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Hurricanes, Ice, Snow, Tornadoes, <br />Storms and SKYWARN <br />The National Hurricane Center in Florida relies on <br />its ham radio station, WX4NHC, to receive reports <br />from hams in affected areas (www.wx4nhc.org). <br />The National Weather Service uses ham radio <br />operators for their "SKYWARN" program to get <br />ground level reports of events that are missed by <br />Doppler radar. <br />Ham radio operators by the hundreds volunteered <br />for service to the devastated areas of the Gulf <br />Coast after Hurricane Katrina and her sisters Rita <br />and Wilma pounded a five state area and destroyed <br />other communications systems. For their life- <br />saving work, the hams received commendations <br />from the President and Congress as well as <br />international praise. It truly proved the saying, <br />"When all else fails, ham radio works!" <br />Within minutes of the September 11, 2001 terrorist <br />attacks, ham operators communicated from <br />emergency operations centers as other systems <br />failed. The ham operations continued for weeks as <br />the amateurs handled emergency and other important <br />messages for disaster and government agencies <br />as well as for displaced families. <br />Hams use all sorts of radios and antennas on a <br />wide variety of frequencies to communicate with <br />other hams across town or around the world. <br />They use ham radio for personal enjoyment, <br />for keeping in touch with friends and family, for <br />public service communications and to experiment <br />with radio technology. <br />Boaters, RVers and outdoor enthusiasts also <br />use ham radio as an excellent way to maintain <br />communications from wherever they are. <br />Big station or small and portable, hams enjoy <br />the security of knowing they can get a message <br />through in almost any situation without depending <br />on a fragile infrastructure that can fail or be <br />overloaded. <br />FEMA advises that in a crisis <br />you should plan to be <br />totally on your own <br />for at least 3 days — <br />How will YOU <br />communicate? <br />, K.. na <br />■YSYal 2005 <br />1443 GMT <br />COE -12 rfs1p1 <br />The National Weather <br />Service uses ham operators <br />for its "SKYWARN" <br />program to get ground <br />level reports of events <br />that are missed by <br />Doppler radar. <br />"Amateur" <br />am'e-tur - noun <br />A person who engages in an art, science or other <br />activity purely for the personal interest or self- <br />improvement value of it, rather than a financially <br />compensated profession. <br />-Amateur athlete <br />-Amateur astronomer <br />-Amateur musician <br />