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[RC] Hurricane Isabel - Jim HollandFYI.... Amateur Radio operators along the Eastern Seaboard are gearing up to greet the arrival of a diminished but still potentially damaging Hurricane Isabel. The storm is expected to make landfall September 18 along the coast of the Carolinas. The National Hurricane Center is warning interests from the Carolinas northward to southern New England to closely monitor Hurricane Isabel's progress. The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) on 14.325 MHz and WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center have announced plans to activate. The HWN will activate Wednesday, September 17, at 1400 UTC (10 AM EDT). The storm has been downgraded to a category 2 hurricane with winds of 105 MPH and higher gusts. "As the hurricane achieves initial landfall, the HWN will focus specifically on storm reports into and out of the immediately affected areas and into the forecast path of the storm," said HWN Manager Mike Pilgrim, K5MP. WX4NHC will commence operations September 17 at 2200 UTC (6 PM EDT), according to Amateur Radio Coordinator John McHugh, KU4GY. Pilgrim requested that health-and-welfare traffic be directed to other nets set up for that purpose. The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) plans to activate on 14.265 MHz on September 18 at 1400 UTC (10 AM EDT) to handle emergency and health-and-welfare traffic. Local emergency and informational nets also will be a part of the mix, and hams in North Carolina already are getting into the spirit of things. "There were lots of extra checkins to the Tarheel Net on Monday night," said North Carolina Public Information Coordinator Gary Pearce, KN4AQ. As the North Carolina Section's HF Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) net, the Tarheel Net meets on 3923 kHz nightly at 7:30 PM Eastern Time and on 7232 kHz during daylight hours, if needed. At WX4NHC, McHugh was calling on amateurs within 50 miles of the Atlantic coast from South Carolina to New Jersey to provide weather data to the Hurricane Watch Net. Net participants collect and report observed and measured weather data to the net to relay to the National Hurricane Center via WX4NHC. The net also routinely disseminates public storm advisories as they become available. "If you have weather equipment and are in the affected area please try to get that data to WX4NHC, however do not put your self in danger at any time," McHugh said. He also asked that stations not relay weather information given out by local media, since that information already is "in the system." McHugh said these "surface reports" are very important as they give hurricane specialists at the National Hurricane Center a clearer picture of what is actually happening on the ground during the storm. Section Emergency Coordinators and Section Managers in Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland-DC, Southern New Jersey, Western Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey also report they're preparing for Isabel. North Carolina ARRL Section Manager John Covington, W4CC, this week alerted members in his section to be at the ready. "I encourage each of you to make personal preparations for the storm," Covington said. "In addition, I hope you will be able to contribute to Amateur Radio disaster communications, if necessary." He urged amateurs to make sure their equipment is working, all batteries charged and any emergency generators operational. "Do this today," he said, "not during the storm!" Covington was among those worrying less about the potential for wind damage than about the possibility of widespread flooding. ARRL North Carolina Section Emergency Coordinator Bernie Nobles, WA4MOK, reports that hams were scheduled to staff the North Carolina Emergency Management Eastern Branch headquarters in Kinston starting September 16. The amateur station at the state emergency operations center in Raleigh will activate September 17. An umbrella of liaison stations was being organized to monitor the 146.88 MHz repeater and the Tarheel Net. The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch from Little River Inlet, South Carolina, to Chincoteague, Virginia. As of 11 AM EDT September 16, the storm was 600 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, moving northwesterly at around 8 MPH. The southeastern and mid-Atlantic coasts already have been experiencing large ocean swells and dangerous surf conditions. Information on the Hurricane Watch Net and WX4NHC can be found on the web at http://www.hwn.org/ and http://www.wx4nhc.org/, respectively. Information on the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) can be found on the web at http://www.satern.org/. Jim (KI4BEN), Sun of Dimanche+, and Mahada Magic =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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