Dupage county ares skywarn recognition day special event
DuPage County ARES – Skywarn Recognition Day 2025
Special Amateur Radio Event
With the notice of cancellation of Skywarn Recognition Day 2025 by NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS), DuPage County ARES is proud to keep the tradition going by hosting a Special Amateur Radio Event dedicated to all Skywarn Storm Spotters. Since the early 1970s, storm spotters have provided life-saving real-time severe weather reports. Their dedication to this important role is honored annually through events like this one, celebrating the value of community-based weather reporting.
Event Operating Schedule (Central Time)
📡 Start: December 5, 2025 at 0900 hrs
📡 End: December 6, 2025 at 1700 hrs
Throughout the event, DuPage County ARES volunteers will operate using the Special Event Call Sign W9D, calling CQ on:
- HF
- VHF/UHF
- JS8 and Winlink
Our volunteers will use DXSummit for spotting.
How to Participate Using Your Own Call Sign
Participation is open to Amateur Radio Operators, GMRS users, and non-licensed individuals.
Link to register and participate is at the end of this informational page:
Also, all registered participants may join us for a 1 hour Question and Answer Session in regards to this special event on December 3, 2025 at 7:00pm Central Time, link to the meeting is below as well.
Operating Guidelines
Make Contacts During Event Hours Using Amateur Radio
Using YOUR AMATEUR RADIO CALL SIGN make as many contacts as you wish during the event time frame. Please remember to log each contact for submission after the event. Participants MAY NOT use our Special Call Sign W9D for this event, this call sign is reserved for DuPage County ARES Volunteers only.
Approved Modes and Bands
Participants may use any of the following to make contacts:
HF • VHF • UHF • Winlink • JS8 • FT8 • Zello • GMRS
Required Exchange Information
Each contact should include:
- Call Sign
- State (QTH)
- Storm Spotter? (Yes or No)
5. Non-Amateur Radio & GMRS Participants
- Non-licensed participants: You may still take part. After registering, you will be assigned a unique participant number via email to use during the event.
- GMRS users: Please use your GMRS Call Sign when making contacts.
Submitting Your Log
After the event concludes, all registered participants will receive an email with a link to submit their final contact totals.
Your submission will include:
- Total number of contacts
- Number of storm spotter contacts
- Number of non-storm spotter contacts
Once your log is submitted, DuPage County ARES will email your official Certificate of Participation.
Register to participate is now OPEN using the link below. Registration will be closed December 4, 2025 at 1700 hours central time.
https://forms.gle/65XiPXTHeC856PD18
If you have any issues registering, please email us at admin@dupageares.org
⚠️ Disclaimer
This event is not associated with nor sanctioned by the National Weather Service (NWS) or the ARRL. It is hosted independently by DuPage County Amateur Radio Emergency Service to honor and recognize the Skywarn community.
DuPage County ARES will be hosting a Special Q&A Google Meeting for all participants on December 3, 2025 at 7:00pm CST. Below is the link for the meeting if you would like to join us. This meeting should last approximately 1 hour and will not be recorded.
