Anyone participate in SKYWARN, ARES, or RACES?

[radioruck]

There’s a big storm rolling through my area and it has me thinking about these weather and emergency services.

Do any of you actively participate in any of these services? If so, what has your involvement and experience been like?

[WSEZ864]

I'm registered as a Skywarn Spotter and have had several of the in-person classes (Basic, Winter Weather and Severe Weather). If we ever have any other classes nearby, I'll attend. I did learn a LOT about weather at each of my classes.

Our local 2 meter ham repeater becomes dedicated to Skywarn if spotters are officially activated by the NWS. Been a Spotter for over 10 years and I have only occasionally had to report the onset of conditions such as really heavy thunderstorms and hail at my location. Things have to be pretty bad to warrant making a report. We don't activate for most storms unless they are identified as 'severe'.

The most useful experience I've had with it is when we had a tornado pass within a mile of the house. We seldom have tornadoes here,so it was pretty interesting. I was in the yard next to the truck with an HT, watching and ready to go, and the constant live reports helped us decide what to do. Local news typically lags by 3 to 10 minutes for exact location info and would have been of little help.

[WRYZ926]

The NWS doesn't issue certificates or even register spotters anymore. At least that is what the St Louis NWS office has stated. Now the people that take the spotters information and forward it to the NWS do have to be registered still. We have 5 people in our local club that can report directly to the NWS.

We hold a Skywarn Net all of the time during bad storms on our 2m repeater. Our club does not participate in ARES or RACES for some reason. I asked and never received a good reason why we don't.

The NWS holds storm spotter classes on a regular basis in person and online. I do suggest that you take the class if you plan on participating in Skywarn nets. That way you know exactly what kind of information the net control and NWS are looking for.

Quite a few of my neighbors look to me when ever bad storms approach as they know I am a spotter and participate in the Skywarn nets.

[tweiss3]

If I'm around, I enjoy storm watching and listening to Skywarn. I have reported to the net when it was applicable. More often than not, I'm not in a position to report anything. 

ARES in my area requires a bunch of the FEMA courses that I have not completed, plus minimum event time. I've helped with the marathon a few times, but I'm not officially an ARES member.

[WSEZ864]

7 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

...Our club does not participate in ARES or RACES for some reason. I asked and never received a good reason why we don't...

It may just be that no one wants to assume a leadership role. If you're interested, you might want to contact ARES and ask what it takes to get affiliated. It might also take a "motion" at a club meeting to start the ball rolling, but if no one is interested, it probably won't go anywhere. We do support ARES and hold a weekly net, but do not have any club activity related to RACES.

7 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

The NWS holds storm spotter classes on a regular basis in person and online. I do suggest that you take the class if you plan on participating in Skywarn nets. That way you know exactly what kind of information the net control and NWS are looking for.

I found the in-person classes very interesting and well worth attending. I guess I will have to finish out the other classes I'm missing online. There have not been any advanced classes within reasonable driving distance here in literally years. There is only one local class on the schedule right now and it's just a "Basic", as are the several currently scheduled in VA. There is one "Flood" class coming up in VA that is over 2-1/2 hours away.

[WRYZ926]

9 minutes ago, WSEZ864 said:

It may just be that no one wants to assume a leadership role. If you're interested, you might want to contact ARES and ask what it takes to get affiliated. It might also take a "motion" at a club meeting to start the ball rolling, but if no one is interested, it probably won't go anywhere. We do support ARES and hold a weekly net, but do not have any club activity related to RACES.

The problem is within our club as most don't want to be involved. We use to be part of ARES. I've heard some members state that there was no reason for us to be involved since ARES did not benefit the club. I think that is a lousy reason for not being involved.

But I might has well try pulling teeth from a hen or heard cats versus trying to change members opinions on ARES.

[amaff]

24 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

But I might has well try pulling teeth from a hen or heard cats versus trying to change members opinions on ARES.

Sounds like that's not what the membership wants to do. Just because *everyone* doesn't want to do what you want to do doesn't mean you don't get to do it. Is there another club in your area that does participate? Or is it something you can do without the rest of the club tagging along?

[WRYZ926]

2 minutes ago, amaff said:

Sounds like that's not what the membership wants to do. Just because *everyone* doesn't want to do what you want to do doesn't mean you don't get to do it. Is there another club in your area that does participate? Or is it something you can do without the rest of the club tagging along?

Unfortunately it is a few that are against participating with ARES but others just go along with those naysayers when it comes time to vote. There are a couple of other clubs that are involved in ARES and RACES, but they are an hour or more away from me. And yes I could get involved on my own too. Which I might end up doing.

It's been an uphill battle even over something as simple as Winlink. So I decided to make my own portable setup so that I have mobile capabilities. That way I do not have to rely on anyone else. I found the perfect radio for the job. I picked up a well taken care of Icom IC-706MkIIG. That gives me both HF and VHF capabilities in a small package. The radio, a 12v mini PC and 15" portable monitor are going into an Apache 5800 case from Harbor Freight. 

[HHD1]

I am a registered Skywarn spotter.  But I don't have a Hams ticket.  But I don't think it matters in the case of an emergency.  At least, it doesn't matter to me.

[Northcutt114]

Whoa...I recognize this post because I'm studying for my Technician. There are questions about RACE and ARES. I saw this post and was like "Oh! I know what that is!" 

[radioruck]

17 hours ago, WSEZ864 said:

 

Our local 2 meter ham repeater becomes dedicated to Skywarn if spotters are officially activated by the NWS.

How does the NWS activate spotters? Do they announce it on the repeater?

[WSEZ864]

Our local coordinator, who makes the decision on dedicating the repeater, gets word in several ways: First, the NWS will notify of spotter activation on your local weather radio channels. This is the most fail-safe method. The NWS will also allow you to sign up for activation alerts on your cell phone and via email. I just spoke to our local coordinator to verify my facts and he uses both the phone alert and monitors weather radio (162.4mHz here) when there are threatening conditions. Once the decision is made to activate, announcements go out on the repeaters and those repeaters dedicated to Skywarn have a net control person that belays other traffic. 

While not an actual notification, when weather dictates activating, a notice usually appears on the hazardous weather statement. Here is a current example of bad weather (gale warning) expected here in my area, but not severe enough to activate spotters. Note the bottom line in red:

[quote]Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC
409 AM EDT Mon Oct 13 2025

ANZ530>543-DCZ001-MDZ008-011-013-014-016>018-504-506-508-
VAZ053>057-527-140815-
Chesapeake Bay north of Pooles Island MD-
Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD-
Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD-
Chesapeake Bay from North Beach to Drum Point MD-
Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA-
Tidal Potomac from Key Bridge to Indian Head MD-
Tidal Potomac from Indian Head to Cobb Island MD-
Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA-
Patapsco River including Baltimore Harbor-
Chester River to Queenstown MD-Eastern Bay-
Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River-
Patuxent River to Broomes Island MD-
Tangier Sound and the inland waters surrounding Bloodsworth
Island-District of Columbia-Cecil-Southern Baltimore-
Prince Georges-Anne Arundel-Charles-St. Marys-Calvert-
Central and Southeast Montgomery-Central and Southeast Howard-
Southeast Harford-Fairfax-Arlington/Falls Church/Alexandria-
Stafford-Spotsylvania-King George-
Central and Southeast Prince William/Manassas/Manassas Park-
409 AM EDT Mon Oct 13 2025

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Maryland portion of the
Chesapeake Bay, Tidal Potomac River, and I-95 corridor through
central Maryland, northern Virginia, and District of Columbia.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

A Gale Warning is in effect for the Chesapeake Bay and lower
tidal Potomac River from Cobb Point to Smith Point through 8 AM.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

$$[/quote]

Because there is no activation that I can find right now, I cannot provide an example of weather alerts where spotters ARE being activated, but it would appear at the bottom of the Weather Alert Statement. There is a bad snowstorm in the CA mountains right now, but they have not posted spotter info, surprisingly

[WSEZ864]

4 hours ago, HHD1 said:

I am a registered Skywarn spotter.  But I don't have a Hams ticket.  But I don't think it matters in the case of an emergency.  At least, it doesn't matter to me.

You can phone in reports if your phone is working. Ditto email.

[HHD1]

5 minutes ago, WSEZ864 said:

You can phone in reports if your phone is working.

Yup, that's what I do.  But if it isn't working or not available and it's an emergency...  I'm keying up.

[radioruck]

12 minutes ago, WSEZ864 said:

Our local coordinator who makes the decision on dedicating the repeater gets word in several ways: First, the NWS will notify of spotter activation on your local weather radio channels. This is the most fail-safe method. The NWS will also allow you to sign up for activation alerts on your cell phone and via email. I just spoke to our local coordinator to verify my facts and he uses both the phone alert and monitors weather radio (162.4mHz here) when there are threatening conditions. Once the decision is made to activate, announcements go out on the repeaters and those repeaters dedicated to Skywarn have a net control person that belays other traffic. 

While not an actual notification, when weather dictates activating, a notice usually appears on the hazardous weather statement.

Interesting, thanks.

[jlwilkers]

The problem is within our club as most don't want to be involved. We use to be part of ARES. I've heard some members state that there was no reason for us to be involved since ARES did not benefit the club. I think that is a lousy reason for not being involved.
But I might has well try pulling teeth from a hen or heard cats versus trying to change members opinions on ARES.

A lot of those ARES boys are a bunch of whackers anyway. Probably why the members want to keep their distance.

Sent from my SM-S911U1 using Tapatalk

[amaff]

5 hours ago, jlwilkers said:

A lot of those ARES boys are a bunch of whackers anyway. 

By all means, please don't elaborate 

[marcspaz]

 

I am a volunteer with ARES/RACES and I am a Skywarn spotter.  I have been for several decades.  I feel like it is very rewarding.  I know that the work I do directly impacts the communities we serve.

 

My particular team supports DHS / FEMA, 3 counties, the State of Virginia EOC, and the US Marine Corps (Maine Corps Community Services, Marine Corps Marathon) and many of us additionally support the Military Auxiliary Radio Service at the Pentagon, as well as NOAA/NWS in Sterling VA.

 

Along with being a part of several actual real-world mass casualty, mass municipality emergency responses, our team has had extensive training in NIMS / ICS, EmComm, AuxComm, Emergency Readiness and Self-sustainability, U/SAR, and much more.

 

Also, if you are a radio junkie like I am, it gives you an opportunity and outlet to gain exposure to new tech and play with some fun equipment.  

[WRZD727]

Been a SKYWARN spotter for about 5 years now. 2 of our gmrs repeaters where I live are used for SKYWARN too, when severe weather happens. 

[WRTC928]

I volunteer with ARES, but haven't had occasion to actually do anything. I also participate in the severe weather nets for the county I live in and the one I can see across the river, and I have had occasion to provide useful information for that. It's Oklahoma; tornadoes are us. I have an antenna under the roof of my deck, and the cable is completely isolated from my other antenna cables. When there are storms in the area, I plug my radio to that antenna and put it on battery. I don't get the range I get from my 45' antenna, of course, but it's plenty good enough for staying connected to the two repeaters I need.