Amateur Radio Active During 2 Weeks Of Hurricanes
The VoIP Hurricane Net, the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN), and the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center, WX4NHC, contributed hundreds of hours tracking and taking reports for hurricanes Fiona and Ian.

Amateur radio operators from Puerto Rico, Florida, and the US east coast worked for almost 2 weeks, making sure damage reports and requests for assistance were dispatched in a timely manner.

HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, reported that their activation for Hurricane Fiona lasted 39.5 hours. There were 109.5 hours on-air manpower and 246.5 total man-hours. "The HWN was activated four times for Fiona: twice on its approach to Puerto Rico, and twice on its landfall," said Graves. "We collected and forwarded 23 surface reports to the National Hurricane Center in Miami by way of WX4NHC."

For Hurricane Ian, HWN Assistant Manager Stan Broadway, N8BHL, added, "Our activation for Ian lasted for nearly 5 full days, with a total of 83 hours. There [were] a total of 383.5 hours of on-air manpower and 1,014.5 total man-hours. We collected and forwarded 164 surface reports to the National Hurricane Center."

The VoIP Hurricane Net reported that, over the entire course of Ian, from its tropical storm force effects in Grand Cayman, major landfall in Cuba and southwest Florida, and landfall in South Carolina into North Carolina, they sent approximately 150 reports.

"An approximate volunteer man-hour count for this hurricane is estimated to be over 150 hours, including the planning, execution, and release of activation information, also accounting for those stations in the affected areas or stations that were relays into the affected area reporting storm damage," said Graves.

ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, had previously reported that many ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) volunteers and their groups were involved across Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Johnston said that there were ARES members, at the request of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, serving in the state Emergency Operations Center. Many ARES groups were also operating in several shelter locations.

The NHC continues to monitor activity in the North Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Source: www.arrl.org/arrlletter?issue=2022-10-06