The SKYWARN program at Weather Forecast Office (WFO) Romeoville/Chicago consists of spotters who watch the sky during threatening weather conditions. The spotters are emergency management, fire and police, amateur radio operators and trained citizens. They report severe weather such as tornadoes, flash floods and large hail to the WFO by radio or phone.
Our Amateur Radio program consists of amateur radio operators (Hams) who come to the WFO during severe weather and operate radios. They are the National Weather Service Ham Team. The Ham Team communicates with other amateur radio operators who run local networks of storm spotters across north central and northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana. The Ham Team passes severe weather information from the spotter networks to the meteorologists.
We have an amateur radio station and we communicate on most of the amateur radio bands. We operate in the 70 cm Band and 2 meter Band most of the time. We have HF communications, as well. The Ham Team use 70 cm and 2 meter “liaison” repeaters for receiving weather information. Emergency Managers and local spotter network control operators may relay severe weather information via these liaison repeaters to the Ham Team, who are working along side the meteorologists monitoring radar and issuing warnings. Here is a graphic showing the liaison repeater concept.
Use of radio communication is the preferred way of getting information to the NWS. However, the Ham Team will use Echolink as well. Our Station call sign is WX9LOT. From time to time, the Ham Team will transmit information about the weather situation on the liaison repeater. This information, from a meteorologist, would be about weather affecting any of the 23 counties in the WFO Chicago warning area. For example, information may be the direction and speed and direction of thunderstorms producing very heavy rainfall or large hail.
The Repeaters we use are the following:
Valparaiso Indiana |
147.105 Mhz |
+ Duplex |
PL 131.8 |
Purple |
Kankakee ARS |
146.940 Mhz |
- Duplex |
PL107.2 |
Yellow |
Fishfar |
442.900 Mhz |
+ Duplex |
PL 115.0 |
Blue |
Oregon, Illinois |
147.165 Mhz |
+ Duplex |
PL 146.2 |
Violet
(Ogle, Lee and DeKalb) |
DuPage Radio Club |
442.550 Mhz |
+ Duplex |
PL 114.8 |
Backup for Blue |
Morris Illinois |
442.325 Mhz |
+ Duplex |
PL 107.2 |
Green |
FrogFar |
443.200 Mhz |
+ Duplex |
PL 114.8 |
Backup for Blue |
Echolink |
Winnebago County only |
Red |
Use of radio communication is the preferred way of getting information to the NWS. However, the Ham Team will use Echolink as well. Our Station call sign is WX9LOT.
From time to time, the Ham Team will transmit information about the weather situation on the liaison repeater. This information, from a meteorologist, would be about weather affecting any of the 23 counties in the WFO Chicago warning area. For example, information may be the direction and speed and direction of thunderstorms producing very heavy rainfall or large hail.
The criteria for choosing a liaison repeater are the following;
- The trustee must be in agreement of the use of the repeater for severe weather operations.
- The repeater must have reasonably wide coverage in north central and northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana.
- The repeater must have backup power and be well maintained.
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