Experiences scanning during thunderstorms

[Gilligan]

I am interested in hearing about scanner monitors' experiences scanning during thunderstorms. This thread is aimed at scanner listening and not shortwave. I'd like to know approximately how far you were able to hear and what kinds of things. If you don't want to list your location, please at least give approximate distance. Thanks for all responses.

 

[bobmich52]

Eastern Ct.

No Noticible Reception Gain /Loss

Little If any Static Etc Heard During Transmissions

I Mostly Monitor Vhf High, Uhf High & CSP On The 800 Mhz Band.

 

[mbstone99]

Conditions

I am interested in hearing about scanner monitors' experiences scanning during thunderstorms. This thread is aimed at scanner listening and not shortwave. I'd like to know approximately how far you were able to hear and what kinds of things. If you don't want to list your location, please at least give approximate distance. Thanks for all responses.

I notice that the reception is lousy when there is a thunderstorm around and it lasts for a while after the storm has passed. Out of all of the 800Mhz trunk systems that I can monitor from here which is about 15 on a regular day, maybe about 7 will be heard during the storm and slowly gets better as the storm passes. In the UHF/VHF band I would say during a storm it might range to around 10 miles or so for a rough estimate.

Matt

 

[N4JNW]

Yeah, I always have my scanners going during severe weather events. Locally, I can't tell a whole lot of difference, but things that I can usually hear 25 or 30 miles out, are seriously degraded during storms.

I think thunderstorms have more effect on lower band frequencies, around 30 mhz or below..

 

[RandyB]

Post-thunderstorm environments are often favorable for tropospheric ducting. This is especially true in the summer when a very warm near surface layer is cooled by rain/hail setting up a very shallow temperature inversion. If thunderstorms are widespread enough to establish a significant cold pool, a rather large scale band opening/tropospheric ducting event can result. Some of the best VHF/UHF "skip" events that I've worked have been in June-August after widespread afternoon thunderstorm activity had resulted in a shallow temperature inversion causing signals to be ducted for some great distance.

 

[Gilligan]

Post-thunderstorm environments are often favorable for tropospheric ducting.

This is the kind of info I was hoping for. I live in Oklahoma where the weather changes constantly. So I was wondering what kind of skip I might expect if I try listening when a thunderstorm hits (or shortly after).

 

[freqhopping]

More storms came through my area today (NE to SW which is unusual) and like a week ago when the storms were to the east I started picking up distant federal trunked systems in the 380-420 range. Before it ended today my best reception was to the south, picking up a federal TRS in the 380 band that is 60 miles away. The usual range for these systems is 20-30 miles. The window only lasted an hour or so today. Last week it lasted from about 6:30pm until at least 5:00am the next day. I don't know when it stopped because I had to go to work.

Update: I take that back about the opening only being an hour. I just checked again and I'm back to receiving distant signals though not as strongly as I have before. Reception to the south is really good.

 

[BaLa]

I think some of these Fed. Trunk systems are pretty strong.
I can pick up Fort Leonard Wood, Mo...in the town I live.
From the Interstate overpass, and around other locations in town.


That's around 50miles or so.