SKYWARN

One of the first things that comes to mind when talking about amateur radio is emergency and public service communications. Since its inception, amateur radio operators have been providing communications for disaster relief organizations, such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army, civil defense communications for federal agencies, and connecting members of our armed services stationed abroad with their families here in the U.S. via the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS).

One of the best examples today of how amateur radio operators provide emergency and public service communications is the SKYWARN program. The SKYWARN spotter program is a nationwide network of volunteers trained by the National Weather Service (NWS) that provides the NWS with timely and accurate severe weather reports.

When hazardous weather occurs such as severe thunderstorms, floods, tornadoes, snow and ice storms, SKYWARN volunteers, including radio amateurs, report what is happening at their location. They are asked to report whenever certain criteria are met, such as when one inch of rain has fallen, six inches of snow are on the ground, a thunderstorm is producing hail, or trees have been blown down. Radio amateurs are particularly valuable to SKYWARN because mobile amateur radio stations can be deployed to exactly where they are needed and provide real-time reports of severe weather conditions via nets set up for exactly this purpose.