09/15/2023 ããHurricane Lee[1] is expected to impact portions of New England in theãNortheastern United States and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada. Theãstorm has had the full attention of forecasters and the volunteer organizationsãthat coordinate Amateur Radio response to hurricanes.ÿããAmateur Radio Emergency Service[2]¨(ARES¨) volunteer groups are in an elevatedãstate of readiness and alert ahead of the storm.ããARRL Sections in the areas forecast to be impacted have activated. SectionãManager of the ARRL Maine Section Phil Duggan, N1EP, sent an email to membersãin the section on Thursday encouraging them to ready their stations and homes.ã"Because of all the rain we have been getting, the likelihoodÿof trees topplingãis increased and most likely power outages," he wrote. Duggan said theãWashington County ARES group would be on the air starting Friday.ããPortions of Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island have been dealing withãflooding rain and tornadoes over the past week. Other areas of New England haveãhad amateur radio activations throughout the week. Section EmergencyãCoordinator of the ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section Rob Macedo, KD1CY, whoãalso serves as SKYWARN Coordinator for the National Weather ServiceãBoston/Norton (MA) office[3] and as Operations Manager for the Hurricane VoIPãNet says formal activations are planned of the SKYWARN program. "We willãsupport Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency efforts via the SKYWARNãmission giving situational awareness and disaster intelligence information onãstorm damage, coastal flooding, any flooding from heavy rainfall and rain gaugeãreports," he said.ÿããThe Hurricane Watch Net[4] (HWN) is planning to activate on Saturday morning atã8:00 am EST on on 14.325 MHz (USB). HWN will activate on 7.268 MHz (LSB) atã9:00 AM EDT (1300 UTC) or after the Waterway Net concludes, whichever occursãfirst.ÿããNet Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, says the storm still has a lot ofãuncertainty. "Over the past couple of days, the forecast track and intensityãhave been changing, so it is hard to know for sure if Lee will be a Hurricaneãat landfall. Regardless, as with any landfalling tropical cyclone, there is aãstrong potential for flooding, flash flooding, storm surge, damaging wind, andãspin-up tornados. Unlike other regions of the US where it has been extremelyãdry, the New England States, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia have been veryãunseasonably wet. The saturated soil will allow flooding, flash flooding, andãfor strong winds to push over trees and power poles, so, widespread powerãoutages can be expected," said Graves. ÿããThe Hurricane VOiP Net[5] is planning to activate on Saturday, according to theãgroups Public Information Officer, Lloyd Colston, KC5FM, "The VOIPWX.net willãbe activating Saturday on Echolink 7203 and IRLP 9219 for possible HurricaneãLee reports from New England and Canadian provinces...The net will also connectãto the Kansas Sunflower System (www.sunflowernet.us) with connections toãAllstar, Hamshack Hotline, TGIF DMR, Dstar, Fusion, M17, and P25," said Colstonãin an email. ÿÿããThe WX4NHC station at the National Hurricane Center will be active on the HWNãfrequencies and also on the Hurricane VoIP Net.ÿããThe station will also be monitoring WinLink reports via wx4nhc@winlink.org[6]ã(subject line must contain //WL2K). An online reporting form is also available.ãLink: https://w4ehw.fiu.edu/WX-form1.php[7]ÿããAs ARRL Field Organization leaders begin activating volunteers, radio amateursãare encouraged to prepare their stations with the ARES go kit checklist[8].ÿããThis story was last updated at 2:30 EST on Friday, September 15.ÿããAbout Amateur Radio and ARRLããAmateur Radio Service licensees use their training, skills, and equipment toãpractice radio communications and develop radio technology. Amateur RadioãOperators volunteer their qualifications and equipment for communications dutyãin public service and during emergencies. Amateur Radio also provides a basisãfor hands-on STEM education and pathways to careers.ããARRLÿ The National Association for Amateur Radio[9]¨ was founded in 1914 as TheãAmerican Radio Relay League, and is a noncommercial organization of RadioãAmateurs. ARRL numbers within its ranks the vast majority of active RadioãAmateurs (or "hams") in the US and has a proud history of achievement as theãstandard-bearer in promoting and protecting Amateur Radio. For more informationãabout ARRL and Amateur Radio, visitÿwww.arrl.org[10].ããAbout ARES¨ããAmateur Radio Operators, or "hams," have a long history of serving theirãcommunities when storms or other disasters damage critical communicationãinfrastructure, such as cell phone towers and fiber optic networks. Amateurãradio functions completely independently of the internet and phone systems, andãa ham radio station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. Amateurs canãquickly raise a wire antenna in a tree or on a mast, connect it to a radio andãpower source, and communicate effectively with others.ããThe ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service¨ (ARES¨ÿwww.arrl.org/ares[11])ãconsists of hams who have voluntarily registered their qualifications andãequipment with their local ARES leadership for communications duty in theãpublic service when disaster strikes. They use their training, skills, andãequipment to prepare for and provide communications during emergencies When AllãElse Fails¨.ããã[1] https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/#Leeã[2] https://www.arrl.org/aresã[3] https://wx1box.org/ã[4] https://www.hwn.org/ã[5] https://voipwx.net/ã[6] mailto:wx4nhc@winlink.orgã[7] https://w4ehw.fiu.edu/WX-form1.phpã[8] https://ema.arrl.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Go-Kit-Checklist.pdfã[9] https://www.arrl.org/ã[10] https://www.arrl.org/ã[11] http://www.arrl.org/aresãã---ã þ Synchronet þ Whiskey Lover's Amateur Radio BBSã