Implementation ofthe National Weather Service's (NWS) Doppler Radar network has not diminished the need for real-time spotter reports. These reports are often critical to hazardous weather forecasting, nowcasting, and verification. Amateur Radio operators have a long- established tradition of providing communication and spotting service to the NWS, and state and local Emergency Management agencies. Although Amateur Kadio operators have the capacity to deliver instantaneous communication, the extent a NWS office has to communicate with trained field spotters is often limited to an office's metropolitan area. As a result, a large expanse of an office's County Warning Area (CWA) is frequently not accessible for Amateur Radio communication. Alternatives to using Amateur Radio communication can be cost-prohibitive or time-inefficient.
The ability to link Amateur Radio repeater stations is a viable solution to establishing reliable communication to remote populations. North Dakota. with a population of 640,000, is the least populated state in the Great Plains. Adjacent areas of northern Minnesota have a similar population density. Yet despite this obstacle, instantaneous communication occurs over a large area from northwest Minnesota into eastern Montana. Because of this linked network, known as the Superlink. thc potential for instantaneous severe weather communication is tremendous. Both NWS offices in Grand Forks. and Bismarck, North Dakota, depend significantly on the Superlink for reliable communication with remote CWA locations, as well as cities located a large distance from the office.
The implementation of Doppler Radar coupled with the simultaneous establishment of an expansive severe weather communication network using the Superlink has resulted in a vast improvement to warning services across eastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. Comparing verification statistics for the first year of Doppler Radar and Superlink operation to the previous ten years shows that the Probability of Detection (POD) increased 24%, while the False Alarm Ratio (FAR) decreased 35%. This resulted in an improvement to the Critical Success Index (CSI) of 32%.
The establishment of a regional Amateur Radio network is not only benefcial for real-time severe weather reports, but is vital for long-term disaster communications. The Red River Valley Spring Flood of 1997 produced 3 billion dollars of property damage, one of the costliest natural disasters in American history. The Superlink proved to be a useful tool for briefings and emergency communication between the NWS and other governmental officials.