Students Work With NWS, Help Alert Areas in Danger

The first Emergency Manager’s Weather Information Network in the state of Arkansas was recently installed in Fayetteville. The system was purchased by the Amateur Radio Club of the University of Arkansas and installed on top of Reid Hall, the highest point on the university campus.

“The whole intent is to make this service available in a relatively inexpensive way to any agency or individual that wants it,” says Dan Puckett, one of the advisers for the club. The system is automatic, but the club monitors the equipment to make sure it functions correctly at all times.

Data from the National Weather Service center in Silver Springs, Md., is transmitted to one of two GOES satellites, which then bounces the data back to the earth. The information network picks up the data and sends it to all the receivers in its broadcast area so that anyone with the proper equipment can be alerted as soon as possible to danger.

“This makes the information available to any institution, business or individual,” says Puckett. Receivers consist of a radio or police scanner connected with an interface to a computer that runs a software package called Weather Node. Puckett estimates the cost for the pieces at $200, assuming the interested party already owns a computer.

Ham radio operators have traditionally worked with the NWS as spotters, says Puckett. This project should strengthen the bond between the two entities.

Puckett credits much of the project’s success to the UA Student Government Association, which had the foresight to approve the $1,200 the club needed to purchase the system.