NEWINGTON, CT, Sep 25, 2002--The Hurricane Watch Net and W4EHW at the National Hurricane Center in Miami are reactivating today to keep an eye on tropical storms Isidore and Lili. The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) was scheduled to reconvene on 14.325 at 1600 UTC, while W4EHW was set to restart operations at 1800 UTC but will suspend operations after 0200 UTC until Lili increases in strength to hurricane status.
"While neither TS Lili nor TS Isidore is presently forecast to be a hurricane today, there is good reason to be available to disseminate the current bulletins and to squelch any fears or anxieties out there in remote areas where it was thought last evening that we'd be dealing with two hurricanes today," said HWN Manager Mike Pilgrim, K5MP.
A hurricane watch remains in effect along the northern Gulf Coast from Cameron, Louisiana, to Pascagoula, Mississippi. A tropical storm warning extends elsewhere along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida.
The Gulf Coast Amateur Radio Emergency Service Net on 7285 kHz (days) and 3873 kHz (evenings) activated on September 23 in anticipation of the storm's arrival. The FCC has declared a general communications emergency for those frequencies (see "FCC Declares Communications Emergency for Gulf Coast") in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
In anticipation of the storm's arrival, the
American Red Cross announced that it's moved some 20 emergency response
vehicles (ERVs) to Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coast regions as well as
additional staff and vehicles into Atlanta.
In Mississippi, Gov Ronnie Musgrove has declared a state of emergency in response to the threatening storm. A mandatory evacuation was issued today for parts of Hancock County and evacuation was recommend for Harrison and Jackson counties, where shelters were scheduled to be opened today. Schools were ordered closed today and tomorrow in Hancock County as well as in the communities of Bay-Waveland, Poplarville, Carriere and McNeil. Harrison and Jackson counties are to open shelters today.
As of 11 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Isidore was some 270 miles south of New Orleans, boasting maximum sustained winds of 60 MPH with higher gusts. The National Weather Service still was predicting possible "slow strengthening" over the next 24 hours. Heavy rains are accompanying the storm, and these are expected to spread into the Tennessee Valley and the southeastern states, possibly causing some flooding. Coastal storm surges also are forecast, and the NWS does not rule out the possibility of isolated tornadoes from southeastern Louisiana to the western Florida panhandle.
Isidore has already struck the western tip of Cuba and did considerable damage to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.
Meanwhile, as of 11 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Lili was some 300 miles south-southeast of Santo Domingo. A tropical storm watch remains in effect for the southern coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The storm is described as "poorly defined" at this point with maximum sustained winds of 45 MPH and higher gusts. Forecasters predict little change in strength over the next 24 hours.
Official advisories are available on the NHC Web site.
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