Hurricane Watch Net to Activate in Response to Tropical Storm Rita
NEWINGTON, CT, Sep 19, 2005--As Tropical Storm Rita heads toward the Florida
Keys, WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami will activate operations September 19 at 9 PM EDT (0100Z Sep 20). The operation
will continue until Rita clears land and enters the Gulf of Mexico.
Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, reports that WX4NHC
will be monitoring the Hurricane Watch Net on
14.325 MHz. EchoLink WX-Talk Conference Room and IRLP node 9219 will also be monitored.
WX4NHC will also monitor VHF APRS Automated weather stations in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, South Florida and the Florida Keys as well as CWOP/APRS-WX stations. Surface
reports using our Hurricane Report form will be monitored. Amateur Weather
Enthusiasts and ON-NHC Volunteers may report directly to WX4NHC on-line.
The 11 AM EDT September 19 Advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami
indicates the center of Tropical Storm Rita was located about 430 miles east-southeast
of Key West, Florida, moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph. Maximum
sustained winds are near 65 mph with higher gusts. Rita could become a
Category 1 hurricane tonight.
A hurricane warning has been issued for the extreme Southern Florida
peninsula from Golden Beach southward to Florida City and westward to East Cape Sable. A hurricane warning remains in effect for all of the Florida Keys from
Ocean Reef to the Dry Tortugas, including Florida Bay. A tropical storm warning
and a hurricane watch are in effect from Deerfield Beach, Florida southward to
north of Golden Beach.
Page last modified: 11:36 AM, 19 Sep 2005 ET
Page author: awextra@arrl.org
Copyright © 2005, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Previous: The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler
Next: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending September 16, 2005
