End of year summary

[Michael Nie]

Recently, we attended a meeting at the Wilmington NWS office.  The purpose
was to discuss the 1999 severe weather season.
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First and foremost, Mary Jo Parker - Warning Coordination Meteorologist
expressed the NWS's appreciation for all Skywarn Spotters' assistance
through the year.  Spotters continue to be an important part of the NWS
warning system.
 
1999 was actually a very slow year.  Granted, the April 9th tornado and a
few other severe weather outbreaks within the Wilmington County Warning
Area kept things "interesting".  The drought was the big weather story.
As you might suspect, droughts make for low incidence of severe weather.
The Wilmington office issued 245 severe weather warnings this year.  For
the amateur radio nets, just under 60 hours of net time were logged.  The
Cincinnati section logged much less.
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Keep an ear to your NOAA weather radio.  The NWS has scheduled November
1st. as the conversion date for the new automated voice system, also known
as NWR2000.  We heard the system in operation while in the office.  The
computer generated voice does take a little getting used to, but it is
fully understandable.
 
NWS had the system running offline for the October 13, 1999 severe weather
event.  They were pleased with the system.  It generated warnings for
broadcast as fast or faster than humans possibly could.  This system will
result in faster warning broadcasts for future severe weather seasons.
The Wilmington office was one of the last to receive the new equipment, so
this same system has already been proven in other areas.
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Very shortly, scheduling will begin for 2000 Skywarn Spotter Training
Courses.  We will send all information we receive ASAP, as well as posting
it to our web site - http://www.warn.org.  We will also keep you informed
of any upcoming amateur radio courses or testing sessions we know about.
--------------------
Things tend to get a little slow for us during the cold months.  If you
don't here from us for a little while, rest assured we are still here.
When we start gearing up for SWS2K (Severe Weather Season 2000), you'll be
hearing from us again.
 
 
Mike Nie - KB8VMX
Public Information Officer
Weather Amateur Radio Network.
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