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February 25 th -26th Major Nor’easter ARES/SKYWARN Activation

Learn about the major nor'easter that hit New England with hurricane-like force, causing widespread damage and power outages. ARES and SKYWARN teams were activated to assist in emergency response.

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February 25 th -26th Major Nor’easter ARES/SKYWARN Activation

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  1. February 25th-26th Major Nor’easter ARES/SKYWARN Activation Rob Macedo (KD1CY) Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator/SKYWARN Coordinator

  2. Background on Weather – Feb 22nd-26th • The week of February 22nd was a very active week of weather for the Northeast. • A nor’easter affected portions of the region on February 23rd-24th bringing with it very heavy wet snow/wet snow damage in Northern and Western Massachusetts, and Southern New Hampshire with 1-3” of rain in much of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts. • As that coastal storm/nor’easter tracked inland, another more powerful nor’easter would organize and pinwheel into New England • The threats would include very strong winds/wind damage, heavy rain and flooding, especially in areas that received prior wet snowfall and coastal flooding. • Accumulating snow would occur on the back side of the storm on Friday 2/26 but the primary threats were strong winds and rain. • Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters were alerted to the potential for this major nor’easter.

  3. Preparations for the Storm and ‘Co-Op’ Planning • The storm came at a particularly interesting time in that the Eastern Mass ARES SEC/SKYWARN Coordinator and an Assistant SEC were unavailable for deployment. • ARES SEC/SKYWARN Coordinator was on business travel in California, while one ASEC was in Southeast CT. Both reachable by conventional means remotely for support. • This meant that there needed to be a strong ‘Co-Op’ or Continuity of Operations for the activation to be successful. • The Eastern Massachusetts ARES Staff would have to step up to provide the required services including: • Staffing for multiple Ham Radio Operators for the NWS Taunton Office for a long duration nor’easter. • Support for Eastern Massachusetts ARES Stand-by and deployment for activation if required.

  4. Major Nor’easter Hits New England with the Power of a Hurricane • Major Nor’easter hits New England with the power of a hurricane: • Barometric pressures recorded as low as 28.74” on Nantucket Island with readings below 29.00” across much of New England. • Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotter reports came in of widespread trees and wires down and massive power outages. • Rivers and urban/poor drainage areas went into minor to moderate flooding. • Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters reported roofs blown off structures and roofs that lost many shingles. Cars and houses hit by fallen trees. • The heaviest concentration of damage was over Northeast Massachusetts, Central and Southern New Hampshire and Central and Southern Maine though scattered tree damage and isolated power outages occurred in Southeast Massachusetts. • Several Boy Scout Camps sustained heavy damage to their camping structures by fallen trees and structural damage including Camp Carpenter in Manchester, NH and Lone Tree Scout Reservation in Kingston NH.

  5. Major Nor’easter Hits New England with the Power of a Hurricane • Major impact on utilities in New England: • 90,000 people were without power in Northeast Massachusetts. • 269,000 people were without power in New Hampshire which was the second largest number of power outages in the New Hampshire utility’s history. Second only to the December 2008 Ice storm. • Noted that the amount of major hits to the New Hampshire infrastructure was 2/3rds less than the December Ice storm but that the outages from the nor’easter hit a highly populated area. • Power was restored over 3-4 days over this region versus 7-10 days over the course of the ice storm. • Over 500,000 without power total in Maine, New Hampshire and Northeast Massachusetts.

  6. Measured Wind Gusts Reached Severe and Hurricane Force Criteria • Measured Wind Gust Reports: • Salem, Mass: 88 MPH. • Marblehead, Mass: 80 MPH. Also wind gusts of 73 MPH, 72 MPH and 70 MPH all within a 1 hour timeframe. • Rockport, Mass: 70 MPH at 1044 PM • Nantucket, Mass (Cisco Beach): 69 MPH 1034 PM 2/25 and 60 MPH at 1200 AM 2/26 • Brookline, Mass: 61 MPH • Medford, Mass: 57 MPH • Scituate, Mass: 57 MPH • Truro, Mass: 56 MPH • Cambridge, Mass: 56 MPH • Stoneham, Mass: 53 MPH • Barrington, RI (Conimicut Point): 50 MPH • Chatham, Mass: 50 MPH • Yarmouth, Mass: 50 MPH • High sustained winds of 30-60 MPH recorded at several stations.

  7. Charlestown, RI: 2.12" Coventry, RI: 2.04" Hollis NH: 2.37 Nashua NH 3.09 Richmond, NH: 2.15" Swanzey, NH: 2.46" Arlington Mass: 2.24" Methuen, Mass: 2.31" Haverhill, Mass: 2.09" Framingham, Mass: 2.17" Westford, Mass: 2.49" Weston, Mass: 2.57" Holden, Mass: 2.54" Gardner, Mass: 2.20" Ashburnham, Mass: 2.93" Barre, Mass: 3.22" Charlemont, Mass: 2.01" Avon, CT: 2.02" Canton, CT: 2.05" Rainfall Reports from the Major Nor’easter

  8. Major Nor’easter Prompts ARES Activations in New Hampshire and Eastern Massachusetts • New Hampshire ARES Activated to ‘Level 3’ status at approximately 1145 PM Thursday February 25th. • Several towns reported losing police and fire dispatch communications as well as 9-1-1 service (including Hampton, Amherst and Bedford NH). • ARES was activated overnight from approximately 12 AM-6 AM securing operations from the State EOC at 6 AM. Local operations in a few areas went on during some of the daylight hours on Friday February 26th.

  9. Major Nor’easter Prompts ARES Activations in New Hampshire and Eastern Massachusetts • Eastern Massachusetts ARES was placed on stand-by at Midnight Friday February 26th based on New Hampshire’s activation and the reports of significant damage from ARES-SKYWARN nets in Northeast Massachusetts. • Availability of resources were checked through the Eastern Massachusetts ARES Staff using the online database to contact personnel: • Over 100 responses were received out of 450 members. 84 of which were available for deployment and another 20-30 who responded stating they were out of area. • Exercise of the database allowed contact info to be updated for some of the ARES personnel in Eastern Massachusetts. • Activation of North Shore ARES occurred Friday Evening for damage assessment and shelter operations for the Greater Northeast Red Cross Chapter for a 6 hour period on Saturday February 27th. • Power was restored to practically all areas of the Northeast Massachusetts corridor by Monday March 1st with the majority restored by Sunday Evening February 28th. • Eastern Massachusetts ARES Stand-By status was released by Sunday Evening February 28th at 6 PM.

  10. Summary of Storm and Activation • The Activation for this major nor’easter was successful. The major nor’easter produced wind damage equivalent of a strong tropical storm or minimal category 1 hurricane to Northeast Massachusetts, New Hampshire and South-Central Maine. • New Hampshire ARES reacted quickly to be there ‘when all else fails’ when phone services were disrupted in several communities including emergency services. • Eastern Massachusetts ARES and the NWS Taunton SKYWARN program continued to flawlessly execute on providing the majority of reports to NWS and emergency management officials as the storm unfolded. • Continuity of Operations planned worked and lessons learned formulated to make operations run even more efficiently when key leadership is out of the area. • Response from ARES community was strong to be on stand-by and support deployments. • Eastern Massachusetts/North Shore ARES Activation went flawlessly to support Northeast Mass. Red Cross chapter.

  11. Links to Zip Files of Pictures and Storm Reports • Local Storm Reports: • http://www.wx1box.org/local/lsr_2_26_10.txt • http://www.wx1box.org/local/lsr_2_26_10_2.txt • Public Information Statements: • http://www.wx1box.org/local/pns_2_26_10_1.txt • http://www.wx1box.org/local/pns_2_26_10_2.txt • Photos by Jim Palmer-KB1KQW except for Conan Street Danvers which was done by KB1SCM-Jamie Stillings and both are associated with the North Shore Radio Association: • http://www.wx1box.org/local/022510_Wind_Storm_KB1KQW_Photos.zip • Photos by Chuck Cunningham-K1MIZ associated with the North Shore Radio Association: • http://www.wx1box.org/local/marblehead_coast_VID_00006_k1miz.zip

  12. Links to Zip Files of Pictures and Storm Reports • Photos by Richard De Sisto-NG1L associated with the North Shore Radio Association: • http://www.wx1box.org/local/georgetown_ng1l_attachments.zip • Photos by Gary Young of sailboat running aground in Salem Harbor associated with the North Shore Radio Association: • http://www.wx1box.org/local/sailboat_run_aground_attachments_from_gary_young.zip • Photos in the fifth link (including roof damage) from Gloucester Massachusetts from KB1SXO-Ruth Hodsdon: • http://www.wx1box.org/local/gloucester_attachments.zip

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