There will be a one day technician/general class and test session at the Sycamore Shoals Hospital in the hospital classroom next to the cafeteria. Set your GPS receiver to 1501 W. Elk Ave, Elizabethton, TN. The class will start promptly at 8:00 AM on February 25. Everyone is invited and encouraged if you would like to obtain an amateur radio license or to upgrade. The test will be held immediately after the class (around 4:00 PM). You may show up for the test session only. Walkins are welcome. The class is free of charge, but there is a $15.00 fee for the test (please bring cash in the correct amount). For more information please contact Charlie Stuchell at k4cwa (at) arrl dot org or 423-538-4811.

Update

NWS Morristown office to go offline Jan. 24th for radar upgrade. For more information about Dual Pol (Dual Polarization) Radar.

For more information: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mrx/?n=dual_pol

When:

February 18, 2012 10:00 a.m.

Doors open about 15 minutes early to start the paperwork prior to the test. Pre-registration is not required, walk-ins are welcome.

Where:

East Tennessee State University

Room 223

Wilson-Wallis Hall (Technology Building)

Contact: John Swisher - AB4O ab4o@arrl.net

Source: Johnson City Amateur Radio Association

When:

Friday, January 27th @ 7 PM EST

Where:

ITT Technical Institute
4721 Lake Park Rd.
Johnson City, TN.

Everyone Is Welcome To Attend !!!!

I just received an email from Robyn Malone at the Morristown NWS. She is the one that keys in the certificate information and has been on an assignment out of the office the past month.

She now has the certificate information keyed in, therefore certificates are now available.

Go to http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mrx/spottercards/ or go to the links page for
Spotter Cards and type in your first and last name and your certificate should show up ready to print.

Safe spotting.
Jerry Lake KD4NH
Carter County Coordinator

February, 2011 - Upcoming

Feb 02th, Chattanooga, TN (Hamilton County)
6:00 P.M. EST
American Red Cross 801 McCallie Ave. Chattanooga, TN
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Feb 04th Sevierville, TN (Sevier County)
10:00 A.M. EST
Sevier County Rescue Squad 1157 Dolly Parton Pkwy
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Feb 18th Knoxville, TN (Knox County)
10:00 A.M. EST
Knox County 911 Center 605 Bernard Ave. Knoxville

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There will not be a Morristown Tennessee Hamfest during the year of 2012.
The Lakeway Amateur Radio Club voted to not have a Hamfest in 2012.
If you have attended our Hamfest or setup at our Hamfest,
we would like to hear from you as to how you feel about Hamfest and
your thoughts on the time of year to hold a Hamfest. Any comments you have
will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Eugene Rogers
Webmaster
Lakeway Amateur Radio Club
zher1@juno.com

Here are several brochures on weather that might interest everyone. (Updated 11/29/2011)

Click Here: http://kj4zit.4shared.com/

By Kevin Castle, Kingsport Times-News
Published May 4th, 2011

National Weather Service surveyors have officially confirmed six tornado touchdowns in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia from last week’s historic weather outburst.

The six tornadoes are part of a 226-tornado collective archived by the weather agency between 8 a.m. April 27 and 8 a.m. April 28 — a new record for a 24-hour period, passing the previous mark of 148 twisters that touched down on April 3-4, 1974.

A spokesperson for the NWS office in Morristown said Tuesday that official number could grow as the agency continues to investigate and follow up on eyewitness accounts and reports issued by emergency management crews in both states.

“We feel like we could have at least 10 more (tornadoes) confirmed by the end of the week. We just have so much to look at that we have officials from other parts of the country helping us with the task,” the spokesperson said.

The most potent of the six tornadoes was recorded near the Hamilton County/Bradley County border in Collegedale near Cleveland, Tenn., where an EF4 tornado with winds at a top speed of 190 mph touched down.

The most powerful of the six that occurred in the vicinity of the Tri-Cities region was in the Glade Spring area of Washington County, Va., near Exit 29 of Interstate 81.

An EF3 tornado with a top speed of 140 mph touched down there with a span three-fourths of a mile wide and a 25-mile path of destruction, says NWS data, leaving three people dead and 50 people injured.

An EF2 twister was recorded in the Ducktown community of Fall Branch, just a few miles outside of Colonial Heights, with winds in excess of 120 mph.

Five people were killed when a confirmed EF2 tornado blew through the Camp Creek community of Greene County outside of Greeneville.

The Johnson County community of Butler was also in the path of an EF2 tornado that night, which damaged homes and spewed out debris over a 12-mile radius.

An EF1 tornado was recorded in Abingdon, also in Washington County, Va., with speeds recorded at 100 mph.

In total, 18 tornado events have been documented in the Tennessee/Virginia portion of the NWS Morristown coverage area.

In an effort to collect necessary items and monetary donations for tornado victims in Glade Spring, a “Glade Aid” event is scheduled for Saturday at the Coomes Recreation Complex in Abingdon starting at 10 a.m.

Donations and supplies will be accepted at the door, and there will be several activities for adults and children.

The American Red Cross Mountain Empire Chapter is still assisting victims in the Glade Spring area with shelters established at Emory and Henry College and Joy Baptist Church.

Those who may need assistance in that region or want to donate money can call (276) 645-6650 or visit www.redcrossmec.org .

The American Red Cross of Northeast Tennessee is also accepting donations to help with meals and for vouchers for motel stays for victims.

© 2011 Kingsport Publishing Corporation

Reporting Criteria:

1. Wall Cloud
2. Tornado
3. Funnel Clouds
4. Cloud Rotation
5. Damaging Winds (58 MPH or greater measured)
6. Hail 1" or larger
7. Flooding - Any stream out of its banks or water covering a roadway (do not report minor stream flooding & overflowing ditches)

What NOT to report:

1. Anything not seen personally.
2. Information from Internet, TV, or radar, or traffic from scanners or media broadcasting to the Net Control Station while a formal net is in progress.
3. Frivolously Reports such as "It's getting really windy cloudy here", "We are experiencing a lot of lightning and heavy rain", or "We still have sunshine at my location" are not valid reports.
4. Rain fall reports have been omitted.

Common Hail Sizes:

Pea - 0.25"
Penny - 0.75"
Nickel - 0.88"
Quarter - 1.00"
Golfball - 1.75"
Tennis - 2.50"
Baseball - 2.75"
Softball - 4.25"

Wind Speed Estimator: MPH

39-54: Twigs break off of trees; wind impedes walking.
55-72: (Severe) Damage to chimneys, pushes over shallow rooted trees.
73-112: Peals surface off roofs, Pushes autos off the road.
113-157: Roofs torn off houses, weak buildings destroyed. Large trees snapped and uprooted.
158+: Severe Damage. Cars lifted off ground.

If anyone is interested in information re NWS Fire Weather or how to interpret some of the information in Fire Weather Spot Forecasts please feel free to contact K1CNF, Jim @ 423-735-1547. Fire Danger can still be extreme following wet weather.