Southern Oklahoma Amateur Radio Emergency Services.

We are currently in the planning stage of putting together a Mobile Emergency Communications Center, we have plans/ideas together to raise money and seek donations of equipment for this project. Click on this Link to see a working example of what we want for our Rural areas. Your help is appreciated!

Bulletins from NWS are read over the air as they are received for warnings and watches. Many times we have as much as an 8 minute lead time over the conventional means of transmitting data (such as computers), as you are aware that is a lot of time during a severe storm. You will also hear our spotters in the field reporting information to be verified and acted on as needed.
    We have approximately 45 amateur operators that fan out over the areas of Murray, Carter, Love, Garvin, Johnston, Marshall, and Stephens Counties and provide us and the National Weather Service with live reports of what is actually happening compared with what the radars are showing to give you, The Most Accurate Warnings Possible. We do this free of charge and on our own free time, at our expense, Because we care about our communities.
     We are very proud of what we do, and try to the best of our ability to provide security for our friends and family in southern Oklahoma. So the next time you hear of us trying to raise money please talk to your friends and families, tell them what you know about us.
       At various times in history, the National Weather Service has stated categorically that it will always need severe weather spotters. The reason? A concept called "Ground Truth". Ground Truth is simply independent observation and reporting of what is actually happening with the weather at a particular location. Thanks to Ground Truth, the NWS now knows the correlation between certain weather events and their radar signature.  

    But there is more to it: a spotter can deliver Ground Truth when satellite cannot see; when the weather event is below the radar horizon or it is blocked by hills; or when the remote sensor is too far away from the weather event. So, your mission as a SKYWARN spotter is simply this: to see with trained eyes and report. The spotters mission is not to chase, but to provide information from wherever you are, at a fixed location or mobile. The main objective is to provide information that the National Weather Service ( or local civil emergency management ) can use to benefit the public through early detection and warnings.

    SAFETY TIP # 1 Know where you are in relation to the storm. This safety tip is especially important for mobile spotters here in south central Oklahoma. It is important that you always know what your location is, plus it is a good idea that you keep your net control operator ( or someone else ) advised where you are at. It is critical that as a SKYWARN spotter that you are aware of your location and how it relates to the location, speed, and movement of the approaching storm. If you run APRS it a lot easier for us to locate you.

A spotter who does not know where he or she is located in relation to the storm runs the risk of being overrun by the storm and may find themselves in a serious situation. Take time to learn the area where you plan to spot and learn the back roads in case you need an escape route. I have been spotting storms throughout south central Oklahoma since the mid- 1970's and I have had many experiences with storms. In Murray and Carter Counties around the Arbuckle's, I have seen storm cells actually split and sometimes rapidly change direction. 
    As a spotter, I assure you that you will eventually find yourself in unavoidable situations. I was watching a severe storm approach western Murray county once and it suddenly changed its direction from a northeast movement to a southeast movement and collapsed about a mile from where I was setting. If you have never experienced a microburst, I assure you, it will be something that you will not forget. From the Storm Spotting adventures of KF5S