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NWS Gray SKYWARN Amateur Radio Team

The NWS Gray SKYWARN Amateur Radio Team is a group of volunteers who support the National Weather Service Forecast Office, in Gray, ME by using radio to collect and relay timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service. Amateur radio operators have a long history of supporting the SKYWARN mission here, with the earliest logs on record dating back to 1986! Our current volunteers are proud to be a part of that legacy and continue to demonstrate the vital role that amateur radio plays in supporting the SKYWARN mission.



What is SKYWARN?

SKYWARN® is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters across the country. These volunteers keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.

To ensure a network of knowledgeable volunteers and accurate reporting, those who are interested in becoming spotters are asked to attend a training session provided by a local office of the National Weather Service. SKYWARN® training is provided free of charge and typically covers these areas:

  • Basics of thunderstorm development
  • Fundamentals of storm structure
  • Identifying severe weather features
  • Information to report
  • How to report
  • Basic severe weather safety
Training sessions are offered throughout Maine and New Hampshire by the Gray Forecast Office.

Click here for the latest training dates and locations. 

Resources for Spotters:

Click on the buttons below to download helpful documents such as the SKYWARN Spotter Guide, and more.


Resources for Net Controls:

Net Control operators should be familiar with the following documents. The most important of these are the Operations Manual, Frequency Guide, and Net Control Scripts:

SKYWARN Operations Manual   Log Sheet    SKYWARN Frequency Guide

SKYWARN Net Control Scripts Yaesu FT-8900 Quick Reference Guide
NWS Gray Hazardous Weather Outlook NWS Gray Area Forecast Discussion



Become a Supporter!

We've rolled out a new program to encourage greater participation in SKYWARN. Please consider enrolling your ham radio club or EmComm group as an Official Supporter of the NWS Gray SKYWARN Amateur Radio Team. Click here to find out more.

If you're an individual ham radio operator who's interested in volunteering as a Net Control Operator, please contact Tim Watson, KB1HNZ here.




WX1GYX SKYWARN Amateur Radio Station


The Radio Desk at NWS Gray consists of a quad band Yaesu FT8900 (10m/6m/VHF/UHF), Kenwood TS570 for HF, and a Connect Systems CS801 for DMR.  The station is active during SKYWARN activations as well as special events such as SKYWARN Recognition Day, and the Maine 2 Meter FM Simplex Challenge.

WX1GJY SKYWARN Amateur Radio station



SKYWARN Frequencies

During severe weather and SKYWARN® activations, spotters are encouraged to check the following frequencies and modes to see if a SKYWARN® representative is taking reports:.

FM Repeaters:


Primary Repeater:  147.090 (+ / 100)  Falmouth, ME Alternate Repeater: 449.225 (- / 103.5) Windham, ME

Digital Voice:


Primary DMR: TS1 Talk Group 759 (SKYWARN)
Alternate DMR: Statewide Talk Groups
Primary WIRES-X: UFB Network Alternate WIRES-X: Wolf Pack Network

Other repeaters that regularly feature SKYWARN call-ups:


145.450   ( - / 100) North Conway, NH
145.490   ( - / 91.5) Washington, ME
146.610   (- / 88.5) Lewiston, ME     
146.655   (- / 100.0) Mt. Washington, NH
146.880   (- / 100.0) Buckfield, ME           
146.985   (- / 123.0) Gilford, NH           
147.000   (- / 100.0) Deerfield, NH           
147.030   (+ / 88.5) Ossipee, NH           
147.045   (+ / 103.5) Gray, ME               
North Conway, NH Washington, ME            Lewiston, ME                Mt. Washington, NH   Buckfield, ME         Gilford, NH        Deerfield, NH       Ossipee, NH
Gray, ME               
Mount Washington Valley, NH
Midcoast ME
Androscoggin County, ME
Coos County, NH
Oxford County, ME
Central NH
Rockingham County, NH
Lakes Region, NH
Cumberland County, ME

Please let us know if you are aware of any other repeaters (especially those outside the VHF range of NWS Gray), that feature regular SKYWARN activity, and we’ll add them to the list.


Primary FM Simplex: 146.595


HF Frequencies:
  

ARES HF Statewide (Day): 7262 kHz LSB ARES HF Statewide (Night): 3940 kHz LSB
HF Alternate (Day): 28.455 kHz USB Alternate HF (Night): 3860 kHz LSB
  
NOTE: HF is used as a backup to VHF communications and during exercises.



SKYWARN /  Weather Nets

Kingdom Weather Net  (Vermont) - meets every Monday-Friday at 8:30PM on the Jay Peak repeater (K1JAY 146.745  /  -  100Hz), and Sunday at 5 PM on 3933 kHz. 

New England Weather Net (New England) - meets every Monday-Saturday at 5:30-6:30 AM on 3.905 kHz. Click here for more details.

SKYWARN DMR Net (New England) - meets every Thursday evening at 7:30 PM on TS1 Talk Group: 759 (SKYWARN) on the DMR MARC network. Features a discussion of weather events and reporting procedures.

SKYWARN Weather Net (WIRES-X / YSF) - meets every Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM on the UFB New England Network (WIRES-X  Room: 62148 / YSF Reflector: FCS 00339).

Echolink Weather Net - 0000 UTC Sunday (Saturday night at 7pm local) on the *WX_TALK* (Node: 7203)



How to Report:

Net Control Operators should report via the GYX SKYWARN Net Reporting Form

Other methods include:

Phone: (800) 482-0913

Email: gyx.skywarn@noaa.gov

Twitter: @NWSGray (useful for sending pictures)

Winlink: WX1GYX
 



Maine NOAA Weather Radio Stations


Site Name Transmitter Name Call Sign Frequency Power WFO
Falmouth Blackstrap Hill KDO95 162.550 500 Gray, ME
Ellsworth Ellsworth KEC93 162.400 1000 Caribou, ME
Milo Milo KHB54 162.550 1000 Caribou, ME
Frenchville Frenchville KHB55 162.475 300 Caribou, ME
Meddybemps Meddybemps KHC47 162.425 300 Caribou, ME
Greenville Greenville WNG542 162.425 300 Caribou, ME
Jonesboro (Marine) Jonesboro WNG543 162.450 1000 Caribou, ME
Sugarloaf Mtn Sugarloaf Mtn WNG547 162.450 300 Gray, ME
Dresden Blinn Hill WSM60 162.475 300 Gray, ME
Caribou Mars Hill WXM77 162.525 200 Caribou, ME
Springfield Lakeville WXN28 162.500 1000 Caribou, ME


New Hampshire NOAA Weather Radio Stations

Site Name Transmitter Name Call Sign Frequency Power WFO
Deerfield Saddleback Mountain KZZ40 162.450 300 Gray, ME
Mt. Washington Mt. Washington KZZ41 162.500 300 Gray, ME
Clarksville Ben Young Hill WNG544 162.400 300 Gray, ME
Holderness Mt. Prospect WNG545 162.550 300 Gray, ME
Hanover Moose Mountain WNG546 162.525 300 Gray, ME
Pack Monadnock Peterborough WNG575 162.525 300 Gray, ME
Concord, NH Plausawa Hill WXJ40 162.400 300 Gray, ME

GYX NWR Station Listing NOAA Weather Radio Map




Regional SKYWARN Links

New York
Vermont
Massachusetts
Maine / NH Maine (Eastern)
Albany, NY
251 Fuller Road
Suite B-300
Albany, NY 12203

(518) 435-9580
Burlington, VT
1200 Airport Drive
South Burlington, VT 05407


(802) 862-2475
Norton/ Boston, MA
46 Commerce Way
Norton, MA 02766


(508) 622-3250

Gray / Portland, ME
P.O. Box 1208
1 Weather Lane
Gray, ME 04039

(207) 688-3216
Caribou, ME
810 Main Street
Caribou, ME 04736


(207) 492-0170
NWS Albany NWS Burlington NWS Norton NWS Gray NWS Caribou
WX2ALY SKYWARN WX1BTV SKYWARN WX1BOX SKYWARN NWS Gray SKYWARN
WX1CAR SKYWARN
Hazardous WX Outlook Hazardous WX Outlook Hazardous WX Outlook Hazardous WX Outlook Hazardous WX Outlook
Current Observations Current Observations Current Observations Current Observations Current Observations

Mount Washington Observatory
Current Summit Conditions
NWS Mt. Washington WX Log
NWS Higher Summits Forecast


SKYWARN Net Control Training

  • Click here to download the SKYWARN Net Control Training for 2022.


Current Observations


Windy.com


National Weather Service Radar (Gray, ME)





  

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Wireless Society of Southern Maine, P.O. Box 6833, Scarborough, ME 04074