Hello to all..
**EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARES STANDBY LIFTED AS OF SATURDAY NOVEMBER 3RD, 2012 AT 1220 PM EDT AS HARDEST HIT SECTIONS OF NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK CITY AND LONG ISLAND, AND CONNECTICUT RECOVER FROM HURRICANE SANDY’S IMPACTS**
Having received ARES standdown messages from the Southern New Jersey and Connecticut sections, Eastern Massachusetts ARES has lifted the standby for the possibility of Amateur Operators deploying in an ARESMAT to the New Jersey, New York City/Long Island and Connecticut sections. We thank all those who offered their availability for this potential and we appreciate the fact that people gave availability and did not self-deploy to the area. Please see the link below where it was requested from the most impacted sections NOT to self-deploy to the affected area:
As we summarize this storm, it is hard to believe that with close to 400,000 power outages across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts caused by Hurricane Sandy at the height of the storm that we would being saying, ‘we are lucky’ but comparatively with the New York City area and New Jersey, we were indeed lucky. Hurricane Sandy prompted an Eastern Massachusetts ARES stand-by and the staffing of the MEMA Region Two Bridgewater facility, various city and town Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs), shelters, and Red Cross chapters as well as SKYWARN activation with Operations at the Amateur Radio Station at the National Weather Service in Taunton, WX1BOX. Several hundred reports of wind damage, storm surge flooding and wind measurements were received and put into NWS Taunton Forecast products on Monday October 29th. Some of the wind measurements, which exceeded hurricane force in wind gusts, were even put into National Hurricane Center advisory statements as WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center was also active for Hurricane Sandy interfacing with Eastern Massachusetts ARES and SKYWARN operations along with other operations in the mid-atlantic and Northeast US region. The storm’s impacts were largely over by late Monday Night 10/29 but a rogue line of severe thunderstorms associated with ‘Post-Tropical Storm Sandy’ caused a microburst in the Wareham/Onset Massachusetts area and scatttered wind damage, flash flooding and even large hail over other parts of Eastern Massachusetts on Tuesday Evening October 30th, 2012 prompting a self-activation of SKYWARN.
Post-Hurricane Sandy SKYWARN Coordination Messages continue to be issued. To see those updates, please go to the http://www.wx1box.org web site for those updates and more specific impacts on Hurricane Sandy in Southern New England.
To close, there is a potential for a nor’easter to impact the region in the Wednesday to Thursday timeframe. This storm could cause some impacts to the region but at this time, the impacts are expected to be far less than Hurricane Sandy but will be monitored for any increased potential of causing more issues than currently expected. This storm could prompt a SKYWARN Activation with Ops at the NWS Taunton Amateur Radio Station, WX1BOX, later this week.
Thanks to all for their continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES!
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://www.wx1box.org