NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 15, 2005--Near-blizzard conditions and high winds prompted ARES and SKYWARN teams to activate in Eastern Massachusetts December 9. The New England "nor'easter," initially predicted to drop only moderate amounts of snow across the region, quickly and briefly turned ugly, says Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY, who also serves as SKYWARN Coordinator for the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Taunton.
"We had a nor'easter intensify rapidly and bring hurricane-force winds to Southeast New England with Cape Cod and the Islands hardest hit, causing an ARES activation for shelter operations," Macedo told ARRL. "The storm also brought near-blizzard conditions to the region and caused major travel disruptions during the Friday evening commute."
Macedo says that as the storm made its closest approach to Eastern Massachusetts, it strengthened rapidly, leading to widespread thunderstorms coupled with extremely heavy snowfall over the region and whiteout conditions. A plane arriving in Boston's Logan Airport from Baltimore was struck by lightning, but the aircraft landed safely, and no one was injured.
"Portions of Eastern Massachusetts had snowfall rates in the 5 to 7-inch-per-hour range," he said, "resulting in up to 17 inches of snow in the hardest-hit areas of the region." The National Weather Service said the 8.6 inches of snow that fell December 9 at Boston's Logan Airport exceeded the previous record for that date--4.6 inches set in 1978.
NWS Taunton said the nor'easter became a severe short-term
winter storm affecting both eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. "The
extreme rapid intensification of low pressure as it moved through Buzzards and
Cape Cod bays between 1 PM and 3 PM, then out to sea, created a short-term
near-blizzard scene during mid-afternoon like no other in recent memory with
damaging wind, whiteout conditions and about an hour of thunderstorms for many
within and just east of the Interstate 95 corridor," the weather summary said.
SKYWARN operations at NWS Taunton got under way at 3:30 that afternoon following reports of hurricane-force winds and excessive snowfall rates. "Reports from Cape Cod ARES-SKYWARN told of downed trees, power lines and utility poles," Macedo said. "Minor structural damage to homes was also reported along with coastal flooding."
Amateur Radio SKYWARN spotters on Cape Cod and the Islands reported winds as high as 96 MPH in Eastham--before the wind instrument was struck by a fallen tree, 89 MPH in Brewster, 75 MPH in Chatham and 71 MPH in Marstons Mills. The emergency manager on Block Island, Rhode Island, reported a wind speed of 105 MPH. A radio station in Wellfleet, on the Cape, clocked the wind at 101 MPH.
SKYWARN teams measured wind gusts of 50 to 70 MPH elsewhere in Southeastern New England with damage to trees and power lines. Power outages lasted between 18 and 36 hours over a good portion of Cape Cod and the Islands. At the peak of the storm, 150,000 people were reported without electricity on Cape Cod and the Islands and along Massachusetts' South Shore. Up to 75,000 people remained without power for much of the following day.
The foul weather caused huge traffic delays and dangerous travel
conditions during the Friday afternoon commute. But high winds pose the
greatest hazard. Because of the hurricane-force winds on Cape Code, Cape Cod ARES activated at the request of the American Red Cross to provide support for
Red Cross shelters there. ARES members established communication paths between
the Cape Cod Red Cross chapter headquarters in Hyannis and shelters Chatham,
Eastham and Brewster through the next morning. In Brewster, cell phone and
landline phone coverage was spotty, and Amateur Radio operators provided
communication between that shelter and the Red Cross headquarters from late
Saturday morning through mid-morning Sunday.
 High winds damaged the "widow's walk" on this Nantucket Island home on December 9. |
Amateur Radio volunteers handled requests for cots, blankets and food. By the evening of December 10, a temporary base station was set up at the shelter to provide easy communication between the shelter and Red Cross headquarters via the 146.955 repeater in Barnstable.
Cape Cod ARES District Emergency Coordinator and Red Cross Communications Officer Frank O'Laughlin, WQ1O, South Shore ARES DEC Carl Aveni, N1FY, North Shore Assistant SKYWARN Coordinator Jim Palmer, KB1KQW, Nantucket RACES Radio Officer George Allen, N1NBQ, Cape Cod ARES member Rob Leiden, K1UI, SKYWARN Spotter Jeff Baker, N1PRM, and SKYWARN Spotter Rick Cabral, W1RJC, forwarded reports from their locations and from several dozen radio amateurs across Eastern Massachusetts.
About a dozen repeaters across Eastern Massachusetts played a role in the operation, including EchoLink and IRLP-linked repeaters and stations through the use of the New England Network.
"The quick-hitting nature of the storm tested the ability of Eastern Massachusetts ARES and SKYWARN to react quickly to a rapidly intensifying winter storm that brought hurricane force winds and near blizzard conditions to the region," Macedo said. "ARES and SKYWARN in Eastern Massachusetts came through by providing timely severe-weather reporting to NWS Taunton for the protection of life and property and support for Cape Cod Red Cross in shelter operations."
The National Weather Service included several reports from
radio amateurs in its forecast summaries and extended its appreciation to
SKYWARN spotters among others. The December 9 storm dropped one foot or more of
snow in parts of New England.
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