Category: News

HURRICANE MATTHEW EXITS FLORIDA AND OFF OF SOUTH CAROLINA COAST

As of 0500, Hurricane Matthew, now having weakened to a Category 2 hurricane, was centered 20 miles southeast of Hilton Head, South Carolina.  Matthew was moving north-northeast at 12 miles per hour with sustained winds of 105 miles per hour.  Matthew is expected to continue its path towards the north-northeast, turning northeast, continuing to skirt the South Carolina and North Carolina coast before turning out into the Atlantic and eventually turning back southeast and eventually south towards the Bahamas, but is also predicted to be weakened by strong shear from the westerlies and by the time it reaches 27 degrees north, it is forecast to be a tropical depression.

All Hurricane Watches and Warnings and Tropical Storm Watches and Warnings for the State of Florida have been discontinued as of this morning.  At this time all ARES groups that had activated to support hurricane shelters in the West Central Florida Section had deactivated due to their shelters being closed and their assistance no longer being requested.  However please continue to monitor the advisories on Matthew as issued by the National Hurricane Center, as a much weakened Matthew could threaten our area once again in the middle of next week.

The West Central Florida Section would like to sincerely thank all ARES groups, CERT groups, and other amateur radio operators who made themselves available and provided communications for their served agencies during Hurricane Matthew.  Without all of you, this would not be possible.

This will be the last WCF Section Special Bulletin unless Matthew threatens our Section again.

END OF SPECIAL BULLETIN

 

51ST ANNUAL MELBOURNE HAMFEST POSTPONED FOR TWO WEEKS

Due to the impact of Hurricane Matthew, the 51st Annual Melbourne Hamfest has been postponed until Friday October 21 and Saturday October 22.  This information has been confirmed by the chairman of the Melbourne Hamfest, Don Winn AF4Z.

For the latest information on the Melbourne Hamfest you may go to http://pcars.org/hamfest/2016/index.htm.

END OF PRESS RELESE

PREPARATIONS FOR HURRICANE MATTHEW.  SPECIAL SECTION ARES NET SCHEDULED.

Hurricane Matthew, although slightly weakened, is still a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 120 miles per hour, is now heading northwest at 12 miles per hour. Matthew crossed the west coast of Haiti and the southeastern edge of Cuba yesterday and last night and is now approaching the southern Bahamas. Matthew is now directly influenced by the mid Atlantic ridge and has already started the journey around the edge of his high pressure.  At 1100 this morning a Hurricane Warning is now in effect for the coastal counties from Broward County up through Volusia County. A Hurricane Watch is issued for the coastal counties from Flagler County to the Florida/Georgia state line. A Tropical Storm Warning is now in effect for the interior counties of Sumter, Lake, Polk, Highlands, Glades, Hendry, and Monroe County, east of Seven Mile Bridge, including Florida Bay. The government has Hurricane Warnings in effect for nearly all the Bahamas except the extreme southeast Bahamas.

Darrell Davis KT4WX, Section Manager, has already been in communication with ARRL Headquarters Staff concerning the response to Hurricane Matthew.  At this time and unless the forecast track changes, the most impacted counties in the West Central Florida Section will be Polk and Highlands Counties.

All amateurs are asked to continue to monitor the latest advisories, watches, and warnings issued by the National Hurricane Center (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov) and to the National Weather Service Office in Ruskin (http://www.weather.gov/tbw) for any Local Hurricane Statements or other watches or warning that may be issued.  All amateur should rush any preparations to completion, check their hurricane supplies, and check their radio equipment.  All ARES members in the West Central Florida Section should stay in communication with their local ARES Emergency Coordinator, particularly in Polk and Highlands Counties.  All amateurs involved with CERT should be in contact with their respective leadership.

A brief special session of the West Central Florida Section ARES Net has been scheduled at 2000 this evening on the NI4CE Repeater System for the ARES Emergency Coordinators and Assistant Section Emergency Coordinators to exchange information and coordinate response for communications to our served agencies.

END OF PRESS RELEASE

WCF SECTION WEBSITE REPORTING FORMS MALFUNCTION HAS BEEN CORRECTED

The West Central Florida Section website had an issue with the Station Appointment monthly reporting forms not functioning properly.  Reports started coming in that an HTTP 500 Error was seen when submitting those reports and previously an email confirmation had not been seen.  That problem has now been corrected.

All ARRL Station Appointees may now once again use the forms on the Section website at http://www.arrlwcf.org to submit your monthly reports.  The ARRL West Central Florida Section apologies for the inconvenience that this issue has caused.

END OF PRESS RELEASE

HURRICANE HERMINE MAKES LANDFALL AND EXITS FLORIDA

Tropical Storm Hermine, after becoming a Category 1 Hurricane yesterday afternoon, made landfall at approximately 0130 this morning near St. Marks, which is near the Wakulla and Jefferson County line, which is southeast of Tallahassee.  At 1100, Tropical Storm Hermine was centered about 55 miles west-southwest of Savannah, Georgia and headed towards the northeast at 18 MPH.  Maximum sustained winds have dropped to 50 MPH.  Hermine will continue its path along the southeast United States coast and re-emerge over the western Atlantic and begin to transition into an extra tropical low.

All Hurricane Warnings have been discontinued.  All Tropical Storm Warnings for the State of Florida have just been discontinued, except for Nassau County as of 1100.  Flood Warning remain in effect for several WCF Section Counties due to swollen rivers and creeks from recent tropical rainfall.

Due to the lowering of all Hurricane Warnings and Tropical Storm Warnings for all the State of Florida except Nassau County which is on the border with Georgia, this will be the last WCF Section Special Bulletin for Tropical Storm Hermine.

The West Central Florida Section would like to thank all the ARES, ACS, and CERT groups that activated and did communications duty for Hermine.  Everyone have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend.

END OF SPECIAL BULLETIN

TROPICAL STORM HERMINE HEADED FOR THE PANHANDLE NEAR TALLAHASSEE – WCF SECTION PREPAREDNESS.

At 1100, Tropical Storm Hermine, formerly Tropical Depression #9, was located approximately 220 west of Tampa or 170 west-southwest of Apalachicola.  Tropical Storm Hermine, is currently headed north-northeast at 14 MPH and is expect to make landfall in Wakulla County late Thursday evening or early Friday morning.  Tropical Storm Hermine is expected to become a minimal hurricane just before landfall.  If it does become a hurricane, it will be the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Hurricane Wilma in October 2005.

A Hurricane Warning has been issued for Wakulla County, just south of Tallahassee.  A Hurricane Watch is still in effect for the coastal region of Pasco County in the West Central Florida Section and the coastal counties north of Pasco County all the way to Bay County in the Panhandle.  A Tropical Storm Warning is still in effect for all of Pasco County in the West Central Florida Section and all of the coastal counties north of Pasco County all the way to Bay County in the Panhandle.  Also at this time there are Flood Warnings in effect for portions of the Peace River, Anclote River, and the Myakka River and other flood prone areas.   Heavy Rain in the Tampa Bay Area and northward can still be expected but some heavy rain is still possible across much of the West Central Florida Section, although the chances outside of the Tampa Bay Area may be somewhat diminished.

At this time Pinellas County ARES/ACS, Hillsborough County ARES/RACES, and Sarasota County ACS have been requested by their served agencies to partially active, due to the Flooding potential in their areas.  Other county ARES groups are on standby in case they are requested to activate.  All ARES members in the West Central Florida Section are encouraged to continue to monitor the latest National Hurricane Center advisories, check their own supplies and equipment, and check with their local ARES Emergency Coordinator to see if their group has been requested to activate by their served agencies.

Also the Hurricane Watch Net was activated at 1000 this morning in support of Tropical Storm Hermine.  The Hurricane Watch Net is operating on 14.325 MHz on 20 Meters, mainly during the day, and on 7.268 MHz on 40 Meters, during the night.  Unless you are involved in submitting real weather data from the areas affected by Hermine, please avoid these frequencies while the Hurricane Watch Net is in session.  For more information on the Hurricane Watch Net go to http://www.hwn.org.

The next special bulletin will be issued at 1200 tomorrow unless conditions warrant a special bulletin to be issued sooner.

END OF SPECIAL BULLETIN

TROPICAL DEPRESSION #9 FORMS EARLIER THIS WEEK AND HEADED FOR BIG BEND AREA – WCF SECTION PREPAREDNESS.

At 1100, Tropical Depression #9 was located about 415 WSW of Tampa.  Currently its motion is stationery but it is expected to resume its path towards the north and then turn towards the northeast later today.  The center of Tropical Depression #9 is expected to make landfall near the west end of the Big Bend area of the Panhandle of Florida.

There is a Hurricane Watch in effect for the coastal region of Pasco County in the West Central Florida Section and the coastal counties north of Pasco County all the way to Bay County in the Panhandle.  There is a Tropical Storm Warning in effect for all of Pasco County in the West Central Florida Section and all of the coastal counties north of Pasco County all the way to Bay County in the Panhandle.  Also at this time there are Flood Warning due to go into effect for portions of the Peace River, Anclote River, and the Myakka River very soon.   Heavy Rain can be expected from 3 to 6 inches across much of the West Central Florida Section and especially in the Tampa Bay area which is closer to the area most impacted.  Higher amounts can be expected along the coastal counties especially northern coastal counties.

At this time Pinellas County ARES/ACS and Hillsborough County ARES/RACES have been requested by their served agencies to partially active.  Other county ARES groups are on standby in case they are requested to activate.  All ARES members in the West Central Florida Section are encouraged to continue to monitor the latest National Hurricane Center advisories, check their own supplies and equipment, and check with their local ARES Emergency Coordinator to see if their group has been requested to activate by their served agencies.

The next special bulletin will be issued at 1200 tomorrow unless conditions warrant a special bulletin to be issued sooner.

END OF SPECIAL BULLETIN