Old-fashioned ham radio proves its reliability in age of texting (+video)

www.kansas.com/news/local/article55293225.html

EXCERPT
Reliability is a key factor, especially when it comes to severe weather and emergencies. Many members of the VFW amateur radio club contribute to SkyWarn, a network of storm watchers who provide information to the National Weather Service. SkyWarn relies on ham operators for trustworthy information in crucial situations.

Chance Hayes, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Wichita, said amateur radio operators are a vital part of the storm warning process.

“Amateur radio is an integral part of the SkyWarn program,” Hayes said,

“Basically what they do is they have a network of operators, not only across the city, but also the county, state, or country, and each one of those folks has the ability to utilize the airways to report inclement weather.”

During times of severe weather, cell and landlines can go down, making communication difficult. But because ham radio doesn’t rely on cell towers, operators are still able to communicate and deliver crucial information to meteorologists.

Read more here: www.kansas.com/news/local/article55293225.html#storylink=cpy