The Hurricane Watch Net will activate Thursday morning at 10:00 AM EDT on both 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz. Helene is forecast to be a powerful Category 3 Hurricane at that time as well as at landfall later in the day. With its rapid forward speed, Helene could remain a hurricane well north of Albany, Georgia before weakening into a Tropical Storm.
Activation Plans:
Thursday
• 20 meters: 14.325 MHz (USB) at 10:00 AM EDT (1400 UTC) until we lose propagation at night.
• 40 meters: 7.268 MHz (LSB) at 10:00 AM EDT (1400 UTC). We will remain active on this frequency throughout the day and overnight for as long as propagation allows. If propagation allows us to operate all night, we will suspend operations at 7:30 AM EDT Friday to allow the Waterway Net to conduct their daily Net.
Friday
• 20 meters: we will resume operations on 14.325 MHz at 7:00 AM EDT (1000 UTC).
• 40 meters: we will resume operations on 7.268 MHz at 8:30 AM EDT (1230 UTC).
Helene is expected to produce a large storm surge, coastal and inland flooding, as well as cause torrential rains and spin-up tornados. Remember, hurricanes are not just a coastal event. The impact of Helene will be felt well inland.
First and foremost, if you are to be in the affected area of Helene, take all necessary precautions to protect your family and yourself! If are in a position to safely do so, we would love to have check in with us and provide your observed weather information. While we greatly appreciate measured data, we gladly accept estimated weather data as well. We relay that data to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. This information is extremely important to the forecasters as it gives them more information as to what the storm is or is not doing. It also helps them to provide a more accurate forecast!
Information we look for in addition to your name, callsign, and location are,
• Maximum Sustained Wind Speed
• Wind Gust
• Wind Direction
• Barometric Pressure (when was the last time your barometer was calibrated)
• Rainfall…how much and over what period of time
• Storm Surge
• Damage
Normally, once a US landfalling Hurricane has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm, the Hurricane Watch Net suspends operations. This is usually when the local ARES groups go into action. However, Helene is expected to be a Major Hurricane at landfall and it may take longer for local emergency nets to move into action. Therefore, once Helene has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm, HWN will remain active to assist with any Emergency, Medical, or Priority Traffic as well as working with the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) to help handle any Outgoing Health & Welfare Traffic for as long as required. This will be in addition to collecting and forwarding post-storm reports to NHC. We plan to remain active until at least noon Eastern Friday.
As always, we are available to provide backup communications to official agencies such as Emergency Operations Centers, Red Cross officials, and Storm Shelters in the affected area. We also collect and forward significant damage assessment data to government and non-government officials requesting such.
We greatly appreciate the daily users and various nets who use 14.325.00 MHz and 7.268.00 MHz for allowing us a clear frequency. It certainly makes our job easier and I know those in the affected area appreciate it as well.
Kind Regards and God Bless,
Bobby Graves – KB5HAV
Hurricane Watch Net
Net Manager
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