Category: News

FLORIDA GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT PROCLAIMS AMATEUR RADIO WEEK AND RECOGNIZES ARRL FIELD DAY.

Today, Governor Rick Scott signed a proclamation declaring the week of June 18, 2018, through June 24, 2018 as Amateur Radio Week in the State of Florida.  Governor Scott recognized the importance of the upcoming 2018 ARRL Field Day on Saturday June 23, 2018 and Sunday June 24, 2018.  Governor Scott also recognized the contribution of amateur radio to Emergency Management, the National Weather Service, and to various public service events and that these services are without charge.

For the PDF of the official proclamation go to http://arrlwcf.org/download/wcfgeneral/FloridaGovernorProclamation_AmateurRadioWeek2018.pdf.

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WCF FIELD DAY CARAVAN ITINERARY FOR FIELD DAY 2018 NOW PUBLISHED

The travel itinerary for the WCF Section Field Day Caravan 2018 Edition has just been published on the Section website at the WCF Section Field Day Caravan web page.   The itinerary was drafted on Monday 6/18/18 with all entries that were as of that time in ARRL Field Day Locator.  If your Field Day site is not listed, it is because it was registered with the ARRL Field Day Locator.  For any last minute registrations or updates, please use the Contact Form on the Section website and register/update your Field Day site at http://www.arrl.org/field-day.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section wishes all of our Field Day operations the best success on Field Day.

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SUBTROPICAL STORM ALBERTO NOW APPROACHING THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE.  ALL WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR THE WCF SECTION CANCELLED.  WCF SECTION ARES LEVEL 3 ACTIVATION CANCELLED.

SITUATION: At 1100 EDT, the center of Subtropical Storm Alberto was located about 50 miles south of Panama City, Florida.  The storm is moving toward the north near 8 miles per hour.  Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is expected before Alberto reaches the northern Gulf Coast later today.  A faster northward or north-northwestward motion is expected during the next few days. On the forecast track, the center of Alberto will cross the northern Gulf Coast in the warning area this afternoon or this evening. After landfall, the system is forecast to move well inland into the Tennessee Valley on Tuesday and into the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region on Wednesday and Thursday.  Steady weakening is forecast after landfall, and Alberto will likely become a subtropical depression tonight or early Tuesday, and degenerate into a remnant low by Tuesday afternoon.

As of 1100 EDT, all watches and warnings had been discontinued for the entire ARRL West Central Florida Section, except for a Flood Warning for the Myakka River at Myakka State Park in Sarasota County.

IMPACTS:  Impacts to the ARRL West Central Florida Section continue to lessen as Alberto moves inland over the Florida panhandle and weakens.  The main impact to be expect for the next few days will be localized flooding caused by additional rainfall chances over the next few days

ACTION:  Due to the fact that all tropical watches and warnings are discontinued and the diminished impact from Alberto, ARRL West Central Florida ARES will stand down from the Level 3 activation and return to a non-activation status effective at 1100 EDT.  None of our ARES groups have had any requests to activate in the West Central Florida Section from any of our served agencies.

This will be the last special bulletin for Subtropical Storm Alberto unless an unanticipated turn in Alberto’s direction is taken.

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SUBTROPICAL STORM ALBERTO NOW IN THE CENTRAL EASTERN GULF
ONLY WATCH AND OR WARNING ACTIVE:  TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR COASTAL PASCO COUNTY.  ALBERTO MOVING AWAY FROM THE AREA.

SITUATION:  As of 1700 EDT, the center of Subtropical Storm Alberto was located about 165 miles west of Tampa.  The storm is moving toward the north-northwest near 12 miles per hour with maximum sustained winds at 50 miles per hour. A north-northwest motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected tonight. A north-northwestward to northward motion is expected Monday through Wednesday. On the forecast track, the center of Alberto will move over the northern Gulf of Mexico tonight and approach the northern Gulf Coast in the warning area on Monday.  According to the 1700 EDT Hurricane Local Statement issued by the NWS Office in Ruskin nearly all of the storm impacts are mostly focused on Pasco County and the counties along the coast north of Pasco County.

As of 1700 EDT, all Tropical Storm Warnings had been discontinued for the coastal counties of the ARRL West Central Florida Section, except for Pasco County, as the storm moves to the north and north-northwest.  The Flood Watch that was due to expire Monday evening was discontinued earlier this afternoon.

IMPACTS:  Impacts to the ARRL West Central Florida Section will now lessen over the next 24 hours from the wind and flooding due to excessive rain, but there is still a slight risk of tornadoes on the outer feeder bands now crossing the state as well as wind gusts from 25 to 30 mph.

ACTION:  At this time ARRL West Central Florida ARES is still at a Level 3 activation (Stand By) in case of any activation of any of our local ARES or ACS groups along the coastal counties of the West Central Florida Section.  None of our ARES groups have had any requests to activate in the West Central Florida Section from any of our served agencies.  The likelihood of ARES activation is now decreasing, due to the minimal impact that Alberto has had on the West Central Florida Section and is continuing to decrease a Alberto moves away.  Discontinuation of the Level 3 activation is nearly certain to be in the next 24 hours and once all Tropical Storm Warnings for Pasco County are discontinued, West Central Florida Section ARES will discontinue the Level 3 activation.  All ARES, ACS, and CERT personnel should check their equipment, supplies, and sources of emergency power for proper status and everyone should continue to monitor the latest advisories issued by the National Hurricane Center or by the National Weather Service Office in Ruskin.

The next scheduled WCF Section Special Bulletin will be issued tomorrow following the 1100 EDT National Hurricane Center advisory unless conditions warrant another bulletin prior to that time.

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SUBTROPICAL STORM ALBERTO NOW IN THE SOUTHERN GULF
TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS FOR COASTAL PORTIONS OF WCF COUNTIES.  FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL WCF SECTION COUNTIES.

SITUATION:  As of 1700 EDT, the center of Subtropical Storm Alberto has finally emerged into the southern Gulf of Mexico about 330 miles south-southwest of Tampa Bay.  Alberto has maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour and is moving towards the north at 10 miles per hour and is expected to turn slightly north-northeast and then turn again slightly to the north-northwest before making projected landfall on the Alabama or western Florida panhandle coastline sometime Monday afternoon.  According to the 1700 EDT Hurricane Local Statement issued by the NWS Office in Ruskin, “Subtropical Storm Alberto is forecast to strengthen while moving northward over the Gulf of Mexico and will impact West Central and Southwest Florida tonight into Sunday night. The primary concerns at this time are storm surge flooding along the Citrus and Levy county coasts, heavy rainfall across the area causing localized flooding, and tropical storm force winds, mainly close to the coast from Tampa Bay south.”

As of 1700 EDT, the coastal portions of Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough, Pasco and all of Pinellas counties, which is all the coastal counties of the ARRL West Central Florida Section, were upgraded from Tropical Storm Watches to Tropical Storm Warnings.  A Flood Watch went into effect earlier this afternoon and will remain in effect until the evening of Monday May 28 for all counties in the ARRL West Central Florida Section.

IMPACTS:  Impacts to the ARRL West Central Florida Section include possible tropical storm force winds from coastal Hillsborough County to Charlotte, and possible flooding due to heavy rainfall for all the counties of the ARRL West Central Florida Section.

ACTION:  At this time ARRL West Central Florida ARES is going to a Level 3 activation (Stand By) in case of any activation of any of our local ARES or ACS groups along the coastal counties of the West Central Florida Section.  At this time, we are not aware of any ARES activations in the West Central Florida Section or requests for assistance from any of our served agencies.  However this could change tonight or during the day tomorrow.  All ARES, ACS, and CERT personnel should check their equipment, supplies, and sources of emergency power for proper status and everyone should continue to monitor the latest advisories issued by the National Hurricane Center or by the National Weather Service Office in Ruskin.

The next scheduled WCF Section Special Bulletin will be issued tomorrow following the 1100 EDT National Hurricane Center advisory unless conditions warrant another bulletin prior to that time.

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SECTION NET CANCELLATIONS FOR MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

The Section ARES and Information Net for Saturday May 26th at 0730 on 3940 KHz and the Section ARES and Information Net for Monday May 28th at 1930 on the NI4CE Repeater System are cancelled in observance of Memorial Day.  The Section ARES and Information Net on Saturday at 0730 on 3940 KHz will resume normal operation on Saturday June 2nd and the Section ARES and Information Net on Monday at 1930 will resume normal operation on Monday June 4th.  All other Section nets will continue to operate their normal schedules through this period.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section wishes to encourage everyone to take time to remember those in our armed forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the giving of their life for our country and to those who in the law enforcement community who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the giving of their life for our community.

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MIKE BRESSE W2YS APPOINTED ASSISTANT SECTION MANAGER

On Thursday February 1st, 2018, Darrell Davis KT4WX appointed Mike Bresse W2YS as an Assistant Section Manager for the Special Project of the Bike MS Citrus Tour.  Bresse is the new amateur radio coordinator for the Bike MS Citrus Tour starting this year and had previously been the SAG vehicle coordinator for a number of years.  Jason Triolo KD4ACG stepped down as amateur radio coordinator after the Bike MS Citrus Tour in 2017, to concentrate on developing the Bike Marshal program.  Following the Bike MS Citrus Tour 2017, Darrell Davis KT4WX, the Section Manager for  the ARRL West Central Florida Section, in agreement with the Craig Shapiro N1MSS the logistics coordinator for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and Jason Triolo KD4ACG the amateur radio communications coordinator Bike MS Citrus Tour in 2017, agreed that the West Central Florida Section would provide sponsorship of amateur radio communications for the  Bike MS Citrus Tour.  Volunteer levels had slightly declined and it was felt that with assistance of the West Central Florida Section that recruitment of new volunteers could fall under “one banner” and be given concerted effort.

Darrell Davis KT4WX, Section Manager of the West Central Florida Section made the following comments about sponsoring the Bike MS Citrus Tour: “Being that approximately 98 percent of the Bike MS Citrus Tour is in the Polk County and therefore the West Central Florida Section, it made sense for the communications group to have an official sponsoring organization and to help with recruitment of volunteers.  Everyone who has been doing all their respective assignments will continue to perform their assignments as they have been doing them with no changes.  Mike W2YS is the amateur radio coordinator and will continue in his new role as he has before and is doing a great job with the new Citrus Tour website as well.  We shall continue to welcome help from all those who have helped in the past and hopefully we will see a lot of new volunteers this year.”

The Bike MS Citrus Tour has had volunteer help for many years from counties in all three Florida Sections, with one volunteer traveling all the way from Coral Gables in Dade County.  The Bike MS Citrus Tour for 2018 will be Saturday May 5, 2018 and Sunday May 6, 2018.  New and returning volunteers are now being accepted.  If you are new you may register at the Bike MS Citrus Tour website at http://www.citrustour.org.  If you are a returning volunteer all you have to do is to login to the website with the username and password you previously used and upon login you will be asked to confirm all your contact information and preferences.

Note:  This WCF SECTION PRESS RELEASE has been edited to correct the name of the Bike MS Citrus Tour from MS Citrus Bike Tour.

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