[SARC] SKYWARN Recognition Day Special Event

[Dave - KB4ET]

The 9th annual SKYWARN Recognition Day Special event will be held this 
weekend (0000-2400 UTC December 1). The purpose of the event is to 
recognize the many contributions made by SKYWARN volunteers to the National 
Weather Service (NWS) severe storm reporting network. Many times, these 
individuals are able to provide real-time on-site reports of developing 
severe weather and relay the reports back to the NWS. The NWS then can 
correlate the reports to weather radar data to issue life-saving Severe 
Thunderstorm and Tornado Warnings.

While technically *not* a contest, the special event has become quite 
competitive over the years. It is sponsored jointly by the NWS and the 
ARRL. During the event, temporary HF, VHF and digital mode operating 
stations are designed and manned at a majority of the 120 NWS offices 
throughout the nation. In Florida, there are NWS forecast offices at 
Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Tampa, Melbourne, Miami and Key West. The goal 
of the special event is to bring together the local SKYWARN community and 
NWS forecasters for the weekend for each of them to experience first-hand 
the important work that each group performs. During the special event, each 
station makes as many QSO's as possible (i.e. points), including working 
other NWS special event stations (i.e. multipliers), individual SKYWARN 
members, and the general ham population.

So if you have the chance this weekend, please listen for the SKYWARN 
special event stations and make some contacts or even stop by your local 
NWS office to see the operations and for a short tour of the forecast 
center (check with SKYWARN group or NWS office first so they will know you 
may stop by).

Many of the Special Event stations operate with WX prefixes, with Melbourne 
being WX4MLB. Hope to work you this weekend.

For more information on the event, please check out this national 
website:  http://www.crh.noaa.gov/hamradio/index.php

or the NWS Melbourne website for specific information about our planned 
operations: http://www.srh.weather.gov/mlb/nwsse_ARCHIVE/nwsse2007.html

73
Scott Spratt - KT4PD
NWS Melbourne
WX4MLB Station Trustee
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