Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Hurricane Watch Net Recruiting Bilingual Net Controllers

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) is looking for hams who are fluent in both Spanish and English and/or in French Creole and English, to train to become net control operators on the severe weather network.

The ARRL reports that is particularly interested in recruiting potential net control stations from the central and western regions of the United States, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean.

The HWN activates whenever a named storm in the Atlantic or Caribbean is within 300 miles of a populated land area, or at the request of the National Hurricane Center. The net collects reports of actual conditions in storm-affected areas – known by meteorologists as "ground truth" – and relays those reports to forecasters at the National Hurricane Center via the center's ham station, WX4NHC. It also disseminates the latest storm updates from the NHC.


Net control operators can expect to work shifts of several hours at a time, directing the flow of information. Net Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, says candidates will receive training and work with a mentor during a probationary period. For more information, visit <https://tinyurl.com/wtjssc6x>.