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 Previous: ARRL Board Designates Award Winners |  Next: FCC Proposes to Drop Morse Code Requirement for All License Classes |
NEWINGTON, CT, July 20, 2005--After seven days of involvement with Hurricane Emily, the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) and WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center secured net operation on 14.325 MHz at 0430 UTC today. The HWN activated several times as Emily crossed the Caribbean Sea, the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall on the coast of Mexico south of Brownsville, Texas, as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane. Now a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 80 MPH, it's expected to rapidly lose strength over the mountainous terrain of northern Mexico.
"Now with Emily safely behind us, it is time to take a breath, sit back and get ready for the next one," commented HWN Manager Mike Pilgrim, K5MP. "Unfortunately, there is sure to be another." Emily arrived fast on the heels of Hurricane Dennis, which came ashore in Florida and Alabama.
Pilgrim recounted that during the course of the last seven days, Emily--the fifth named storm already this year and the second major hurricane of the still-early season--cut a swath across the southern Caribbean barely missing Jamaica and the Caymans.
 This National Weather Service graphic shows how the size of Emily changed as it moved toward landfall. Tropical storm force winds are in orange, while hurricane force winds are in red. |
"This is the earliest in recorded history that we have had five named storms," he said. "We certainly hope that is not a sign of what's to come between now and end of November, which marks the official end of the Atlantic Hurricane season."
All told, Pilgrim reports, the HWN maintained an active presence on 14.325 MHz for a total of 45 hours spread over various portions of five days and nights. "A rough estimate yields approximately 600 voluntary person-hours expended by HWN members and members of WX4NHC over that short period of time," he said. "We feel quite fortunate to have such high-quality, dedicated and committed persons in our operations, and it is fully to their credit that we are able to sustain our ever-present position of trust and confidence in the eyes of all those people we serve." He also thanked members of the Maritime Mobile Service Net and Intercontinental Net on 14.300 MHz for their cooperation and support.
Meanwhile, South Texas Section Emergency Coordinator Jerry Reimer, KK5CA, says Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) teams were expected to wind down their activation for Emily today. South Texas ARES District 3 (Brooks, Cameron, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Kenedy, Starr, Willacy, and Zapata counties) volunteers began to prepare their homes and key operating sites for Emily on July 16, when forecasts indicated a potential landfall along the lower Texas coast.
"At the request of the
Texas Governor's Division of Emergency Management, South Texas ARES activated
an emergency net at 1 PM Tuesday on 40-meter SSB, moving to 75 meters at 5:30
PM," Reimer reported. Supplementing the net were EchoLink and IRLP-linked
repeaters throughout the potential target area and at resource staging areas
such as San Antonio.
 The eye of Hurricane Emily as seen by the crew of the International Space Station while the weather complex was over the southern Gulf of Mexico. At the time, Emily was a strengthening Category 4 hurricane with winds of nearly 155 MPH and moving west-northwestwardly over the northwest Caribbean Sea about 135 miles southwest of Kingston, Jamaica. [NASA Photo] |
"Some ARES leaders relied upon Winlink to maintain communications when their Internet provider had unexplained difficulties," Reimer noted.
As things turned out, Emily's trajectory took it ashore some 90 miles south of the Texas-Mexico border early today, sparing South Texas its most intense winds--upward of 125 MPH when the storm hit land.
"Unlike many other hurricanes, Emily was relatively compact," Reimer remarked, "although with powerful winds near the eye. The constant onshore winds of 40-45 MPH along South Padre Island caused storm surges of 4 to 8 feet in some areas, resulting in localized coastal flooding."
Reimer said the ARES Assistant EC for South Padre Island sought safety in a large hotel, and about half the island lost power as the storm approached. The bridge linking the island to the mainland remained open to all but high-profile vehicles.
ARES ECs and members remained at emergency operations centers in Brownsville, Cameron County, NWS Brownsville, Hidalgo County, and other locations throughout the night in case the storm changed direction. Reimer says reports came in of intermittent rain and wind gusts of up to 50 MPH well inland from the coast.
"Only one shelter was open
on Tuesday for people with special needs," he said. "Many people heeded the
call for voluntary evacuation, especially those living on South Padre Island
and those with motor homes."
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