Revised 11-Apr-07

Ham Policy Guide For Chaves Skywarn Storm Spotters

This guide is for Chaves County amateur radio operators only. It is not intended for non-ham
Skywarn storm spotters. It outlines the policy for Chaves County hams when fast-moving
storms threaten. It does not include ham radio frequencies or net operating procedures. Nor
does it include severe storm characteristics or observing techniques. These are available in
separate documents and through Skywarn training sessions offered by the NWS.
This guide is oriented toward severe, faster moving storms that represent a possible threat to
life or property. Examples are wind, hail, flash flooding, lightening, and tornadoes. It is not
directed toward observations of slowly rising water, accumulating snowfall, ice storms, etc. –
even though these may in-time represent a threat.
In Chaves County, the ham Skywarn program is closely integrated with the Chaves Amateur
Radio Emergency Service (CARES), which is in turn associated with the Pecos Valley Amateur
Radio Club (PVARC).

Safety – No ham storm spotter will be asked to risk danger to life or property.
No spotter will be asked to “chase storms,” although some individuals may
choose to do so at their own expense and risk.
The ham spotter is asked for observations from wherever that spotter
happens to be. If he or she chooses to drive to some other location to get a
better view of the storm, the observations will be gladly accepted – but this
must be at the spotter’s own initiative.
When possible, the ham radio net control station will attempt to inform ham
spotters of storm progress and warn them of any danger observed heading
their way -- this may not always be possible.

Skywarn Coordinators – W5ALL, Alf and K9TVS, Steven serve as the ham
Skywarn Coordinators for Chaves County, backing-up each other.
W5ALL normally concentrates on radio communications, serving as net
control. He normally passes consolidated ham spotter reports to NWS
and/or the county-city Emergency Manager. He may receive queries or
warnings from the NWS or OEM to relay to the ham spotters. He
communicates with Skywarn coordinators and spotters in other counties, as
appropriate.
K9TVS concentrates on actual storm characteristics, and will query and
advise ham spotters concerning what they see. He serves as the ham’s
local expert on severe storm spotting. He may choose to “chase” storms
himself.

Who, Where, What – The storm spotter’s observations take the form of
who you are, exactly where you are, and what you see -- and what direction
and estimated distance the observed object is from you.

Spotter Communications -- The spotter keeps radio transmissions short

and to the point, avoiding “gee whiz” observations, comparisons to previous
1
 Revised 11-Apr-07
experiences, speculation and unrelated side conversations with other hams.
The spotter is there primarily to augment NWS electronic data with the
human eyeball. This implies that the primary flow of information is from the
spotters to the NWS Forecast Office, rather than from the NWS Office to the
spotters.
About the only data that normally flows from the NWS to the spotters are
queries for further details and warnings of impending danger to the
spotter(s). Time permitting, some storm status information may flow down
from the NWS Forecast Office directly to spotters, but spotters must not
count on this.
In Chaves County, the ham net control station usually has access to storm
position and status, watch boxes and warning boxes – all from Internet
Doppler radar screens. Watches and warning text messages, issued by the
NWS, are also usually available to the NCS. Weather Radio broadcasts are
available in the event of Internet failure. These data are relayed to the
spotters by the NCS, as net traffic permits.

Observed Tornadoes and Flash Floods – The storm spotter normally

passes observations to the NCS for consolidation and forwarding to the
NWS Forecast Office. In the event that an immediate threat to life in a
populated area is observed, the NCS may pass the observation directly to
the local emergency manager, before reporting it to the NWS.
In rare cases, time may be so critical that the spotter must immediately call
the local emergency manager on the telephone, without going through net
control. In some unusual cases, it may be appropriate for the spotter to call
911, although that is not the normal channel for such communications. In
these instances, the spotter making the telephone call must identify by name
and as a trained ham Skywarn observer. The annual NWS Skywarn classes
conducted in Chaves County constitute observer training.
Warning Responsibility – The ham Skywarn volunteer must be careful not
to become a link in the communication channel between the NWS Forecast
Office and emergency management. Nor should the spotter serve as a
relay for severe weather warnings to civil responders, such as police and
fire. These warnings are best handled via the usual government and
commercial communication channels. The government and commercial
circuits will normally work right up to the time the storm hits.
After The Storm – Depending on damage to infrastructure, ARES may be
called to provide support to the local Emergency Manager and emergency
management organizations. The ARES DEC or his designee will contact, as
soon as practical, the local Office of Emergency Management to determine if
ARES support is requested by the Emergency Manager. This can be
done either by phone or by going to the local EOC. Skywarn volunteers
may, at that time, be asked to “put on their ARES hats.”