As
of 10:00 AM EDT (1400 UTC) Thursday, Fiona remains a powerful Cat 4
hurricane with sustained winds of 130 mph. The Hurricane Watch Net will
activate this afternoon at 5:00 PM EDT (2100 UTC) on our primary
frequency of 14.325 MHz. We will activate our 40-meter net on 7.268 MHz
at 7:00 PM EDT (2300 UTC). We will remain on 20 meters for as long as
propagation will allow and remain active on 40 meters until no longer
required or propagation goes away. Should Fiona make direct landfall, we
will resume operations Friday at 9:00 AM EDT (1300 UTC) to assist with
post-storm reports and any outgoing Health and Welfare Traffic, which
would be at the direction of the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio
Network (SATERN).
Looking
ahead, Fiona is forecast to move towards and into the Canadian
Maritimes on Saturday. Therefore, the Hurricane Watch Net will activate
at 9:00 AM EDT (1300 UTC) on both 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz. Once
activated, we will remain in operation until no longer required.
As
with any Net activation, we look for reporting stations that can
provide us with any measured or estimated weather information that we
can relay directly to the forecasters at National Hurricane Center in
Miami. On Saturday, we will be supporting the Canadian Hurricane Centre
with weather reports as well. Weather information we look for is maximum
sustained winds, winds gusts, wind direction, barometric pressure,
rainfall amount – how much over x-amount of time, storm surge, and
damage.
As
a reminder, we are available to provide backup communications to
official agencies such as emergency operations centers, government and
non-government agencies, and storm shelters in the affected area.
As
always, 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.
Thank you for keeping 14.325 and 7.268 MHz clear for HWN operations.