When severe or tropical weather threatens Brunswick County, the Brunswick County Skywarn* Emergency Coordinators will activate the Skywarn* spotters in Brunswick county. The spotters will report to the ECs the weather event information. The ECs will enter the spotters report in the NWS system (The NWS system is called "SLACK").

This procedure was put in place by NWS in 2024 and speeds up the reports to NWS more quickly, and utilizes current technology which has proven to be more effective in getting reports into NWS promptly. Spotters can also monitor the Wilmington NWS hazardous weather outlook webpage to see if spotter activation will be necessary, or self-activate if conditions are warranted in their area. The Brunswick County ECs are Dean N4TYS and John KD4VRD.

Reporting from the spotters to the ECS will be done using VARAC FM chat mode on the frequency of 146.55. This will allow Skywarn* to continue to operate and communicate in the event all infrastructure goes down (power, cell towers, internet). As this VARAC system is being developed and deployed we will use text, phone call or email as an additional method of reporting to the ECs as long as those methods are available for those without VARAC capability .

Spotters can also utilize SSB HF frequencies in the 40/75/80m bands, as well as VARAC HF mode, Winlink and the Brunswick Skywarn GroupMe chat room (download the Group Me app for your phone or on a pc www.groupme.com).ECs will alert spotters what mode and frequency to use at time of activation.

For additinal information about Skywarn*, visit the NWS Skywarn* website.(https://www.weather.gov/ilm/skywarn)

The Brunswick County ECs have created two weather 'dashboards' for everyone. The links can be shared with anyone you would like to send it to.

dashboard 1 (https://www.rcpager.net/bsarc/skywarn.html)

dashboard 2 (https://hamdashboard-8fn.pages.dev/)

*Skywarn is the regestered trademark of NOAA