Canwarn
Encyclopedia
CANWARN is an acronym for CANadian Weather Amateur Radio Network
The CANWARN program is an organized severe weather spotting
and reporting program organized and run by the Meteorological Services Division of Environment Canada
. What CANWARN members do is called ground-truthing, they confirm on the ground what satellites and weather radar see in the atmosphere.
The program was established in 1987 after the Edmonton Tornado
at the request of the Hage Report and put into full service the following year. Within a week after the Hage Report, over 120 amateur radio operator
s in the Windsor, Ontario
area were trained and another 100 in Edmonton, Alberta. Organized storm spotting in Canada had existed prior but operated independently of Environment Canada and never fully achieved the success that the CANWARN program did. Initially, CANWARN was predominately based in southern Ontario and central Alberta but eventually grew to encompass the entire country by the early 1990s.
The CANWARN program is an organized severe weather spotting
Storm spotter
A storm spotter is a specific type of weather spotter who actively maintains a visual watch of the development and progression of specific weather events while actively relaying important information to the local weather agency in a timely manner.- History :...
and reporting program organized and run by the Meteorological Services Division of Environment Canada
Environment Canada
Environment Canada , legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment...
. What CANWARN members do is called ground-truthing, they confirm on the ground what satellites and weather radar see in the atmosphere.
The program was established in 1987 after the Edmonton Tornado
Edmonton Tornado
The Edmonton Tornado, an event also known as Black Friday to Edmontonians, was a powerful and devastating tornado that ripped through the eastern part of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and parts of neighbouring Strathcona County on the afternoon of Friday, July 31, 1987.The tornado remained on the...
at the request of the Hage Report and put into full service the following year. Within a week after the Hage Report, over 120 amateur radio operator
Amateur radio operator
An amateur radio operator is an individual who typically uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other similar individuals on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators have been granted an amateur radio...
s in the Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
area were trained and another 100 in Edmonton, Alberta. Organized storm spotting in Canada had existed prior but operated independently of Environment Canada and never fully achieved the success that the CANWARN program did. Initially, CANWARN was predominately based in southern Ontario and central Alberta but eventually grew to encompass the entire country by the early 1990s.
External links
- http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/canwarn/home-e.html
- http://www.ec.gc.ca/meteo-weather/default.asp?lang=En&n=82ADE061-1