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Hurricane Watch Net Activates for “Catastrophic” Hurricane Ida

Posted on by VA3DBJ

August 29, 2021 | For immediate release |


The following news item is courtesy of the American Radio Relay League:

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) is on Alert Level 5, “Catastrophic Response Mode,” as Hurricane Ida heads toward landfall on the coast of Louisiana today — the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina — after gaining considerable strength in the Gulf of Mexico.

The net, on 14.325 and 7.268 MHz, works in concert with WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami to share real-time surface-weather observations with the Center’s forecasters.

In its 1500 UTC report, the NHC said the “eye of extremely dangerous Category 4 Hurricane Ida nearing the southeastern coast of Louisiana… catastrophic storm surge and hurricane-force winds moving onshore.”

Officials are saying Ida could be the most powerful hurricane to hit Louisiana in more than a century.

As of 1500 UTC, Hurricane Ida was some 85 miles south of New Orleans with maximum sustained winds of 150 MPH, moving northwest at 13 MPH. WX4NHC plans to be active until midnight Eastern Time for Hurricane Ida, welcoming all reports from stations in the affected area.

“These surface reports are very important to the NHC, as they are real-time reports of weather data, flooding, or damage that help the NHC Hurricane Specialists fill in gaps in data and help understand what is happening at the ground level,” Julio Ripoll, WD4R, at the Hurricane Center explained. WX4NHC will be monitoring the HWN, the VoIP Hurricane Net, Winlink, APRS, and other modes.

The VoIP Hurricane Net uses EchoLink WX-TALK Conference, node 7203. (IRLP node 9219). The WX4NHC Hurricane Report Form is online.

“This remains a serious, life-threatening situation,” the National Weather Service tweeted.

Source: ARRL – Hurricane Watch Net Activates for “Catastrophic” Hurricane Ida (arrl.org)

Amateur Radio Resources Ready as Dorian Poised to Become a Major Hurricane

Posted on by VA3DBJ

— From ARRL

Amateur Radio resources organized this week as Hurricane Dorian threatened Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and worked its way through the Caribbean. A change in direction spared Puerto Rico — still recovering from hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 — from taking a direct hit; the Virgin Islands suffered downed trees and widespread power outages. As of August 29, Dorian was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds near 85 MPH with higher gusts. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Dorian was expected to become a major hurricane on Friday and remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through the weekend, reaching Category 3 or 4 by September 1. Heavy rainfall generated by Dorian could cause flash flooding, the NHC said.

“The risk of devastating hurricane-force winds along the Florida east coast and peninsula late this weekend and early next week continues to increase,” the NHC said on August 29.

“We are standing by in a ready-to-respond state, once a more definitive track is known,” Southern Florida Section Manager Barry Porter, KB1PA, told ARRL Headquarters on August 29. “We will be holding a tri-Section conference call tonight to firm up any plans.” Porter said Florida Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster and Red Cross were in preparation mode.

On Wednesday, the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN), activated for about 9 hours on 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz, working in conjunction with WX4NHC at the NHC in Miami to provide “ground truth” weather data to forecasters. The VoIP Hurricane Net also activated.

The HWN has continued to closely monitor Dorian’s progress. HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said the HWN tentatively plans reactivate on August 30 at 2100 UTC.

The ARRL Headquarters Emergency Response Team is also monitoring the situation closely. ARRL officials are in regular communication with partner agencies, particularly FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. In addition, ARRL HQ remains in close contact with Field Organization officials in the affected region, where some ARRL Ham Aid equipment was previously positioned.

W1AW, which had already planned to be in operation for the Hiram Percy Maxim 150th Birthday special event this weekend, will remain ready to assist with emergency communications.

Hurricane Watch Net on Alert

Posted on by VA3DBJ
Hurricane Watch Net on Alert for Developing Atlantic Basin Storms

Hurricane Watch New (HWN) Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, says the Atlantic Hurricane Basin seems to want people’s attention. Tropical Depression 3, off the southeastern coast of North Carolina could become a named storm, Chris. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has initiated advisories on TD 3. The system is expected to remain offshore. The HWN remains at alert level 2 — “monitoring mode.”

“A few computer models show this system growing and moving up along the US east coast into Nova Scotia, Canada,” Graves said today. “How strong it will be, if development occurs, is unknown.”

Meanwhile, Tropical Cyclone Beryl intensified overnight to become the first hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season, which began on June 1. A compact storm, Beryl is predicted to remain east of the Lesser Antilles through early Sunday. Satellite data indicate maximum sustained winds of around 80 MPH with higher gusts, and some strengthening is forecast.

While Beryl is forecast to quickly weaken or dissipate before reaching the Lesser Antilles, some rain and wind are expected to impact those islands early next week.

“Be advised, should the Hurricane Watch Net be called into action, 20-meter propagation has been very lousy of late and we may have to operate on both 20 and 40 meters (14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz, respectively),” Graves said.

“Should either storm become a threat, the Hurricane Watch Net will be ready for action. The tropics are getting very interesting!”