[PBARC] Hurricane Watch Net to Activate in Response to Tropical Storm Rit a

[WOLF, EARNEST G]

Hurricane Watch Net to Activate in Response to Tropical Storm Rita 


 <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/09/19/2/151209P_lrg.gif>  

NEWINGTON, CT, Sep 19, 2005--As Tropical Storm Rita heads toward the Florida
Keys, WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center in
Miami will activate operations September 19 at 9 PM EDT (0100Z Sep 20). The
operation will continue until Rita clears land and enters the Gulf of
Mexico. 

Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, reports that WX4NHC
will be monitoring the Hurricane Watch Net <http://www.hwn.org/>  on 14.325
MHz. EchoLink WX-Talk Conference Room and IRLP node 9219 will also be
monitored <http://www.voipwx.net/> . 

WX4NHC will also monitor VHF APRS Automated weather stations in the Bahamas,
Turks and Caicos, South Florida and the Florida Keys as well as CWOP/APRS-WX
stations. Surface reports using our Hurricane Report form will be monitored.
Amateur Weather Enthusiasts and ON-NHC Volunteers may report
<http://www.wx4nhc.org/WX-form1.html>  directly to WX4NHC on-line. 

The 11 AM EDT September 19 Advisory from the National Hurricane Center
<http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/>  in Miami indicates the center of Tropical Storm
Rita was located about 430 miles east-southeast of Key West, Florida, moving
toward the west-northwest near 12 mph. Maximum sustained winds are near 65
mph with higher gusts. Rita could become a Category 1 hurricane tonight. 

A hurricane warning has been issued for the extreme Southern Florida
peninsula from Golden Beach southward to Florida City and westward to East
Cape Sable. A hurricane warning remains in effect for all of the Florida
Keys from Ocean Reef to the Dry Tortugas, including Florida Bay. A tropical
storm warning and a hurricane watch are in effect from Deerfield Beach,
Florida southward to north of Golden Beach. 


 
Thanks,
Glenn