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04-16-2026 - 5:00 AM - Good Morning! It’s Thursday, and the Clay County Amateur Radio Club conducts a weekly Skywarn® practice net on Thursdays at 8:00 PM on the 146.800 MHz repeater. Tune in with your scanner radio, or check in if you're an Amateur (ham) Radio Operator! My painting project might continue today with another coat. And, it might not. I have yet to decide. The Morse code is a little sparse on the Amateur (ham) Radio band this morning. There are a couple of what I consider “high-speed” contacts in progress. I’ll listen anyway. My receiving speed might increase by one word per minute! My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
--- 5:05 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 91. South southwest wind 9 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
--- 5:10 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 83.8% Kemp: 96.4% Kickapoo: 87.8%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 89.6% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (85.8%) to determine drought stage.
--- 5:15 AM - NWS Short Range Weather Discussion
--- 5:20 AM - NWS Extended Range Weather Discussion
--- 5:25 AM - ERCOT (Texas) snapshot of grid conditions - ERCOT reports that conditions are normal and there is enough power for current demand with an operating reserve of 13,670 Megawatts.
--- 5:30 AM - AVIATION SNAPSHOT - METAR for: KSPS (Wichita Falls Rgnl, TX, US)
Text: METAR KSPS 160552Z 20009KT 10SM CLR 19/18 A2986 RMK AO2 SLP098 T01890178 10206 20161 403000161 53002
Conditions at: 0552 UTC 16 Thu Apr 2026
Temperature: 18.9°C (66°F)
Dewpoint: 17.8°C (64°F) (RH = 93%)
Pressure (altimeter): 29.86 inHg (1011.3 hPa) (sea level pressure 1009.8 hPa)
Pres. tendency (3 hrs): 0.2 hPa
Winds: from the SSW (200°) at 9 kt (4.6 m/s, 10.4 mph)
Visibility: 10+ mi (16+ km)
Clouds: sky clear below 12,000 feet AGL
Ceiling: at least 12,000 feet AGL
Max temp (6 hrs): 20.6°C (69°F)
Min temp (6 hrs): 16.1°C (61°F)
Max temp (24 hrs): 30°C (86°F)
Min temp (24 hrs): 16.1°C (61°F)
--- 5:35 AM - The Wichita Falls city transit buses are up and running, as usual. You can tune in to their radio traffic at 453.5375 MHz on your scanner radio. It can be interesting, but not as interesting as the school buses on 152.360 MHz.
--- 6:10 AM - The Wichita Falls Radio Control Club has a Facebook page by the same name. If you’re interested in radio-controlled airplanes, look them up on Facebook, or just Google it. You know me; the only sites I link to are my affiliate sites. It’s just a business decision to avoid confusion and conflicts.
--- 7:35 AM - Start an informal radio network! It doesn’t matter if that network is based on Amateur (ham) Radio, the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS), or the license-free Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) or Citizens Band Radio Service (CB Radio). When the Internet and cell phones go down, you will already have an established group with which to exchange information. That’s not to say that random radio operators in the area won’t assist, but having a network of familiar people is always a good thing.
6:00 PM - The Local Group is assembling on CB Radio Channel 23. Tune in or check in if you're an area CB Radio Operator!
--- 7:30 PM - I contacted a station in Lake Sammamish State Park (US-3216) in Washington on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.