The preferred mode for traffic into this net is via a liaison station
from a local net. (see below). Individuals are encouraged to "check-in" with
their local emergency net instead of the SKYWARN net.
It is critical that people in your county get the information as quickly as
possible. This also makes the net more efficient, since the North Alabama and Southern Middle Tennessee
SKYWARN net control operator is only having to communicate with around 10
liasons when a request for specific info comes from the National Weather
Service. The North Alabama and Southern Middle Tennessee SKYWARN Net will, however, recognize ANY station
that has emergency or priority traffic.
To participate in this net one needs:
- An FCC Amateur Radio License Technician Class or higher.
- A willingness to volunteer his/her services
- A thorough
understanding of these operating procedures.
Although not officially
required, the Huntsville National Weather Service provides storm spotter
training and certification, which will greatly increase the accuracy of the
reporting. A schedule is available at
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hun/skywarn.html.
Frequencies
This network will utilize a
linked VHF repeater system, which provides optimal coverage for all of the North
Alabama counties and links those counties to the Huntsville NWS office. The
linked repeater system is designed to allow stations to use low powered handheld
and mobile radios, thereby eliminating the risk of operating on an external
antenna during thunderstorms. With the linked repeater system, it is possible to
set up direct communications between persons located virtually anywhere across
North Alabama and Southern Middle Tennessee and that traffic can be monitored by the
National WeatherService in Huntsville.
The linked repeater frequencies
are:
- 146.960 (Moulton) Bankhead ARC, Inc.
- 147.240 (Huntsville)
KB4CRG
- 147.360 (Section) Jackson County, ARC
Individual County Nets:
This net recognizes
that each county is responsible for organizing it's SKYWARN personnel and
encourages each county to hold an ongoing net on their local frequency. It is
preferable that stations "check-in" with a local net. It is recommended that
these local nets be coordinated with the county EMA, and that provisions be made
to have an operator at the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) to be a net liason.
Activation
Severe Weather Activation: An
ESTABLISHED NET CONTROL OPERATOR will activate the North Alabama SKYWARN
Emergency Net anytime the SPC issues a Severe Thunderstorm Watch, Tornado Watch,
or receives a specific request from the NWS office to activate. The Net Control
Operator may be located at his/her residence or, preferably, at a county EOC. An
NALWARN (North Alabama Weather Alert
Response Network) member will be activated by the NWS office in Huntsville and
he/she will report to the NWS there to coordinate traffic with all hams in the
north Alabama area. North Alabama and Southern Middle Tennessee SKYWARN, NALWARN, and the NWS can utilize
statewide alpha-numeric paging to activate and update amateur radio operators
that are equipped with pagers. The NALWARN member will coordinate all weather
traffic with the SKYWARN Net Control Operator. Persons are asked to pass weather
traffic to the North Alabama and Southern Middle Tennessee SKYWARN Net Control Operator only, and operators are asked
NOT to pass traffic directly to the NALWARN member unless directed to do so by
the net control station.
Upon activation of the net, all repeater links are
turned on and recreational use of the systems are temporarily suspended. The
frequencies are kept clear for EMERGENCY and PRIORITY traffic. IMPORTANT: THE
SUCCESS OF THIS NET DEPENDS ON EVERYONE USING DISCRETION WITH THEIR MICROPHONES.
PLEASE DO NOT TRANSMIT UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Do NOT transmit to
pass information that is of no real use for the net, such as it’s raining, the
clouds are getting thicker, it’s lightning off to the west....etc... Traffic of
this nature is of no real use to the net and only ties up the frequencies from
useful information. Always think before you transmit......Remember also that as
many as several hundred hams, and private citizens, can be listening all across
north Alabama and will not transmit unless they see a need to do so. Most of the
time just listening and calling when you have severe weather to report is the
best help you can provide a severe weather net!!
Alert Status
The Net may be downgraded to an
alert status if a watch is in effect, but there is not any severe weather
immediately threatening the area. Recreational use of the repeaters is permitted
during Alert Status, but please keep transmissions brief and allow pauses in
between. If a weather emergency arises, the NET CONTROL OPERATOR will resume the
controlled net.
Deactivation
When the severe weather bulletin
is canceled or expired, the net will close and the linked repeaters will be
returned to their normal use.
Training Net
The Training Net is held on each
Thursday at 8:00pm and is used to review and practice the principles as outlined
in these standard operating procedures. Each county in north Alabama rotates
calling the training net for one month. The schedule is as follows:
January-Colbert, February-DeKalb, March-Franklin, April-Jackson, May-Lauderdale,
June-Lawrence, July-Limestone, August-Madison, September-Marshall,
October-Morgan, November-Madison, December-Lawrence. Each county's
responsibility includes having personnel on standby for notification to activate
the North Alabama and Southern Middle Tennessee SKYWARN Emergency Net. The county's emergency coordinators
will be notified when emergency activation is required.
