From Tennessee to Mercer County, amateur radio operators played a vital role in relaying information during the tornadoes that swept several states on Nov. 10.

Emergency officials in Morgan County, Tenn., credit amateur radio operators for saving the life of a man who was stranded on a mountain as a tornado approached, according to a news release from the American Radio Relay League.

Amateur radio operators in Mercer County were also out in full force as an F2 tornado swept through Clark and South Pymatuning Township, leveling half a dozen houses and killing 81-year-old Charles Templeton of Clark.

Jerry Parkany of Sharon, president of the Mercer County Amateur Radio Club, said amateur or "ham" radio operators work hand-in-hand with Mercer County 911 and with the National Weather Service.

"The club has had a rapport with the 911 center for quite some time," Parkany said.

Amateur radio operators work with 911 on yearly county emergency drills and have installed amateur radio equipment in all four Mercer County hospitals.

"We can provide a back-up communication medium to 911 in the event of severe communication failure," Parkany said.

One such event was the tornado on Nov. 10.

Parkany said two things generally happen in any disaster: phone lines go down, and cellular phone service quits working, either because of too much phone traffic or because a tower was hit.

"That's when we come into play," he said.

At about 7:25 p.m. the night of the tornado, Doug Butchey, Mercer County's event coordinator for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, activated a SKYWARN network on the amateur radio operators' repeater system.

Amateur radio operators who participate as SKYWARN volunteers can report weather activity back to the National Weather Service in the event of a thunderstorm or tornado warning.

"We basically confirm what their radar is seeing," Parkany said. "We can report wind gusts, large hail ..."

At 7:56 p.m. the tornado warning was issued. One amateur radio operator who lives in the Clark area started calling in reports of severe damage, such as downed trees and wires.

"That information got directly relayed back to the National Weather Service," Parkany said.

At 8:50 p.m., Mercer County 911 activated the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, which is comprised of amateur radio operators, and the hospitals went into emergency mode. Parkany said he got a call from 911 to go to UPMC Horizon, Farrell, to activate the radio equipment there.

"At the hospital I generally relay traffic back and forth to the 911 center," he said. He also passed information back and forth from the triage to the hospital, which helped let the hospital staff know what type of patients were coming in.

Several amateur radio operators participated in the initial assessment of the storm-damaged area. One blocked traffic on a road where trees and wires came down until emergency crews arrived, another was stationed at the Sharpsville Volunteer Fire Department. One was stationed at the 911 center, while another went to Clark to shadow Jim Thompson, Mercer County Emergency Management Director.

Some of the communication passed back and forth helped to notify the American Red Cross and to set up a triage at Tara, A Country Inn in Clark.

Later in the evening, the operators went into a "health and welfare" mode, during which they relayed news about people in the damage area and whether they were safe.

Parkany said he was instructed to leave the hospital and go to the Radisson Hotel of Sharon in Shenango Township, where a temporary shelter was set up.

By 12:45 a.m., the emergency was basically over, Parkany said.

Amateur radio operators in Mercer County mostly get called into action during weather emergencies, especially in the summer when thunderstorms are commonplace.

Amateur radio operators also assisted during the 1985 tornado in Wheatland.

"There's a long-standing cooperation between amateur radio operators, the 911 center and the National Weather Service that has gone on for years," Parkany said.