Members of the Boston Amateur Radio Club will operate W1BOS/MQE on December 6th, from 9am to 4 pm on 20 and 2 meters from the Blue Hills Observatory in observance of SKYWARN Recognition Day.
According to Mark Duff, BARC Executive Committee member and ARES DEC, “For several decades, hams have assisted the National Weather Service by providing real-time reports of severe weather and storm conditions. Many NWS Offices including NWS Taunton have permanently installed Amateur Radio Equipment. To celebrate SKYWARN, Amateur Radio operators will set up radio stations at the National Weather Service (NWS) offices and other weather related locations and contact similar stations around the world.”
Amateur radio operators recently played a key role by providing communications during the hurricanes that affected the East Coast and Bermuda. Although the NWS operates a network of 120 Doppler radars to track severe storms, at greater ranges weather radar has a difficult time sampling conditions close to the ground. The information radio operators located near a storm provide plays a key role in aiding forecasters.
Stations who contact W1BOS/MQE are eligible to receive a commemorative QSL card. A complete list of participating SKYWARN Recognition Day stations is available via the NOAA web site.
According to the Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center “the observatory is located at the top of a scenic mountain range south of Boston and it is a unique American institution. Founded in 1885 by Abbott Lawrence Rotch as a private scientific center for the study and measurement of the atmosphere, it was the site of many pioneering weather experiments and discoveries. The earliest kite soundings of the atmosphere in North America in the 1890s and the development of the radiosonde in the 1930s occurred at this historic site. Today, the Observatory is a National Historic Landmark and remains committed to continuing its extensive, uninterrupted climate record with traditional methods and instruments.”
—Thanks, N1VUX, KB1EKN, BlueHill.org