SB QST @ ARL $ARLB054
ARLB054 Hurricane Watch Net Activates for Isidore

ZCZC AG54
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 54  ARLB054
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  September 19, 2002
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB054
ARLB054 Hurricane Watch Net Activates for Isidore

For the first time this hurricane season, the Hurricane Watch Net
has activated. HWN Manager Mike Pilgrim, K5MP, reports the net
activated at 1600z on 14.325 MHz to track Tropical Storm Isidore,
which is expected to soon become a Category 1 hurricane. As of the
morning of September 19, the storm was heading toward the western
end of Cuba, but it could threaten the US Gulf Coast.

''We anticipate the Hurricane Watch Net will be active for the Cuba
landfall until late Thursday night or early Friday,'' Pilgrim said,
''then we'll secure and await our next step which likely will come
during the weekend as Isidore will certainly be headed for landfall
some place on the Gulf shore.''

Isidore is expected to hit the western tip of Cuba sometime during
the evening of September 19 and was expected to gain strength as it
passes over the island nation and heads into the Gulf of Mexico,
Pilgrim said.

Assistant Amateur Radio Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4JR, at W4EHW at
the National Hurricane Center, says W4EHW commenced operations at
1900z on September 19. ''Two HF stations will be used, 20 meters for
the HWN on 14.325 MHz and 40 meters for the Cuban Net,'' Ripoll said.
W4EHW will collect reports via APRS, e-mail and via its on-line
Hurricane Reporting Form.

As of 1500z, a tropical storm warning remained in effect for the
Cayman Islands. A tropical storm watch or warning may be required
for the lower Florida Keys later. The storm's center was reported at
about 160 miles southeast of the Isle of Youth (Isla de la
Juventud--formerly Isle of Pines), in the Caribbean south of western
Cuba and moving erratically, generally toward the west-northwest at
near 8 MPH. Maximum sustained winds were near 70 MPH with higher
gusts.

The NWS is predicting up to 30 inches of rain over portions of
western Cuba as a result of Isidore over the next two to three days,
while rain should diminish over Jamaica later today.

Official advisories are available on the NHC Web site,
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov . Information on the Hurricane Watch Net,
and W4EHW at the National Hurricane Center, can be found on the web
at http://www.hwn.org and http://www.fiu.edu/orgs/w4ehw/,
respectively.
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/EX