NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 3, 2004--With the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) now active on 14.325 MHz, Hurricane Alex now has been upgraded to a Category 2 storm. The first hurricane of the Atlantic Tropical Weather Season, Alex had been expected to remain a tropical storm. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami reports Alex now is moving almost parallel to North Carolina's Outer Banks. That includes some areas still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Isabel last year. Alex now packs maximum sustained winds of 100 MPH with higher gusts, although the storm is not expected to gain further in strength. The NHC says isolated tornadoes are possible over the Outer Banks this afternoon.
"Preparations to protect life and property should have been completed," warned the 1500 UTC bulletin from the NHC. A hurricane warning remains in effect from Cape Lookout to Oregon Inlet--including Pamlico Sound. "This means That hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area during the next 24 hours," the NHC said. A tropical storm warning remains in effect from Surf City to Cape Lookout, North Carolina, and from north of Oregon Inlet to the North Carolina/Virginia border--including Albemarle Sound.
 Hurricane Alex's predicted track. |
Assistant HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, says the HWN will focus specifically on storm reports into and out of the immediate affected areas and into the forecast path of the storm. The net will work in concert with WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center. An HWN report from K4HAT in the Cape Hatteras noted sustained winds out of the east-northeast at 45 MPH with gusts to 61 MPH and heavy rain. All roads remain passable, however.
Assistant NHC Amateur Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4JR, has
announced that WX4NHC, which activated at 1400 UTC, will monitor the HWN. The
NHC also gathers weather data from other Amateur Radio sources via the Internet, including the EchoLink
WX-TALK Conference and IRLP SKYWARN Node 9210 nets.
During hurricane emergencies trained HWN members provide essential communication support to WX4NHC, which disseminates storm updates via the net. The HWN also collects observed or measured weather data and post-storm damage reports from Amateur Radio operators in the affected areas and relays that information to forecasters via WX4NHC. The ground-level weather data assists NHC forecasters in predicting a storm's path and behavior.
As of 1500 UTC, the hurricane's center was some 40 miles south-southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, moving north-northeast at approximately 15 MPH. Alex is expected to veer to the northeast--away from the Eastern Seaboard--and continue to gather speed. Any change in the storm's track could take the storm across the Outer Banks. Hurricane force winds extend up to 25 miles from the storm's center.
Alex will generate rainfall accumulations of three to six inches, with coastal storm surge flooding of two to four feet above normal along the Atlantic shoreline and three to five feet above normal in Pamlico Sound.
High surf and rip currents will affect much of the
Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic US coast for the next couple of days.
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