Friday, August 30, 2019

Dorian hurricane aircraft was heard on HF today

You can still hear them.

A UDXF member reports hearing NOAA 42 on 8918.00 kHz, working New York oceanic ATC on the Caribbean (CAR) MWARA net. This is a WP-3 operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (the "weather bureau"). The pilot reported that he was going operational below 15,000 feet.

Sometimes the USAF "Hurricane Hunters" come up on these frequencies.  Their call sign is TEAL plus two figures.

The amateur US National Hurricane Watch Net was briefly active on 14325 kHz USB. If past policy holds, it will likely activate again when the storm gets close to the Bahamas.

Daily aircraft taskings for hurricanes are issued by CARCAH (Chief, Aerial Reconnaissance, All Hurricanes) at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL. The link is:

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/recon.php .

They come out 24 hours or so before the day of the operations.

We wish the best to all those threatened by this powerful storm.