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Hello to all..

Tropical Storm Bonnie formed near the Bahamas earlier this week and is now impacting Southern Florida with tropical storm force conditions and heavy rainfall. Bonnie is expected to maintain Tropical Storm strength through its life and impact the Northern Gulf Coast in a few days. At this time, it is not expected that Bonnie will reach hurricane strength but this will be monitored closely. Information on Tropical Storm Bonnie can be found on the VoIP Hurricane Net web site by looking under Atlantic Tropical Products on the Main Menu of the web site. Information can also be seen at the National Hurricane Center web site via the following link:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will closely monitor the progress of Bonnie. 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…

Late Wednesday Evening, the disturbance 290 miles Southeast of Brownsville, Texas became Tropical Depression Two. TD 2 is expected to intensify into a weak tropical storm before making landfall on the Texas/Mexico border. Its biggest threat is to bring more heavy rains to the same area affected last week by former Hurricane Alex. If TD 2 reaches tropical storm strength, it will be named Bonnie. This system is not expected to reach hurricane strength. Advisory information is available at the VoIP Hurricane Net web site at http://www.voipwx.net with advisory links in the Main Menu below Atlantic Tropical Products and at the National Hurricane Center web site at the following link:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

The VoIP Hurricane Net will continue to monitor the progress of this system. 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 latest Tropical Weather Outlook has been issued by the National Hurricane Center and it indicates that we potentially have a tropical depression forming 290 miles Southeast of the Texas/Mexico border and tropical storm watches/warnings may be required for portions of the Northeast Mexico and Southern Texas coastlines with advisory issuances starting either late tonight or Thursday Morning. It is not clear whether this system would be able to intensify rapidly enough to become a hurricane before landfall. The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will closely monitor the progress of this system. Below are links to the National Hurricane Center Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook:

http://kamala.cod.edu/TPC/latest.abnt20.KNHC.html
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATWOAT+shtml/072353.shtml

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…

After 15 hours of continuous operation, the VoIP Hurricane Net secured operations on Wednesday June 30th, 2010 at 11 PM EDT/10 PM CDT/0300 UTC. WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center, secured operations shortly before 10 PM EDT/9 PM CDT/0300 UTC.

We received a number of reports from Southern Texas during the day monitoring traffic from the Cameron County ARES Net via a listen-only feed, monitoring traffic from South Padre Island Emergency Management via facebook, APRS/CWOP stations and a station from the Texas DOT web site. Mark-N5UOA delivered a number of reports from several sources throughout the day as well. All reports can be seen in the report viewer by clicking on the report viewer off the main menu of the VoIP Hurricane Net web site (http://www.voipwx.net) or can be seen at the following link and then click the record you would like to view under the ‘Edit_link’ column:

http://report.voipwx.net/qilan/nhcwx/list_VOIP_records?auth=OK

Alex made landfall as a Category-Two Hurricane in a remote area of Northeast Mexico. Net operations were secured at the lanfall point due to the sparse population of the area and that reports slowed over the last 2-3 hours. We are always looking to extend our outreach into the affected areas of hurricanes and Northeast Mexico is an area of interest along with all US and international coastal areas.

With Alex making landfall and expected to weaken during the course of Thursday, no other tropical systems in the Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific are showing signs of development at this time. The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will continue to monitor the progress of the tropics during the 2010 season. Thank you for your support of the VoIP Hurrciane Net!

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

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Hello to all..

..VoIP Hurricane Net to activate formally at 8 AM EST/7 AM CST/1200 UTC Wednesday June 30th, 2010 for Impact of Alex on the Northeast Mexico/Southern Texas coastline. Activation is expected to last through early Thursday Morning potentially. Activation will take place on the *WX_TALK* Echolink Conference Node: 7203/IRLP 9219 system for the duration of this event..
…WX4NHC Operations Will Also Activate at 8 AM EST/7 AM CST/1200 UTC for Alex’s Impact on the Northeast Mexico/Southern Texas coastline..

Tropical Storm Alex is expected to intensify and become a strong Category 1 to minimal Category 2 hurricane. Alex will impact the Northeast Mexico/Southern Texas coastline Wednesday Morning through Thursday Morning with hurricane force conditions expected over the region. The VoIP Hurricane Net will activate at 8 AM EST/7 AM CST/1200 UTC looking for surface reports from stations in the affected area of Hurricane Alex or from Amateur Radio Operators who have contact with the affected area of Hurricane Alex through any relays or people they know in the area.

For the latest advisory information including watches and warnings, you can go to the VoIPWXNet web site and click Atlantic Tropical Products and click on the advisory information for Ida under the Atlantic Tropical Products section. You can also gather the advisory information from the National Hurricane Center web site at the following link:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

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Hello to all…

Tropical Storm Alex has emerged into the very warm waters of the Bay of Campeche overnight after making landfall in Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Alex continues to strengthen and organize and is expected to reach hurricane strength later tonight or Tuesday. Alex has the potential to reach major hurricane strength later Tuesday or Wednesday if low shear conditions exist with the very warm Southwest Gulf of Mexico temperatures. A Hurricane Watch is now in effect for the Coast of Texas south of Baffin Bay to the mouth of the Rio Grande and the Coast of Mexico from the mouth of the Rio Grande to La Cruz. Remember, a Hurricane Watch is now issued 48 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical storm force conditions.

Per latest prognostications, landfall of Alex could be anywhere in the current Hurricane Watch area though some models turn Alex even further north impacting areas north of the Hurricane Watch area. This will need to be monitored closely. VoIP Hurricane Net activation is likely starting some time Wednesday Morning lasting into Thursday Evening based on the current track. This timeframe could be adjusted depending on the forward speed of Alex as well as his eventual track. VoIP Hurricane Net Controls should be prepared to give potential availability for net control duties in this timeframe to net control scheduer Jim Palmer-KB1KQW and copy the VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team as this will likely be requested later this afternoon. We will also work contact with the affected area of Alex over the next 24-48 hours.

Advisories from the National Hurricane Center on Alex can be seen via the VoIP Hurricane Net web site off the Main Menu under Atlantic Tropical Products at the following link:

http://www.voipwx.net

The advisories can also be obtained from the National Hurricane Center via the following link:

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Hello to all…

Tropical Depression #1 has become better organized and is now Tropical Storm Alex in the Caribbean Sea. Alex will track across Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula as a tropical storm and will weaken to a tropical depression over land. Alex is then expected to emerge over the Bay of Campeche/Southwest Gulf of Mexico and potentially intensify to Category-1 Hurricane strength with a possible landfall somewhere in Eastern Mexico to perhaps the Southern Texas border as we move into the Wednesday/Thursday timeframe.

At this time, Alex is expected to remain sufficiently below hurricane strength where net activation for the first landfall is unlikely though the VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will continue to closely monitor the progress of Alex. As we get into later this week, VoIP Hurricane Net activation will be possible for Alex’s potential to strengthen into a hurricane and make landfall in Eastern Mexico up to the southern border of Texas as we move into the Wednesday to Thursday timeframe.

Advisories from the National Hurricane Center can be see via the VoIP Hurricane Net web site off the Main Menu under Atlantic Tropical Products at the following link:

http://www.voipwx.net

The advisories can also be obtained from the National Hurricane Center via the following link:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will closely monitor the progress of Alex. 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 WX4NHC Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center was featured in the updated National Hurricane Center’s Hurricane Preparedness Observations web page. The press release and link to the ARRL Web Page Article is listed below:

ARRL Web Page Article: http://www.arrl.org/news/wx4nhc-and-amateur-radio-featured-on-nhc-s-new-hurricane-preparedness-web-site 

PRESS RELEASE – JUNE 22, 2010

WX4NHC and Amateur Radio featured in the updated National Hurricane Center’s Hurricane Preparedness Observations web page.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/forecast/observations.shtml

VOLUNTEER HAM RADIO OPERATORS

“Formal Amateur Radio activity at the National Hurricane Center was initiated in 1980 and has been an important source of real-time weather observations before, during, and after hurricane landfalls. Dedicated HAM radio volunteers work at NHC during storm events to help provide NHC meteorologists with very important data that is used in the hurricane warning process.
Please visit http://www.wx4nhc.org/ for a more detailed history of the WX4NHC HAM radio service.”

We hope that this updated NHC web page will help promote public awareness about Amateur Radio and more activity from the Amateur Radio community during this hurricane season.

WX4NHC, a team of volunteer Amateur Radio operators, are very proud to have maintained
an active Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center for the past 30 years.

Our mission: To Help Save Lives.

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