Winter Storm Warning

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
317 AM EST FRI FEB 12 2010

...A SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM WILL IMPACT PARTS OF THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT...

GAZ116-118-137-138-121700-
/O.UPG.KCHS.WS.A.0001.100212T1700Z-100213T1100Z/
/O.NEW.KCHS.WS.W.0001.100212T1700Z-100213T1100Z/
INLAND BRYAN-INLAND CHATHAM-LONG-INLAND LIBERTY-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PEMBROKE...SAVANNAH...LUDOWICI...HINESVILLE
317 AM EST FRI FEB 12 2010

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 AM EST SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 AM EST SATURDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

LOW PRESSURE WILL INTENSIFY OVER THE NORTHEAST GULF OF MEXICO THIS MORNING...THEN MOVE ACROSS THE FLORIDA PENINSULA THIS AFTERNOON TO A POSITION OFF THE CAROLINA COAST TONIGHT.

RAIN WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING...MIXING WITH SLEET AND A LITTLE SNOW NEAR THE ONSET. AS COLDER AIR FROM THE NORTH OVERSPREADS THE REGION...THE RAIN WILL BEGIN TO MIX WITH AND EVENTUALLY CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY
THIS EVENING. SNOW...MODERATE TO HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL THEN PERSIST THROUGH THIS EVENING BEFORE TAPERING OFF AFTER MIDNIGHT. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS INLAND FROM THE COAST...CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY MORNING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ARE EXPECTED OR ALREADY OCCURRING. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR EVEN IMPOSSIBLE.

Winter Storm Watch

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
308 PM EST THU FEB 11 2010

...SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM EXPECTED TO IMPACT PARTS OF THE AREA FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND FRIDAY NIGHT...

GAZ116-118-137-138-SCZ048>051-120415-
/O.NEW.KCHS.WS.A.0001.100212T1700Z-100213T1100Z/
INLAND BRYAN-INLAND CHATHAM-LONG-INLAND LIBERTY-BEAUFORT-COASTAL COLLETON-CHARLESTON-COASTAL JASPER-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PEMBROKE...SAVANNAH...LUDOWICI...
HINESVILLE...BEAUFORT...HILTON HEAD...EDISTO BEACH...CHARLESTON...JASPER
308 PM EST THU FEB 11 2010

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT.

LOW PRESSURE WILL INTENSIFY OVER THE NORTHEAST GULF OF MEXICO THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...BEFORE CROSSING THE FLORIDA PENINSULA FRIDAY AFTERNOON THEN SHIFTING INTO THE ATLANTIC FRIDAY NIGHT.

RAIN WILL BEGIN ACROSS THE AREA ON FRIDAY...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. AS COLDER AIR FROM THE NORTH OVERSPREADS THE REGION...THE RAIN WILL BEGIN TO MIX WITH AND EVENTUALLY CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON OR EARLY FRIDAY EVENING.
SNOW...MODERATE TO HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL THEN PERSIST THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING BEFORE TAPERING OFF AFTER MIDNIGHT. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS INLAND FROM THE COAST...CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ACCUMULATION THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN
CHARLESTON.

Skywarn Recognition Day Recap

After meeting for dinner at the Cracker Barrel on US 80 in Pooler on Friday night, Dan Scott - KF4MND, Guy McDonald - K4GTM, and I departed for Charleston in the rain. We arrived at the NWS Charleston office around 11 PM and were greeted by Bobby McBride – W4KSD. We met John and Rich, the two meteorologists on duty and got to take a look around the Operations area of the office. Although the weather wasn’t severe, it was interesting to watch John and Rich at work through the night.

Guy-K4GTM, Rich, John, Mac-KF4LMT, Dan-KF4MND

NWS Charleston Operations

John explains some of the operations to Dan.

We settled in to work at WX4CHS which consists of a Kenwood TM-251 (soon to be replaced with a more modern radio) and an Icom IC-746. Dan had made arrangements to use a nearby Echolink node on 147.505 and was soon making contacts back in Savannah including Jerry, W4SGA and Greg, N4VAD through the 146.700 repeater. 2 Meter contacts were also made on the Charleston repeaters and the SCHEARTS repeater network (accessible in Savannah via the 146.715 repeater). Dan also worked Ken – W4JKG, Steve – K4SDJ, and Mark – KD4PDX using Echolink. I went portable from the NWS Office and made a contact through via the SCHEARTS network 147.105 repeater. We were working the midnight rotation, so there wasn’t a lot of special event activity on HF; not all of the stations in the event were operating for the entire 24 hours. That said, we were able to make some contacts on 75 Meters and 40 Meters including other NWS Offices:

WX2OKX – Upton, NY
K4OHX – Nashville, TN
WX4MRX – Morristown, TN
WX4MHX – Newport/Moorehead, NC
WX4PTC – Peachtree City, GA
K5SHV – Shreveport, LA
WX5NWC – Norman, OK
K0DMX – Des Moines, IA
WX2BUF – Buffalo, NY

Dan-KF4MND, Bobby-W4KSD, and Guy-K4GTM

Dan and Guy on the air

Guy and Dan worked to lay some groundwork to link Savannah back to the NWS via RF link and/or VOIP while we were there. We left Charleston around 5 AM with the rain still falling (it never stopped through the night) and made it back to Savannah by 7:30 AM to have breakfast with the usual bunch at Sunny Side Up on DeRenne Ave. (plug for a good breakfast/lunch restaurant). I really enjoyed the event and look forward to doing it again next year; it was great fun to be on the NWS end of the QSO this year.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Skywarn Recognition Day Contacts

For the midnight shift, we've been doing pretty good so far. On VHF, we've made several contacts using Echolink via the 147.505 W1GRE Echolink node back to the 146.700 (PL 100) repeater in Savannah and one contact on the SC HEARTS linked system in South Carolina. I checked in from the NWS Office on my portable to get my callsign on the log. On HF, we've made six contacts on 75 Meters. Here's the list so far:

VHF
N4VAD
W4SGA
W4JKG
K4SDJ
KD4PDX
KF4LMT

HF
W4SGA
N4VAD
WD9YBI
WX4MRX
WX4MHX
WX4PTC

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

On the Air at WX4CHS for Skywarn Recognition Day

Location: Charleston, SC

We're on the air at WX4CHS at the National Weather Service Office in Charleston, SC. We've made some contacts on 2-Meters through Echolink and on 75 Meters on HF. Right now here is what we're working:

• 2 Meters on the 146.715 repeater (PL 123) and 146.700 (PL 100). We're working with Echolink on the 146.700 repeater.
• 3871 LSB on 76 Meters HF.

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT

Skywarn Recognition Day

This Saturday is Skywarn Recognition Day. Amateur Radio operators throughout the country will be manning radio stations at NWS Offices trying to make contact with other NWS Offices and as many hams as possible to celebrate the contributions that volunteer Skywarn radio operators make to the National Weather Service. This year, Amateur Radio Operators from Savannah have been asked to help out at NWS Charleston by manning a shift at their amateur radio station.

I will be joining Guy McDonald, K4GTM and Dan Scott, KF4MND as we ride up to Charleston on Friday night to work the 0001-0530 local shift at the NWS Charleston station. We'll be active on HF and VHF using the callsign WX4CHS, so tune through and keep an ear out for us. As part of the special event operation, the contact exchange will consist of call sign, signal report, location, and a one or two word description of the weather.

I plan on using my Blackberry to make blog posts and Twitter updates during our shift in Charleston. You can follow the Twitter feed on the sidebar of the blog here, or at http://twitter.com/kf4lmt. I hope to update with what we're up to and what frequencies we're working. I'm looking forward to having fun with this event and I hope to hear you on the air!

Mac McCormick III, KF4LMT