Hello to all….

…VoIP Hurricane Net Activation to Commence with a call-up net on Tuesday Evening at 8 PM with a continuous activation starting at 12 AM EDT Wednesday through Midnight EDT Thursday as there are EchoLink and IRLP Node/stations in the affected area…

The VoIP Hurricane Net in coordination with WX4NHC will be activating with a call-up net at 8 PM ET Tuesday Evening / 0000 UTC Wednesday to support WX4NHC with surface/meterological reports from stations in the affected area on *WX-TALK* node: 7203/IRLP reflector 9219. At the time of the net call-up, wind fields of minimal tropical storm force will reach the Northeast Mexico/Southeast Texas coastline. Impact to the Southern Texas/Northeast Mexico area is expected to start Tuesday Evening with the worst conditions on Wednesday Morning into early afternoon.

As of 11pm EDT / 03:00 UTC Hurricane Warnings have been issued for Browsnville to Port O’Connor Texas and from Rio San Fernando Mexico to the border between Mexico and Texas. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from Port O’Connor to San Luis Pass with a Tropical Storm Warning and Hurricane Watch in effect for La Pesca to south of Rio San Fernando. Dolly is currently centered at 23.1 North/92.8 West or about 325 miles east of La Pesca Mexico and 435 miles southeast of Corpus Christi Texas with maximum sustained winds of 50 MPH, a minimum central pressure of 999 millibars or 29.50 inches. Dolly is moving west at 17 MPH and the forward speed will be slower by Tuesday and then a northwestward motion will begin on Wednesday with tropical storm force winds extending out to 200 miles from the center.

Complete information on Dolly can be found at the National Hurricane Center Web page http://www.nhc.noaa.gov or via the VoIPWXNet web site by clicking Atlantic Tropical Products under the main menu and clicking the advisory information for Dolly.

We are currently making contact with Amateurs in Northeast Mexico and Southern Texas. Any stations with contacts in that area are urged to assist us by relaying reports from those contacts in the affected area wherever possible. We would like to get many folks on our call-up net on Tuesday Evening and for those folks to support the net during the formal activation timeframe on Wednesday. It is possible that if Dolly does not slow down as expected that operations could start earlier than currently anticipated and this activation notice will be updated if that occurs.

The reporting criteria and activation policy for our net during hurricane net activations can be found on our web site at http://www.voipwx.net

Listen Only IRLP/EchoLink capability include the following systems:

IRLP:
Reflector 9508 Sydney Australia Reflector channel 8.
Reflector 9129 New England Reflector channel 9.

EchoLink:
*KC4QLP-C* Node: 290251
*VKEMCOMM* Node: 270177
*N5API* Node: 77433

Below is the WX4NHC Activation Announcement as provided by John McHugh-K4AG, WX4NHC Coordinator and Julio Ripoll-WD4R, Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator:

WX4NHC ANNOUNCEMENT – HURRICANE DOLLY OPERATIONS

Released July, 21, 2008, 1PM EDT

PLEASE RELAY TO STATIONS IN THE AFFECTED AREAS.

At the 11am advisory NHC said “Tropical Storm Dolly NOW OVER THE WARM WATERS OF THE GULF OF MEXICO MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 50 MPH…85 KM/HR…WITH HIGHER GUSTS. STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST…AND DOLLY COULD BECOME A HURRICANE BY TOMORROW”

Dolly is expected to become a hurricane tomorrow and track towards the Texas/Mexico border.

With this in mind WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, will be activating it’s HF and EchoLink/IRLP station on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 2 PM EDT (1800z).

We request all land based stations as well as ships at sea in the areas affected to send us weather data (measured or estimated) and damage reports.

If you are in the affected area and normally monitor on a local Net on VHF, 40 or 80 meters, we would appreciate your checking into the HWN NET or
EchoLink/IRLP Net once per Hour to receive the latest Hurricane Advisories and to report your LOCAL conditions.

Please do not venture outside during the hurricane to gather weather data.

Your safety is the first priority.

There are many constantly changing atmospheric variables that affect the storm’s track and strength.

Please refer to the National Hurricane Center Advisories for official information. www.nhc.noaa.gov

WX4NHC will be monitoring the Hurricane Watch Net www.hwn.org on 14.325 MHz.

Secondary HF frequencies will be 7.268 MHz and 3.950 MHz +/- QRM, should we loose propagation on 20 meters.

EchoLink “WX-Talk” Conference Room and IRLP node 9219 will also be monitored. www.voipwx.net

WX4NHC will also monitor CWOP, APRS and MADIS/MESONET Automated weather stations in the affected area.

Surface Reports using our On-line Hurricane Report form will be monitored.

Amateur Weather Enthusiasts and ON-NHC Volunteers may report directly to WX4NHC on-line.

http://www.wx4nhc.org/WX-form1.html

ON-NHC Volunteers are both Ham Radio Operators and Non-Ham weather observers that use their own weather instruments to submit “Surface Reports” directly to NHC over the Internet via the WX4NHC on-line report form. These “Surface Reports” are very important as they give Hurricane Specialists at NHC a better idea of what is actually happening on the ground level during the storm.

The WX4NHC Group continues to expand its efforts to increase the quantity and quality of surface reports to include many different modes of reception and groups of people; including HF, VHF/UHF IRLP & EchoLink, VHF & HF APRS, CWOP NOAA Program and ON-NHC Weather Observers Network. (see our web site for more information on these programs): www.wx4nhc.org

WX4NHC is very proud to have maintained an active Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center for the past 28 years.

We appreciate all of the volunteers who help with our efforts.

OUR MISSION: TO HELP SAVE LIVES.

John Mc Hugh, K4AG
Coordinator for Amateur Radio
National Hurricane Center, WX4NHC
Home page:- http://www.wx4nhc.org
National Hurricane Center
www.nhc.noaa.gov
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all…

My apologies for a late note and web posting here. Southern New England has fallen back into an active severe weather pattern and we’ve had 2 straight days of severe weather with a potential third straight day for severe weather here on Sunday. Here are some updates on Tropical Storm Cristobal off the coast of the Carolinas and newly formed Tropical Storm Dolly, which is southeast of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Tropical Storm Cristobal remains a 50 MPH Tropical Storm off the coast of the Carolinas. Cristobal is expected to stay similar in strength today followed by some strengthening on Monday but is expected to remain below hurricane strength. Cristobal is expected to graze the eastern North Carolina coast with strongest part of the storm staying offshore though some strong winds, heavy rainfall and minor coastal flooding is possible along the coasts of the Carolinas where Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect. Cristobal will then pass south and east of Nantucket Island and south and east of what is known as the “40.0 North/70 West benchmark” position and should only bring high surf and waves and perhaps a bit of rainfall to the Outer Cape and Nantucket. A couple reliable models do bring Cristobal closer to the Southeast New England coast but the current consensus is for Cristobal to remain offshore. The VoIP Hurricane Net Management team continues to closely monitor the progress of Cristobal.

Tropical Storm Dolly has formed in the Western Caribbean Sea late Sunday Morning. Dolly is expected to impact the Yucatan Peninsula and emerge off the Southern Gulf of Mexico and possibly affect Mexico or Southern Texas later this week. The current official forecast keeps Dolly below hurricane strength but the potential exists for Dolly to be a hurricane particularly after impacting the Yucatan Peninsula. The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will closely monitor the progress of Dolly and net activation for Dolly is possible if it reaches hurricane strength and we have stations in the affected area that can support WX4NHC with reporting from the affected area.

A brief word on Tropical Storm Bertha. Bertha is now extratropical over the North Atlantic and the last advisory was issue by the National Hurricane Center late Sunday Morning.

Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all…

The Atlantic Tropics have become very active and we have the potential for two more classified systems later today. First of all, Tropical Storm Bertha continues to churn in the North Atlantic. Bertha will remain in open waters and will lose tropical characteristics late Saturday.

Of more immediate concern is an area of disturbed weather just east of Georgia that is showing signs of organization. A Special Tropical Disturbance Statement has been issued and this system may organize and move up the US East Coast with potential impact to portions of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina in the short-term with possible impact in the longer term to Southeast New England per the NWS Taunton Massachusetts Area Forecast Discussion.

Another system in the Caribbean Sea is also showing signs of organization and maybe classifed later today or Saturday. This will also have to be watched for possible land area impacts in the next few days.

See the Special Tropical Disturbance Statement issued by the National Hurricane Center below for more details:

000
WONT41 KNHC 181522
DSAAT
SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENT
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
1125 AM EDT FRI JUL 18 2008

THIS STATEMENT CONCERNS TWO TROPICAL WEATHER SYSTEMS.

SATELLITE IMAGES INDICATE THAT THE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE LOCATED IN THE CENTRAL CARIBBEAN SEA ABOUT 400 MILES SOUTHEAST OF JAMAICA CONTINUES TO BECOME BETTER-ORGANIZED. AN AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT IS SCHEDULED TO INVESTIGATE THIS SYSTEM THIS AFTERNOON TO DETERMINE IF A TROPICAL DEPRESSION OR TROPICAL STORM HAS FORMED. ALL INTERESTS IN THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS SYSTEM AS IT MOVES WESTWARD AT 15-20 MPH. FOR INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA…PLEASE CONSULT STATEMENTS FROM YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

SURFACE OBSERVATIONS AND SATELLITE IMAGES INDICATE THAT
A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM LOCATED JUST OFF THE COASTS OF GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA IS ALSO BECOMING BETTER ORGANIZED. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ARE CONDUCIVE FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT…AND A TROPICAL DEPRESSION COULD FORM TODAY OR TOMORROW. AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT IS SCHEDULED TO INVESTIGATE THIS SYSTEM TOMORROW…IF NECESSARY. ALL INTERESTS ALONG THE COASTS OF GEORGIA…SOUTH CAROLINA…AND NORTH CAROLINA SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS SYSTEM. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS THIS SYSTEM MOVES
SLOWLY NORTHEASTWARD NEAR THE COAST. FOR INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA…PLEASE CONSULT STATEMENTS FROM YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE.

$$
FORECASTER BLAKE/KNABB

For this week’s net, we will forego a presentation once again and focus on a briefing on the tropics including reading of public advisories for any classified systems we may have by tomorrow evening. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all…

A few updates on the Atlantic Tropics since last night. Bertha has been downgraded to tropical storm status as of 8 AM ET this morning. Bertha has started to move very slowly to the northwest this morning and this may bring Bertha closer to Bermuda than currently predicted but is now weaker in intensity. Recon will be investigating Bertha later today. The VoIP Net Management team continues to monitor Bertha but activation of our net remains unlikely for Bertha.

We now have 2 additional areas of disturbed weather being monitored that were not in the tropical weather outlook from the National Hurricane Center in last night’s tropical briefing. One area is about 130 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina and is currently moving northeast. The second area is about 1600 miles east of the Southern Windward islands. Both have the potential for additional development and will be monitored by the VoIP Hurricane Net Management team.

Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all…

Tonight, similar to last week, we will focus the VoIP Hurricane Net presentation on a short briefing on Hurricane Bertha. Bertha remains a Category-1 hurricane and its outer rain bands and tropical storm force winds are expected to affect Bermuda over the next couple of days but hurricane force winds are currently expected to stay away from the island. For tonight’s net we will read the latest public advisory and offer a briefing on Bertha.

In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Elida has formed but remains no threat to land. For tonight’s net, we will also provide a short briefing on Elida.

Hope to hear many folks on the net this evening. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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For those who are D-Star Radio Users in the South Eastern US, Every Sunday night, 9 PM EDT (0100 Zulu), The SE-Dstar Weather Net takes place on d-star reflector 002, port A. This net is an open net and we invite any and all Digital Voice hams to join in. For more information on this net, please check out http://www.dstarinfo.com/Nets/SEWXNet.html. States in the net as of now, Ga., Fla., La., Tx., NC., Over 16 repeaters in the past, looking for more to join in. Dongle Users, please use the reflector to connect into the net, this helps keep the internet traffic on local D-Star sites low… Evans Mitchell; KD4EFM Alternate NCS, SE-DV-WXNET

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Hello to all…

As of the 5 AM ET/0900 UTC Monday July 7th Advisory, Bertha has intensified into a Category-1 Hurricane with Maximum Sustained Winds of 75 MPH and Bertha may reach Category Two strength over the next day or two. The path of Bertha remains uncertain as models do turn Bertha more northwestward but lack of a strong trough and weakening steering currents make recurvature out to sea still questionable but it is also remains too early to determine whether Bertha will affect any land areas. The current forecast track implies a threat to Bermuda by this weekend but that is highly uncertain.

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team continues to closely monitor the progress of Hurricane Bertha. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all…

With this weekend being the 4th of July weekend, we will not have a training topic for this week’s VoIP Hurricane Prep Net. We will have a training topic for next weekend’s VoIP Hurricane Prep Net.

On this week’s prep net, we will read the latest Tropical Storm Bertha Public Advisory and give everyone the latest update on Bertha’s forecast intensity and track which is still a good 5 days from affecting any land area at the present time.

Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net! Happy Fourth of July weekend to all!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
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Hello to all…

The second tropical depression of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season that formed west of Africa Thursday has now become Tropcal Storm Bertha. Bertha will be tracking over the open Atlantic for several days.

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will closely monitor the progress of Tropical Storm Bertha. The advisory information can be found under Atlantic Tropical Products under the Main Menu of the web site. It can also be seen at the National Hurricane Center web site at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net

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