Thank you for your interest in the Hurricane Watch Net
The Net was formed in 1965 during Hurricane Betsy as an informal group of radio amateurs who recognized a need to provide communications to and from hurricane affected areas. The Hurricane Watch Net has continued to operate during every hurricane
threatening land in the Atlantic/Caribbean Basin and has acquired a formal, direct association, with the National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL since that time.
The purpose of the Net is to:
Disseminate hurricane advisory information to marine interests, Caribbean Island nations, Emergency Operation Centers and other interests for the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific as promulgated by the National Hurricane Center in
Miami, Florida.
Obtain weather information from reporting stations that are not part of the routine network for the National Weather Service or World Meteorological Organization and forwarding it to the National Hurricane Center.
Function as a backup communications link for the National Hurricane Center, Emergency Operation Centers, The National Weather Service and other vital interests involved in the protection of life and property before, during and
after hurricane events.
Relay initial damage assessments of hurricane damage to the National Hurricane Center.
The Hurricane Watch Net is looking for a few well-qualified, dedicated new members.
Over the years, we have maintained an open Membership Application process that has attracted several hundred wishful and interested participants. Unfortunately, many have failed to recognize what our particular membership requirements entail. Consequently,
those persons have been turned away with little or no satisfaction.
Before you venture into our Membership Application process, let me attempt to better define what the role is and what it means to be an active member.
First of all, if your interest is solely to provide observed or measured weather reports from your location when a hurricane threatens, or if you are volunteering to provide relay assistance as required, then membership is not a consideration. The
primary reason for our overwhelming success over the years (40+) of our existence is due to those hundreds of fellow hams in the affected area who monitor the storm's progress and voluntarily bring to us that data which is so vitally important as
an element in the data base used by the hurricane forecasters in the National Hurricane Center in Miami. You need not be a member to enable those vital reports to us. Additionally, we often find ourselves needing relay assistance to
capture essential information. We request however, that folks respond only when specifically solicited for assistance by our net control station. Membership is not required in order to participate when relay assistance is requested.
Being a Net Member of HWN means that you are expressing a desire to join in the Net Control responsibilities of the Net, which can entail endless hours of dedicated duty, primarily ensuring that all received weather reports can be effectively communicated
to the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami (WX4NHC). At times, such reports require multiple relays between our net control stations who simultaneously maintain constant contact via our private chat room for essential
command and control operations. When not fully occupied with on-air activity, our members often find themselves limited to chat room only engagement for hours at a time, to help with the flow of information into and out of Miami.
Our primary net operations occur on 14.325 MHz, beginning when a hurricane is within 300 miles of forecast landfall. Depending on the location and path of the particular storm, the net can possibly be active for many days during the hours
of effective propagation on 20 meters. On occasion, when the 20-meter band finally goes out, we are required to continue our efforts in concert with localized emergency nets on 75 and 40 meters. Consequently, HWN net members have often
found themselves required to maintain operations round the clock, at times for days on end.
I have purposely painted this picture as a worst-case scenario so that no one can get the idea this is an easy role to fill. The nature of the beast dictates that we cannot assign net control responsibilities on a specific timetable. Rather,
we must be prepared to work as a cohesive unit, passing control as the situation dictates, and making ourselves available for as much time as it takes to get the job done.
If you are one who can endure and dedicate yourself to the rigors expressed above, and if you feel you meet the requirements and qualifications, then we welcome your initiative to go to our "Membership Application", read and understand
all that is presented there, and then complete and submit the form.
Be advised that while we are normally in receipt of multiple applications from aspiring members, we maintain that for the minimal number of openings we are in a very unique position of having the ability to be quite selective. By that, we
mean that only the most competitive resumes will surface to the top. If you feel you have a strong position from which you feel you should be among the top of the competition, then please let us know in your submitted request.
In summary, if you desire to be a reporting station with observed and/or measured local weather data during times when a hurricane threatens your area, or if you are volunteering solely to act as a relay station (click
here). If you feel you have all the right stuff, desire, and commitment to be a Net Control Member, then please continue to our Membership Application process (click here).
Thank you for taking the time to visit our web site, and thanks also for showing your interest to be involved.
Sincerely,
Kirk Harding, K6KAR
Manager
Hurricane Watch Net
