NWS Wakefield SKYWARNAmateur Radio Support Team
WX4AKQ Wakefield, VA
Welcome to Wakefield SKYWARN!
This is your "one stop shop" for everything SKYWARN related. Whether you are a Trained Spotter, a Net Control Station, local Emergency Manager, or simply a local "Weather Nut" we hope you find the information on this site useful, and we hope you will get involved in the SKYWARN program.
For general SKYWARN Spotter training information, consult the National Weather Service Wakefield SKYWARN information.
The NWS Wakefield SKYWARN Amateur Radio Support Team is a team of dedicated volunteers who collect
reports from the amateur radio community for relay to the National Weather Service Forecast Office
in Wakefield, Virginia. Our footprint spans 66 counties and independent
cities in portions of three states, covering over 3.6 million residents.
[Learn more | Mission and Values | Who We Serve]
Jim Tuttle N5MDL, SK
Posted by Steve Crow KG4PEQ, 12/30/2015 at 9:20 AM
Updated by Steve Crow KG4PEQ, 12/31/2015 at 10:58 PM - obituary link
It is with great sadness I pass along word that Jim Tuttle N5MDL has lost his battle with cancer yesterday. Jim was the SKYWARN Area Manager in Area 3, which includes Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, Williamsburg, Gloucester, James City, Mathews, and York counties.
We have many dedicated and active volunteers on the SKYWARN Team, but undoubtedly Jim was the most committed to the cause. Always at the ready 24 hours a day, Jim was known for being ahead of the storms. He would eagerly announce any approaching hazards over the air in an effort to keep everyone safe. He was a local advocate for the SKYWARN program and amateur radio, contributing to several articles in print media, most recently an October 2 story in the Daily Press about Hurricane preparedness. Jim maintained close contact with local officials and stayed on top of models and forecast products no matter how big or small the anticipated impact.
Jim was the first person to eagerly reach out when the modern Wakefield SKYWARN team was in its early stages of development in 2008 and has remained an active participant ever since.
He was a former Hampton police officer and a retired NCIS investigator, and was 66 years old. The Wakefield SKYWARN team is forever grateful for Jim's dedicated service.
Jim's obituary can be viewed here.
Don Alms KK4BMY has been quietly serving as Interim Area Manager for Area 3 since Jim went back into the hospital in late November, and will continue in this role until a permanent replacement can be appointed in the next couple of months.
SKYWARN Net Control Operator class in January 2016
We will be holding a SKYWARN Net Control Operator training class in South Hill, Virginia on Saturday, January 23 from 1 PM to 4 PM. If you are interested in serving as a SKYWARN Net Control Operator, please download and read all of the materials on our Net Control Operator Training page, and then register for the class. The deadline for registration is Sunday, January 10. Class participation is capped at 6 people, so register early! Any questions about the class should be directed to Steve Crow KG4PEQ.
You will find our frequencies, area maps, and more on your local SKYWARN page:
[Richmond | Southern VA | Williamsburg | Piedmont | Southeast VA | Smithfield | Northeast NC | Northern Neck | Eastern Shore]
SKYWARN Training Portal Retired
The SKYWARN Training Portal, previously published at http://training.wx4akq.org/, has been retired. All of its content has been updated, streamlined, and moved to the main WX4AKQ web site. Please see the "SKYWARN Training" section in the navigation bar to the left for training resources.
Sign Up for the Situation Awareness Dashboard
Do you know about our Situation Awareness Dashboard? It's a free service available to all trained SKYWARN Spotters, ARES/RACES officials, and our emergency management partners. With approved registration, you will have access to an easy-to-use collection of weather and general emergency information and you can subscribe to e-mail weather alerts, including SKYWARN activation notifications.
Qualifying users also have access to view the SKYWARN amateur radio net logs in real-time and can interact with SKYWARN Net Control and leadership team members via the integrated chat service.
Registration is free. Give it a try!.