NWS/ARRL SKYWARN RECOGNITION DAY -
By: Michael Fitzsimmons
The National Weather Service and the Amateur Radio
Relay League will co-sponsor the sixth annual SKYWARN Recognition Day on
Saturday, December 4th, 2004 beginning
0000 UTC to 2400 UTC. The purpose of the event
is to recognize the tremendous contributions of amateur radio operators during
times of severe weather and to strengthen the relationship between amateur
radio operators within the county warning area to their local National Weather
Service office. During the past several years, amateurs from northern and
eastern Maine have provided timely information which is used to prepare
valuable public information statements describing snowfall accumulations,
highest recorded wind gusts and rainfall amounts to name a few.
This special event provides amateurs the opportunity
to work along side meteorologists, using state of the art equipment, to contact
other participating National Weather Service offices and other amateurs from
around the world. When contact is made with other National Weather Service
offices, the QSO will be an exchange of current weather conditions including,
sky condition, precipitation, wind and temperature at a minimum. Following the event, the National Weather Service in
Caribou will be issuing QSL cards to other participating National Weather
Service offices and to any amateurs who made contact with our office.
During SKYWARN Recognition Day 2003, 115 National Weather
Service offices participated in this special event. In previous years, amateurs
participating at the Caribou office have made contacts with dozens of other
National Weather Service offices, and earned several certificates and endorsements
for the office. This twenty-four hour event promises to be educational as
well as fun. Additional information about SKYWARN Recognition Day 2004 can
be obtained by going to http://hamradio.noaa.gov
.