National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

 

NWS Melbourne, Florida
2018 SKYWARN™ Recognition Day

Celebrating 20 Years!

 
 
Final results have been compiled and pictures from the event
updated. Thank you to all of our amateur radio volunteers
who made this another fun and successful event!
 
 

 

Pictures from the 2018 SRD Event

 

 

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Spencer, KM4KFG, and Ken, N8KH, operating on HF 
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Setting up for SKYWARN Recognition Day! 

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Jessie giving tours of the office to Amateur Radio
operators during our SKYWARN Open House

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Dave, K1EUS, and Sandy, KA1HUG, operating on HF

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Ron, KD4PQQ, operating on 2M

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Local Amateur Radio operators at the HF station
gearing up for SKYWARN Recognition Day

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Gordon, KA4JRY, Don, AF4Z, and Dana, KM4TIX, 
helping setup for the event
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KMLB radar with tower trailer brought by PCARS
and tri-band antenna
 provided by Wayne, KA1VRF

 

 

During the first weekend of December, the National Weather Service Office in Melbourne, Florida supported SKYWARN™ Recognition Day for the 20th consecutive year.  The event for Amateur Radio (ham) operators was held from 7pm Friday, November 30th through 7 pm Saturday, December 1st and is co-sponsored by the NWS (www.weather.gov) and the American Radio Relay League (ARRL; www.arrl.org).  Local amateur radio operators and their family members attended a SKYWARN™ Open House from 10 AM to 4 PM on Saturday, December 1st, for tours of event operations and of the National Weather Service office.

SKYWARN™ Recognition Day (SRD) provides a venue for National Weather Service (NWS) offices to recognize Amateur ("ham") Radio operators for their commitment in helping keep their communities weather-safe. During every tropical weather threat, and many other major weather events, Amateur Radio operators staff local NWS and American Red Cross shelters, standing ready to provide emergency communications should standard services fail or become overloaded. Many Amateur Radio operators are also trained as SKYWARN™ weather spotters by local NWS offices, to provide valuable information during hazardous weather situations. Often, these spotter reports allow NWS meteorologists to issue severe weather warnings with greater advance notice and confidence than would otherwise be possible.

During the 24-hour event, Amateur Radio operators throughout the country visited their local NWS office, set up portable radio stations to simulate emergency conditions, and worked in teams to exchange weather reports with other hams across the nation and the globe.

2018 SRD results:

 Total Contacts:   558
 States Contacted:  46
 NWS Stations Contacted: 
 43
 Countries Contacted:  1
 Bands: 2, 20, 40, 80 meters  

 Modes: SSB, FM, Echolink

 

Radio Operators & Assistance Provided by:

Dave Allen - N4ESI Brevard County - PCARS
Walter Aucoin - WB5ZGA Brevard County - PCARS
Rodger Boogren - AK4MI Brevard County - PCARS
Gregory Bowman - N4EN Brevard County - PCARS
Alan Dixon - N3HOE Brevard County - PCARS
Jan Ferguson - W4REN Brevard County - TARC
Ken Hendrickson - N8KH Brevard County - PCARS
John Hudacek - KJ4VQF Brevard County - PCARS
Gordon Johnson - KA4JRY Brevard County - PCARS
Debra Markley - WD8JPX Brevard County - PCARS
Jerry Phelps - KJ4IMP Brevard County - RACES
Stephanie Phillips - K4MVO Brevard County - TARC
Donald Purnhagen - KN4ILG Brevard County - PCARS
Spencer Rich - KM4KFG Brevard County
Dana Smith - KM4TIX Brevard County - PCARS
Eric Smitt - K9ES Brevard County - PCARS
Dennis Tokarzewski - AJ4DT Brevard County 
Glen Vinke - KX4CQ Brevard County - PCARS
Don Winn - AF4Z Brevard County - PCARS
Wayne Burkett, Sr. - KA1VRF Indian River County - TCWN
Carm Miranda - K4CRM Indian River County - VBARC/ARES
Dave Roy - K1EUS Indian River County - VBARC
Sandy Roy - KA1HUG Indian River County - VBARC
Ray Jaworski - KI4RHL Martin County - ARES/RACES
Ron Tagg- KD4PQQ Martin County - ARES/RACES
Ellory Buehl - W2DNR Volusia County - DBARA/ARES
Warren Greenburg - AE4WG Volusia County - ARES  
Karl Martin - KG4HBN Volusia County - ARRL NFL
Pete Blottman - N2RFW NWS Melbourne
Don Burkhardt NWS Melbourne
Fred Johnson NWS Melbourne
Jessie Smith - WX4JRS NWS Melbourne
Scott Spratt - KT4PD NWS Melbourne
Roddey Stevenson NWS Melbourne
Derrick Weitlich - W1DKW NWS Melbourne
 

For questions, comments, feedback, please email Derrick Weitlich or Jessie Smith

To receive a QSL card from WX4MLB after the event, please send your card along with an SASE to:

NWS Melbourne
421 Croton Road
Melbourne, FL  32935.

Electronic QSLs can be exchanged via EQSL (www.eqsl.cc). 

 

Annual Statistics from WFO Melbourne (local records)

YEAR Total Contacts NWS Contacts States DX Countries Contacts nation-wide
1999 279 20 38   7  
2000 489 38 43 12  
2001 276 33 48   3  
2002 388 35 44 29  
2003 538 42 43 20  
2004 1524 68 49 57 1st Place
2005 778 71 49 20  3rd Place
2006 921 70 50 24  2nd Place
2007 930 64 47 17 1st Place
2008 1192 74 50 40 2nd Place
2009 1373 77 50 43 1st Place
2010  292 35   43     6  15th Place 
2011 1604 81 50 43 1st Place
2012 978 74 50 25 1st Place
2013 1024 54 47 21 1st Place
2014 1294 63 50 38 1st Place
2015 1407 65 50 32 -
2016 1209 65 50 21 2nd Place
2017 182 27 33 6  
2018 558 43 46 1  

 

 


 

2018 SKYWARN Recognition Day Official Website