Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend Weather Coordination Message #1

Rob Macedo, KD1CY, writes on SKYWARN-Announce:

Hello to all..

..The following is the first in a series of messages on Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend and providing information on the weather during this period. This is a tradition spanning over 19 years for Amateur Radio Operators involved with Field Day and the NWS Boston/Norton SKYWARN Program..

..2022 Field Day weekend will mostly be dry, warm and humid. There is a chance of an isolated shower in eastern areas on Saturday but the threat for any thunderstorms during the course of Field Day weekend looks minimal to near zero at this time. Shower and thunderstorm chances will increase as we get into later Sunday Night and especially Monday from west to east across Southern New England but this is after the Field Day weekend event is completed as well as any takedown of sites typically done late Sunday Afternoon and early evening..

..Amateur Radio Field Day Weekend is an annual event where Ham Operators across the United States setup at Emergency Operations Centers, field locations, home locations etc. to operate and test their equipment and skills and make as many radio contacts as possible during the weekend. Amateur Radio Field Day sites will likely be operating under normal conditions pre-pandemic across most field day sites though it is possible some Field Day sites may have some minimal COVID-19 protocols in place. There will likely still be some home station Field Day sites but less than the prior 2 years during the pandemic with more traditional Field Day sites in the region..

..SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor conditions throughout Field Day weekend as needed though no activations are expected at this time..

Here are some links to information on these Amateur Radio Field Day Sites from across the region and if any groups would like their Field Day listed, we will add it to the next Amateur Radio Field Day Weather Coordination message. Again most will likely be operating normally but there could be some minimal COVID-19 protocols in place at certain locations:

Amateur Radio Field Day Information: https://www.arrl.org/field-day
Amateur Radio Field Day National Locator: https://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator
Eastern Massachusetts Field Day Home Page: https://ema.arrl.org/field-day/

Eastern Massachusetts Field Day Directory: https://ema.arrl.org/field_day/

Similar to last year, Amateur Radio Field Day is expected to feature warm and dry conditions across the region. An isolated shower could occur in eastern areas of Southern New England but its likely to be very isolated. At this time, no thunderstorms are expected in the region until post the Field Day event later Sunday Night and especially Monday though this aspect will be monitored. High temperatures will be in the 80s to lower 90s with upper 70s to lower 80s near the coast and lows will be in the 60s. Humidity levels are expected to be fairly high in the region with Sunday being the hottest and most humid day in the region. All involved in Field Day sites are asked to use caution with the heat, take breaks during setup and breakdown of Field Day sites, and drink plenty of uncaffienated liquids to stay hydrated.

Below are links to the NWS Boston/Norton Hazardous Weather Outlook and NWS Boston/Norton Enhanced Hazardous Weather Outlook:

NWS Boston/Norton Hazardous Weather Outlook:
https://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.flus41.KBOX.html

NWS Boston/Norton Experimental Enhanced Hazardous Weather Outlook:

https://www.weather.gov/erh/ghwo?wfo=box

Amateur Radio Field Day sites are encouraged to bring a NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio, monitor various cell phone weather apps where Amateur Operators may have those available and have a dedicated Ham Radio that can monitor their local SKYWARN Frequency for their area as a best safety and preparedness practice if any threat for thunderstorms develops though that is expected to be minimal this year. Also sites that have mobile Internet capability can utilize that capability as a way to monitor for weather information. With Mobile Internet capability, utilizing Echolink to monitor the New England Reflector system on Echolink Conference *NEW-ENG3* Node: 9123/IRLP 9123 would be helpful as well. Please see the link below for the latest SKYWARN Frequency information for the region:

https://wx1box.org/southern-new-england-skywarn-frequency-list/

During setup and takedown of Amateur Radio Field Day sites and even while operating, be sure to drink plenty of fluids and eat accordingly. The link below features information on Heat Safety:

https://www.weather.gov/safety/heat

While the thunderstorm threat is minimal to near zero this weekend, now is the time to remind folks that lightning is a threat to any and all Amateur Radio Field Day sites. Remember your lightning safety tips and details on lightning safety can be seen at the following link and we will add a link from this week’s NWS Boston/Norton Lightning Safety Awareness Week in the next Amateur Radio Field Day weekend weather coordination message:

https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning

The next Amateur Radio Field Day coordination message will be posted by 100 PM Friday Afternoon and if the threat for thunderstorms remains minimal to near zero it will be the last Amateur Radio Field Day weekend weather coordination message.

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
https://ares.ema.arrl.org
https://www.wx1box.org
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