Briefly a hurricane, Tropical Storm Elsa is moving northward, nearly parallel to Florida’s western coast, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds, which continue spreading inland across the western Florida peninsula. As of 0900 UTC, the storm was 50 miles south-southwest of Cedar Key, and 70 miles west-northwest of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 65 MPH. It’s moving to the north at 14 MPH. Elsa is expected to make landfall later today along north Florida Gulf coast. The storm should then move across the southeastern and mid-Atlantic US through Thursday.

The Northern Florida Section activated the ARES Net on 3.950 kHz for Tropical Storm Elsa. The Northern Florida and West Central Florida Sections have activated members in various roles, prompting Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator Karl Martin, K4HBN, to activate the HF net to provide any communications support that is needed. An open net has been activated on SARnet — a UHF-linked repeater network. Volunteers should only participate if they have pertinent information to share or are requested to provide information.

“ARRL Headquarters and the ARRL Emergency Management Department are monitoring the storm’s progress and will be ready to assist Sections affected by Elsa,” ARRL Emergency Management Director Paul Gilbert, KE5ZW, said.

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) had activated last evening (July 6) for several hours but has since stood down.