After looking at my local TV News (and remember I live in Ottawa) there is talk of what is now “Tropical Storm Isaac” turning into Hurricane Isaac and arriving at the Keys and the Miami area on Monday Morning…
Granted its a long way away but the computer generated paths for the storm all seem to be looking almost the same…
If this happens it will be be the first time in a while since they have gotten hit so with this post I jog or refresh your memories and here are what I can find (or remember) for Hurricane Frequencies for the Florida Area.
You most likely will find up to date WX reports for the affected area on 14.300 which is the frequency for the INTERCON Net and then the Maritime Mobile Service Net
As the Hurricane gets closer to land (if it gets closer to land) you will find that the Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325 as they supply data to the National Hurrican Center.
Once it hits you will find that the Salvation Army’s SATERN Group active on 14.265 as they assist with the Relief Efforts
In addition to the above nets the VOIP Weather Net activates on a series of ECHOLINK and IRLP repeaters to assist the National Weather Service. This does prove that the internet seems stronger than we think as last time we had a good one on the east coast I seem to remember that they did not loose too many linked repeaters… You would have to look at their website to try and figure out how you can access the system.
For the best (or what I concider the best) graphics for storms etc I would suggest you check out StormPulse. I understand they are turning into a Pay Service but if I was living in the Hurricane Prone Areas I think it would be a worthwhile investment. For now (as I was able to find the link via google) they seem to still provide minimum coverage maps and predictions that the amateur weather watcher (who is couch surfing from the distance) can access…
I should mention and you can tell by the maps I have provided that before it hits on Monday in Florida it should/will make life very hard for most of the surrounding Islands in the Carribean… They don’t have the intfrastructure that they have in Florida and it will most likely hit them much harder as the resources might not be there to assist with the disaster relief after the fact…
The next few days could be interesting listening on HF and you actually might be the only person hearing that one low power station with their antenna sitting on the ground due to the damage caused… Probally won’t happen but it does give you something to think about… Stranger things have happened!
73bob
Tags: amateur radio, Amateur Radio Emergency Communications, INTERCON Net, Maritime Mobile Service Net, salvation army, SATERN, Storm Pulse
