NWSchat.... joining??

[Brian R.]

I would like to join the NWS chat being based in Chicago Illinois area, our forecast office is LOT, as I am typically one of very few of our ARES members who actively go out in the field during warnings to actually go after the storm, and of course make myself available to assist in the aftermath if need be, having multiple certifications including the FEMA ics 100,200,700,800 and haz mat and CERT training.

 

[Levi Mol]

That a great question, the best advise is check this page out. https://www.weather.gov/media/ewx/iwt/NWSChat_Flyer.pdf

 

[Randy Jennings]

Getting access to NWS Chat is up to your local office WCM. You would have to contact them. Chasers and Spotters are generally not allowed to have NWS Chat access, but many offices do allow ARES/RACES leadership and in some cases Skywarn net controllers access. Bottom line is it is up to WCM and local office policy.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

I used to have access and found it to be a great tool. They moved to Slack last year and their requirements seem a lot more stringent since I originally signed up. Was not able to get in post migration.

Anyway, there isn't really opportunities for chaser types to get on there unless they are part of a Skywarn team or otherwise apart of emergency management.

 

[Kyle Soldani]

Brian, post migration as Ben said - it's pretty difficult to get on. I had to get a reference from the TOP WCM who I've known for years so ICT would grant access as fire. In your case, best bet will probably be the ARES route. I've seen a couple in there with HAM tags so that seems to be an option still.

A word of caution, rarely post in there. Just about the only criteria I will post is a developing, ongoing tornado or if there is a specific request for visual on a storm. Beyond that, I stay out and monitor. I suspect all of the erroneous reports in NWSChat prior is why they're tightening things down. That said, I'd much rather have a Ben Holcomb reporting than some firefighters/LEO I know... but I digress.

 

[Jesse Risley]

I originally had access pre-migration due to ARES affiliation but was easily approved post-migration due to bona fide media affiliation since 2019. Post-migration to Slack I was told by a close friend who is a NWS met that they were instructed to crack down on access being requested via HAM and academia, for example, since those are looser affiliations and harder to verify than media and public safety affiliations. There were problems with people getting in under the old system as hams, who were basically chasers with ham radio licenses, and some of them were booted for using local chatrooms to ask chasing-related questions (I was in the EAX chat when this happened in real time once). I won't regurgitate what others said but, if you don't work closely with the local office on a regular basis in an official capacity relative to your ARES or RACES affiliation (e.g., a net control operator), then just checking the "I am a ham radio operator/RACES/ARES" box with no know actual street credit is unlikely to work anymore. They're generally only wanting net control operators and those who regularly work closely with the NWS to have access (so I am told, I do not work for the NWS).

Something new for the Slack migration is a biannual email verification, so when you sign up with your official email, e.g., WAND-TV account or EMA.org account they will send an email every 6 months requiring verification that the email address is still associated with and active as an account at said organization. This is likely designed to prevent those no longer possessing the credentials to remain affiliated with the Slack/chat service to be purged as necessary.

From the Terms of Use page (note that the old amateur radio category as a stand-alone option is gone):

a. Be a member of the emergency management (EM) community.

NWS defines the EM community as Public safety officials who serve as employees or contract agents of a government agency at the federal,
state, local, tribal, or territorial level and are charged with protecting the public from hazards that are influenced by weather
or weather-related events. In select cases, with approval of NWS local management and as resources allow, NWS may provide similar
support for organizations which are not formally government agencies, but which employ personnel who routinely exercise authority
equivalent to the public safety officials described above, particularly those who serve vulnerable populations. Examples include the
emergency management function of primary/secondary schools, colleges/universities, and hospitals/long-term care facilities. With
approval of NWS management, NWS offices providing Impact-based Decision Support Services (IDSS) may extend support to these
organizations. Other members of this community include local SKYWARN® Coordinators and Net Control Operators, and others who
serve in these capacities, such as Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES).