ATTENTION!!! THIS ENTIRE WEB PAGE DESIGN WILL BE CHANGING AS OF THIS WEEK!!!! PLEASE TAKE NOTICE TO THESE CHANGES AND FEEL FREE TO SEND COMMENTS TO THE WEBMASTER VIA E-MAIL! (-cm 8/1/02) The Northeast Mississippi SKYWARN Group WIDTH=284 HEIGHT=268 BORDER=0> codebase="http://www.7am.com/java"> National WX Service Memphis (MEG) Jackson (JAN) National Hurricane Ctr National Weather Service Watches and Warnings de TAMU de NOAA codebase="http://www.7am.com/java"> WIDTH=71 HEIGHT=67 BORDER=0> codebase="http://www.7am.com/java"> WIDTH=71 HEIGHT=67 BORDER=0> US Nexrad@15 Min Sun and Moon Info US Precip Cast Map US Flood Threat Map MS Flood Risk Map Tornado Project World Sea Temps Sams's Hurricane & Marine WX WX Underground Tropical Weather DE Weather Underground > > Day 1 Convective Outlook Tornado Probabilites Hail Probabilities Wind Probabilities Day 2 Convective Outlook alt="Click for Tupelo, MS Forecast" height=60 width=468> Click here for Storm 2001 What is SKYWARN? SKYWARN is a program consisting of the National Weather Service's network of trained volunteer severe weather spotters. SKYWARN members consist of private citizens, amateur radio operators, firefighters, law enforcement officials, and other goverenment officials. SKYWARN volunteers support their local community and government by providing the National Weather Service with timely and accurate severe weather reports. These reports, when integrated with modern National Weather Service technology, are used to issue timely and accurate warnings of impending dangerous and life threatening weather conditions. In addition, SKYWARN spotters working with emergency management officials can help provide their communities with advance warning of impending hazardous weather. Have you seen the movie 'Twister'? Do you want to be a storm chaser? That's NOT what SkyWarn is about. But you can read about the considerations necessary to leave your home during severe weather by clicking here. The SkyWarn National Homepage page contains references to everything SkyWarn. But, the Tornado Project Online has some of the best tornado pictures. Training Materials SkyWarn spotters take part in training classes to learn about severe weather. The latest and greatest is the FEMA Course IS-271. Not only will you learn about Anticipating Hazardous Weather and Community Risk, but you will be able to take a short test and receive a Certificate of Achivement from FEMA. Do you have a weather radio? Here is access to technical information and an interactive map of NOAA Weather Radio Transmitter Sites and Frequencies. It includes all of Mississippi and surrounding transmitters. NEXRAD is a monumental improvement over the previous generation of weather radars. You need to know how to read the NEXRAD images to make full use of the information. Here is a Radar Tutorial so you can get the most from NEXRAD images. Maybe you are just starting out and would like a Basic Weather Tutorial from the Navy. How about a USA Today article on Storm Systems and Fronts. Or, maybe you need a cloud tutorial. There is also a conversion guide for temperature and pressure units, also included is a standard altitude - temperature - pressure table. You need to know more about Lightning? We have Frequently Asked Questions about Lightning. Everyone needs to play it safe! Hey, you are dealing with Mother Nature, and she is capable of hurting you. Please review Project Safeside to keep you ahead of the storm. And for those who like to do it by the book, you can access the Federal Meteorological Handbook #1 to see the nitty-gritty details of weather (U.S. Government style). General Information SKYWARN is a nationwide network of volunteer severe weather observers. The program is an effort to save lives and property during severe weather emergencies. All you need to do to become a member of the SKYWARN volunteer network is an interest in watching the sky and a dedication to helping save lives. The National Weather Service has offices at many locations around the country. The NWS office that serves the Northeast Mississippi area is Memphis Tennessee. The doppler radar nearest to our district is the Columbus Airforce Base Radar which is located in Columbus Mississippi. SKYWARN is an integral part of the detection and warning process. RADAR will help locate and track potentially severe and dangerous storms, but it is SKYWARN spotters that report what the storm is actually doing (trees blown down, a tornado on the ground, flood waters washing out a bridge, a dangerous glaze of ice on roads and wires). SKYWARN spotters are trained to spot tornadoes, funnel clouds, and severe thunderstorms. They are told how to report hail, strong winds, heavy rain, floods, and snow. Forecasters combine information from spotters with that of radar, satellite and other tools. This information is then used to provide appropriate warnings for communities downstream from the storm and to keep people informed about what is happening and what steps they may need to take to protect themselves. SkyWarn Works With ARES and RACES The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), a public service organization of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty when disaster strikes or for public events. Additional information on Emergency Communications is contained in: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications - A Public Service Backgrounder: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications ARES / RACES Operations Other Emergency Services Information The National SkyWarn Page The American Red Cross is the largest humanitarian organization, helping over 30 million people each year prevent, prepare for and cope with emergencies. Federal Emergency Management Agency Office of Emergency Information and Public Affairs, Washington, DC, USA Hundreds of pages of information on a variety of emergency management, disaster preparedness, response and recovery topics. News Desk provides latest disaster news releases. Internet Disaster Information Center The Internet Disaster Information Network, provided as a public service by Internet Direct and Telekachina Productions, helps to distribute the latest news on disaster situations to the Internet community via the World Wide Web. MARS - The Military Affiliate Radio Service and Maritime Mobile Service. Established July 27, 2002 This website designed and maintained by SkyWarn Webmaster - Chad McCoy, KD5LIJ. To mail a letter to Chad please click the address... kd5lij@arrl.net NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI SKYWARN Most of the links and graphics are courtesy of Lafayette Parish Louisiana SKYWARN webmaster, Steve Mahler, KF5VH. Thanks Steve!