should Pinellas spotters check into? The NI4CE Regional Nets are primarily for spotters in counties without local SKYWARN programs... ...and to allow direct radio communication between local county Net Control Stations and WX4TOR if necessary. Spotters in Pinellas County are strongly encouraged to participate in our local nets!

Tropical Cyclone Procedures. For most tropical events, Pinellas SKYWARN will conduct normal operations. However, depending on the particular situation, SKYWARN operations may have to be modified to accommodate other disaster operations, such as ARES nets. Regardless of the scenario, specific instructions will be provided for spotters.

Storm Chasing Storm chasing is dangerous unless you are highly trained, in a good visibility area, and have access to roads with light traffic volume. Pinellas SKYWARN Amateur Radio Operators can cover the entire county by simply spotting from their homes or businesses. We do not include storm chasing in our protocols.

Drills and Practice Nets ARES/SKYWARN practice net every Tuesday evening at 7:30pm on WE4COM 145.170. Drills are conducted every few months as part of the weekly net. Regional 15 County SKYWARN Information Net on the NI4CE Repeater System every Tuesday at 9:00pm.

2011 Activations 9 severe weather events 7 SKYWARN activation nets Total check-ins: 118 stations Average check-ins: 17 stations Total individual: 53 stations Highest check-ins: 33 (two nets) Total net hours: 20:30 hrs Average run time: 3:00 hrs Longest run time: 13:00 hrs Total reports handled: 22

2012 Activations to date 9 severe weather events 11 SKYWARN activation nets Total check-ins: 158 stations Average check-ins: 14 stations Total individual: 50 stations Highest check-ins: 28 stations Total net hours: 18:06 hrs Average run time: 1:36 hrs Longest run time: 10:20 hrs Total reports handled: 29

Remember! Participation, not perfection!! Please help to spread awareness about the Pinellas SKYWARN Program to local clubs/groups. Participate occasionally in our practice nets and drills. Join in on our severe weather activation nets!!!

"Eyes on the skies... ...so no one dies!"