Fellow hams:
My name is John Ralston, K0RVB, Net manager for the San Antonio Area Rainfall Net. At the risk of sounding dramatic, I send you the following official communication.
It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Sunday, July 13th, 2014, will be the last day for the rainfall net. This decision did not come easily, was not made quickly and involved a great deal of communication with the National Weather Service and board members of the net’s sponsor, the San Antonio Radio Club.
The decision to end the net was based solely on our data presentation to the NWS and how they receive their main data stream for daily rainfall amounts. Their main source of receiving daily, timely rainfall data is from CoCoRaHs, a web based reporting model, giving the NWS real time data on a 24 hr model from 8a to 8a.
I encourage each of you to sign up with CoCoRaHs, at http://www.cocorahs.org/ if you have not already done so. Our rainfall reports can still be utilized by the NWS by reporting through the website.
In the past we tried to integrate our data models with CoCoRaHs, but that task was not able to be accomplished. Since that time, participation in the nightly net has been declining greatly, with only maybe 10-15 check in’s when we did have rain. Back some 30 plus years ago, the rainfall net was one of the NWS most relied upon sources of accurate rainfall data and had a large group participation.
Morris, KG5CP, was the net manager and sacrificed many long hours, as did many others, making sure the net was run and the data sent to the NWS, keeping the flow of vital information to aide in the safety and protection of our community, as well as aiding the NWS with forecasting models with our data.
It seems that the past year, the net has basically been kept alive as a tribute to Morris and those who worked feverously over all the years. Nothing is wrong with a tribute to a fellow ham who has worked so hard for so long. However, we have to be good stewards of time and technology in order to actually be of service to our community and the NWS.
As you all are aware, time marches on and technology has jumped by leaps and bounds. The rainfall net needs to be in step with the current times and technology to be of service. Since our data models cannot be converted to the same format the NWS utilizes on a daily basis, it has been decided to bring the nightly rainfall net to a close.
Again, this decision did not come easily or lightly and a great deal of communication and conversation has taken place to make absolutely sure the correct decision was made by all concerned.
I want to thank everyone for taking time out of your busy schedules each day to check in and give your report. It is greatly appreciated. There will be announcements made on Saturday and Sunday nights about the net closure and where to go to sign up for CoCoRaHs.
73 John Ralston – KØRVB
NWS Certified SkyWarn Spotter
NCS Bexar County SkyWarn Net
NCS San Antonio Rainfall Net
CoCoRaHs
