SKYWARN WEATHER SPOTTERS ACTIVATED DURING LAKE COUNTY STORM

On Tuesday January 25, 2011 a large weather front containing severe thunder storms, high winds, heavy rain, hail and embedded tornadoes rolled through Central Florida during the late afternoon and into the early evening causing wide spread damage and power outages. During this storm the Lake County Amateur Radio Emergency Service activated a National Weather Service Skywarn radio network to report dangerous weather conditions within the county and surrounding areas.

At 2:10 PM on Tuesday the Emergency Coordinator, Strait Hollis KT4YA, activated the Lake County ARES radio net which stayed on the air until 7:20 PM to report adverse weather conditions in Lake County neighborhoods. Forty five ham radio operators from Lake County and surrounding areas checked into the VHF radio net and stood by until the dangerous storm had passed through .

It appears that a tornado may have touch down in Groveland which is located in Lake County. Scott Spratt a meteorologist from the National Weather Service said they will be sending investigators to that location to verify the fact. Damage to dwellings and trees has been reported in that area. The Skywarn net received reports of heavy rain , high winds and downed power lines.

Many of the Lake County amateur radio operators have become trained NWS Skywarn Weather Spotters to become qualified to report dangerous weather conditions. The Lake County Amateur Radio Emergency Service , The Lake Amateur Radio Association and the National Weather Service will be sponsoring Basic and Advanced Skywarn Spotter classes at the Leesburg Library on March 5, 2011. The Basic class will start at 10:00AM and the Advanced Class at 1:00 PM. For more information on these classes and amateur radio activity in Lake County visit the following web sites. www.k4fc.org and www.n4fla.org

 Ted Luebbers

Lake County ARES P.I.O.