WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, will be on the air for SKYWARN Recognition Day, Saturday, December 7, 1400 until 2300 UTC. Hurricane season officially ends today.

“This will be our 15th year of participation in the SRD, and our 33rd year of public service at NHC,” said Julio Ripoll, WD4R, the WX4NHC Amateur Radio assistant coordinator. “The purpose of this event is to test the Amateur Radio Station operations and equipment between NWS Office nationwide and is sponsored by NOAA. This event is excellent practice for ham radio operators as well as NWS staff to become familiar with the unique communication skills available during times of severe weather. It is also a fun event.”

WX4NHC will take advantage of the occasion to conduct operator training. The station will make contacts on various frequencies and modes, to exchange signal reports and basic weather data, such as “sunny” or “rainy” between WX4NHC, ham stations at other NWS offices, and stations throughout the US.

WX4NHC will be on HF, VHF, UHF, APRS (2 meters and 30 meters), and WinLink (subject should contain //WL2K). “We will try to stay on the recognized Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) frequency 14.325 MHz most of the time and announce when we QSY,” Ripoll said.

Ripoll said that due to space and equipment limitations at the NHC, plans call for having two to three operators on duty per shift. “We cannot be everywhere and on every mode at the same time,” he explained. “You may be able to find us on HF by using one of the DX spotting networks, such as the DX Summit website."

WX4NHC operators also will be active on the VoIP Hurricane Net, from 2100 until 2300 UTC (IRLP node 9219 / EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node 7203). South Florida area VHF and UHF repeaters will be part of the mix as well.

QSL cards are available via WD4R, with an SASE. Do not send QSLs directly to the National Hurricane Center.

Due to security measures, no visitors will be allowed in the NHC without prior clearance from the NHC PIO and Security. Only WX4NHC operators on the approved operating schedule will be allowed entry.