Smith explains the importance of impact-based information. For more photos, see our Photo Gallery.
Last Thursday, April 12, WALA TV Fox 10 Chief Meteorologist Jason Smith paid a visit to members of the Brewton Amateur Radio Club, members of the Rural Radio Association and law enforcement emergency responders at the Jay Community Center to discuss the upcoming hurricane season and how important communication is to keeping the public safe during dangerous weather.
Escambia County (Ala.) Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director David Adams joined Flomaton Policeman Bennie Stokes, town of Jay's Eric Seib, Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks and members of the amateur radio club in a partnership to bridge the gap in communication through digital short wave radio.
The town of Jay approved the installation of an antenna on its water tower at the town council meeting April 2. Jay will be the only location for short wave radio signal reception north of Milton in Santa Rosa County. Smith began broadcasting live outside Jay Community Center around 5:30 p.m., giving updates about the storms that were expected to arrive last Friday and Saturday, in the area.
"We hope to have it up by June 1," said T.H. Merritt, president of the Rural Radio Association. "There are no amateur repeaters north of Milton. There's nothing like it up here. We will be the first."
Merritt says that all EMA officers around the country are going to digital short-wave technology.
"We can send pictures, forms, search for missing persons, things that really matter in a weather emergency situation," said Merritt. "These radios have a big serviceability rate."
Merritt said the antenna will be more than 192 feet above sea level when it is installed, a location Seib and Adams helped determine.
As discussion began about the upcoming hurricane season, Chief Brooks suggested telling people to prepare soon and not wait for bad weather.
"Stress to the public they need to make a plan and now is the time," he said. "We had people coming in from Florida during bad weather. People panicked. I think it is important to plan right now."
Smith credited the misinformation people encounter on social media as one reason there is so much panic. He said that there are some credible sources, such as Global Forecast System (GFS) and others.
"We've gotten a lot better at predicating these storms," said Smith. "It makes all of your jobs so much easier as far as being able to prepare. We come up with a game plan, but these things change. You have to have the ability to adjust on the fly."
Smith used storms such as Danny, Irma, Ivan and Katrina as examples of storms with much effect.
"Tropical storm forecasting involves warm water, upper level winds, atmospheric pressure and steering," said Smith. "We learned a lot from Ivan, one of the worst storms ever. Katrina was the worst in recorded history to hit the Gulf Coast. Benchmarks are not a way to measure survivability. The impact-based information is so important to staying safe or leaving the area when necessary."
The partnership between law enforcement, EMA members and the amateur short-wave radio community is vital to rural areas, where residents can be isolated and without basic necessities for indefinite periods of time.
"This is not your father's hand radio or CB," said Merritt. "This is totally different. We need to know what is happening in the outside world if we get cut off. We will now be able to do that."
The Brewton Amateur Radio Union will meet at 6 p.m. this Thursday, April 19, at the Friends of the Library Building in Brewton. Anyone interested in finding out more or joining is invited to attend.
