Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said today the net is not letting down its guard with respect to Tropical Cyclone Harvey, the remnants of which remain in the Gulf of Mexico. 

“As we begin to move into the heart of Hurricane Season, Mother Nature looks as though she doesn’t want to disappoint!,” Graves said. “The Hurricane Watch Net continues to monitor the remnants of Harvey.”

As of approximately 1800 UTC, the National Hurricane Center reported that remnant circulation of Harvey continued to be analyzed as a low-pressure area about 60 miles southeast of Campeché, Mexico.

“Current computer models bring the remnants of Harvey onshore later this week, anywhere between just north of Tampico, Mexico, to just southwest of Freeport, Texas,” Graves said, adding that it’s still too early to tell if Harvey will regain strength prior to landfall. According to Graves, given that conditions are favorable for development across the southwestern Gulf of Mexico through August 24, which includes sea surface temperatures at or slightly above 85°F, he is putting the HWN on Alert Level 2 — Monitoring Mode.

“Should Harvey intensify into a hurricane and threaten life and property, the Hurricane Watch Net will activate,” he said.

Graves pointed out that the HWN no longer is just a 20-meter net. “When the time comes for net activation, we remain active around the clock using 14.325 MHz by day and 7.268 MHz by night. If propagation dictates, we will operate both frequencies at the same time. The HWN typically activates when a storm is within 300 miles of landfall.

“The month of August is no stranger to hurricanes, especially historic ones,” Graves said. “Hopefully, Harvey will not make the history books!”

The Caribbean Emergency and Weather Net (CEWN) activated last week on 3.815 MHz for Tropical Storm Harvey, when the storm was located in the Eastern Caribbean.