SkyWarn Weather Nets

When the National Weather Service (NWS) announces that Rockwall County is under a severe weather warning the RARC will launch a SkyWarn weather net. The purpose of the weather net is for the ham operators living in the county to be the eyes and ears on the ground for the NWS and the Rockwall County Office of Emergency Management (RCOEM). These nets are monitored by both organizations. Weather nets are launched on the: 

K5RKW repeater at 443.550 MHz with a PL tone of 162.2, AllStarLink node# 572931

The backup repeater is:

K5RKW at 442.8375 MHz Narrow FM with a PL tone of 162.2.

This net is open to any amateur radio operator licensed to operate on this frequency. It will be a directed net so please listen and follow the instructions of the net control running the net. The club follows the 2023 edition of the Cloud Cowboy Reference manual. During weather nets the minimum guidelines we use for reporting severe weather are:

• Flash flooding

• Wind greater than fifty miles per hour

• Hail three quarter’s of an inch or larger.

• One inch or more per hour rain.

Please only report on weather events you are personally witnessing. The NWS does not need us reporting on what we see or hear on public media outlets. Reports should include your call sign and your approximate location, for example a nearby major intersection or known landmark. If no one has any severe weather to report, net control may ask for current weather conditions from operators who have checked in.

If you are interested in participating in the RARC SkyWarn weather nets we recommend you take a NWS SkyWarn Class. In person classes in North Texas are generally held in the first quarter of the year. Online SkyWarn classes are available year round. For more information go to: SkyWarn Classes (scroll down to the map)