The Hurricane Watch Net and net manager Jerry Herman, N3BDW, have been named to receive the 2000 ARRL International Humanitarian Award. This award is dedicated to those amateurs who, through Amateur Radio, are devoted to promoting the welfare of mankind. The Award each year honors truly outstanding Amateur Radio operators in areas of international humanitarianism and the furtherance of peace.

The Hurricane Watch Net activates on 14.325 MHz whenever a hurricane is within 300 miles of landfall in the western Atlantic, the Caribbean or the eastern Pacific. Working with the operators of W4EHW at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Hurricane Watch Net participants relay weather data from isolated islands, marine assets and other areas that are not part of the Center's routine communication network. This allows the Center's forecasters to more accurately prepare advisories and predict the movements and size of storms.

Amateur Radio participants on the HWN from around the Caribbean, Atlantic, Central, and South America have provided critically needed hurricane information since 1965. In addition to real-time weather data reports--typically wind speed, wind direction, and barometric pressure--the net also relays damage reports that can aid forecasters in evaluating a storm's intensity. On many occasions, this information is only available via the Amateur Radio network this dedicated group of radio amateurs provides.

The Net also relays important weather advisories and information back to the affected areas. As Net member Mike Pilgrim, K5MP, explains, "We are the ones who broadcast the storm advisories to those remote islands, mariners, and others who may be in harm's way with no other means for receiving that data." On many occasions, this information is only available via the Amateur Radio network this dedicated group of radio amateurs provides.

The Hurricane Watch Net Web site is a valuable source of information on hurricanes and severe storms. In addition to information and real-time audio of the Net, it includes links to weather forecasts, reports and maps.