All interested ham radio operators and SKYWARN spotters will want to mark the first weekend in December on your calendar. The 11th Annual SKYWARN Recognition Day will be held at National Weather Service Forecast Offices, Regional Headquarters, and National Centers (e.g. the National Hurricane Center), including the central Iowa office in Johnston (map), from 6 p.m. Friday, December 4, 2009 to 6 p.m. Saturday, December 5, 2009. This is our way of saying “Thank You” to the numerous amateur radio operators that provide severe storm reports and emergency communications to the office and to the network control operators that handle all the traffic.

Thankfully, this year’s severe weather season was much less active than last year’s, but that doesn’t diminish the usefulness or effectiveness of severe weather reports received via amateur radio. The Service continues to be a major part of severe and other hazardous weather operations at NWS offices around the country.

Additional information will be posted as necessary on the internet at http://hamradio.noaa.gov. We hope to see you at our office!

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Shane Searcy, N0ZXJ