November 1, 2016

During the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season, when Hurricane Matthew was stalled south of Haiti and just north of the Nicaragua/Columbia coastline (A very dangerous Category 5 Hurricane), the Hurricane Watch Net was asked by US Army MARS to help supply them with enhanced situational awareness when the storm starting moving towards Haiti. Over the next few days, HWN supplied a plethora is data to US Army MARS when the storm was approaching, crossing, and leaving the small island nation of Haiti.

Matthew made a total of 4 landfalls: near Les Anglais, Haiti on October 4th @ 1200 UTC, the eastern tip of Cuba 12 hours later (both locations as a Cat 4 (max winds of 145 mph and 140 mph respectfully), the western end of Grand Bahama the evening of October 6th (Cat 4, max winds of 130 mph), and southeast of McClellanville, SC on Saturday morning, October 8th (Cat 1, max winds of 75 mph).

Matthew caused catastrophic damage and a humanitarian crisis in Haiti. In Haiti alone, Matthew killed more than 550 people and thousands left missing and homeless.

On October 6, James Hamilton, Director of US Army MARS Region 4 said, “Many thanks for the assistance and support from HWN…Totally Outstanding Cooperation and Assistance…Please let fellow HWN members know that their support to the DoD (Department of Defense) was and is greatly appreciated”.

Toward the end of October, we received a framed “Certificate of Service” from US Army MARS.

“On behalf of all the members of the Hurricane Watch Net, it is an honor to serve US Army MARS, the National Hurricane Center and, most importantly, our fellow man!” – Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, Net Manager, Hurricane Watch Net