Tornado season fast approaching

The National Association for Amateur Radio—better known as ARRL— reported on St. Patrick’s Day they will be helping the NWS by playing a key role in making sure accurate data is reported for timely warnings.

March-May is considered the most active period of time for tornadoes to develop, AARL reports.

Only three months into 2023, NWS has reported nine confirmed tornado-related deaths world- wide—all of them in the United States. The US has already had 213 confirmed tornadoes in 2023.

“January saw the third-highest number of tornado watches and confirmed tornadoes of any January on record in the United States,” ARRL reported. “ Additionally, the first two months of the year saw the fourth-highest number of confirmed tornadoes for the first 59 days of any year on record.”

ARRL reported on their Website, ARRL.org that the SKYWARN Storm Spotter Program at weather.gov is available to anyone who might be interested in helping the NWS track and report potentially dangerous weather.

“Anyone can become a SKYWARN weather spotter, and the information is available at the SKYWARN website,” ARRL associates stated. “Most states have amateur radio networks that are activated during severe weather. Trained volunteers use their radios to report rapidly changing activity and share the information with local weather offices. A list of the states that have scheduled special weather awareness activities can be found at the NWS Awareness and Preparedness Calendar.

The Oklahoma office for NWS Forecasting reportedly uses amateur radio as a method of communicating with spotter groups, as well as emergency management organizations.

ARRL associates report that for decades they have provided invaluable me service in support of the SKYWARN program for storm spotting by using unique communications capabilities, with which they share critical information between the NWS, the local emergency management officials, and storm spotter networks.

Twenty-four years ago, NWS and ARRL founded SKYWARN Recognition Day in order to honor and laud the voluntary contributions of thousands of amateur radio operators who play a critical role in keeping the public safe and informed about severe weather conditions, according to reports.

“The day is celebrated on the first Saturday in December, and amateur radio spotters can earn awards for participating,” ARRL spokesmen said.

ARRl’s own Bryan Loper, WX5CSS, of Atlanta Texas was given the 2022 NWS Spotter of the Year Award, which lauded Loper for his proactive approach within the amateur radio network. Looper was also celebrated by the weather community within the Arkansas/ Louisiana/Texas region as a spotter who is always reliably providing accurate weather reports.

To learn more about amateur radio licensing and SKYWARN visit ARRL. org.