The photograph accompanying this story captured the scene at Ensor Park and Museum the morning of Saturday, January 11, which was just six days after a massive winter storm that produced blizzard-like conditions at times deposited several inches of snow in Olathe, many other locations across Kansas and Missouri, and elsewhere.
The Winter Field Day (WFD) event served as a reminder to amateur radio operators in the greater Kansas City area that they need to be ready around the year, regardless of the season, to put their emergency communications skills to good use in serving the general public. With that in mind, the Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio and later the Winter Field Day Association (WFDA) has organized a Winter Field Day since 2007, giving hams a golden opportunity to again roll up their sleeves (well, maybe not when it's only 15 degrees outside) and get to work in the name of a worthy cause.
The first such exercise 18 years ago took place in the middle of January, January 13 and 14, to be exact, but these days the two-day exercise is held during the final full weekend in January. According to the WFDA, this year's event (Saturday, January 25 and Sunday, January 26) witnessed hams send and receive messages from 1,394 registered locations, and as of the morning of February 5, a total of 2,092 logs had been submitted to the organization for review.
In promoting the value of a Winter Field Day on its website, the WFDA emphasized the following three points: first, "Natural disasters are unpredictable and can strike when you least expect them," second, "Your training and operating skills should not be limited to fair-weather scenarios," and third, "Preparedness is the key to a professional and timely response during any event."
The site went on to say this: "We passionately believe that ham radio operators should practice portable emergency communications in winter environments as the potential for freezing temperatures, snow, ice, and other hazards present unique operational concerns. WFD is formatted to help increase your level of preparedness for disasters and improve your operational skills in subpar conditions."
More information about Winter Field Day can be obtained by visiting https://winterfieldday.org.