Hurricane Imelda, now a strong Category 1 storm, is forecast to make landfall on, or come extremely close to Bermuda, late Wednesday evening into early Thursday morning. The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) will activate for the first time this season beginning Wednesday, October 1, 2025, at 3:00 PM EDT (1900 UTC).

Activation times and frequencies are as follows:

3:00 PM EDT (1900 UTC) on 14.325 MHz

7:00 PM EDT (2300 UTC) on 7.268 MHz

The HWN will remain active on 14.325 MHz for as long as propagation allows or until no longer needed. Operations on 7.268 MHz will continue until either propagation fades or the net is no longer required.

The National Hurricane Center in Florida forecasts that Imelda is expected to bring damaging hurricane-force winds to Bermuda when it passes near or over that island by Wednesday afternoon or evening. A hurricane warning is now in effect for Bermuda, where Imelda is likely to cause large and damaging waves and heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding Wednesday into Thursday.

The National Hurricane Center amateur radio station, WX4NHC, will be active until approximately midnight eastern time on Wednesday, reported WX4NHC Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R. The Hurricane Center will be monitoring the HWN as well as the VoIP Hurricane Net (IRLP node 9219/Echolink WX-Talk Conference 7203).

The NHC can also be contacted via WinLink and online reports; WX4NHC@winlink.org and use //WL2K in email subject. The NHC asks that you please send or relay any Surface Reports (weather data, flooding, damage) to the Hurricane Nets or using any of the available modes listed. You can also use the WX4NHC On-line Hurricane report Form: Hurricane Online Hurricane Weather Report Form (fiu.edu).

Swells and high surf from both Imelda and Hurricane Humberto are producing dangerous surf and coastal flooding along the US east coast. The double-hurricanes caused damage to homes on North Carolina's Outer Banks.

One-Year Since Hurricane Helene

This is the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene and its devastating impact on Asheville, North Carolina. There is a write-up on page 3 of the ARRL Roanoke Division newsletter about a special event station, N2G, which will operate in honor of the crucial role played by the Mt. Mitchell repeater, N2GE. The repeater did not lose power in the aftermath of the hurricane and was a vital link for emergency communications traffic in to,  and out of, the region. The article notes, “As tragic as the damage was, amateur radio shined in its instantaneous and sustainable response in supplying emergency communications. … Amateur radio filled key gaps until remote StarLink nodes and commercial cell sites could be restored.” See www.arrl-roanoke.com/Roanoke_Newsletter_Fall-2025.pdf.