Hurricanes, Ice, Snow, Tornadoes, Storms and SKYWARN
- The National Hurricane Center in Florida relies on its ham radio station, WX4NHC, to receive reports from hams in affected areas. The National Weather Service uses ham radio operators for their "SKYWARN" program to get ground-level reports of events that are missed by Doppler radar.
- Ham radio operators by the hundreds volunteered for service to the deviastated areas of the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina and her sisters, Rita and Wilma, pounded a five-state area and destroyed other communications systems. For their life-saving work, the hams received commendaitons from the President and Congress, as well as international praise. It truly proved the saying, "When all else fails, ham radio works!"
- Within minutes of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, ham operators were busy communicating from emergency operations systems. The ham operators continued for weeks, as the amateurs handled emergency and other important messages for disaster and governmetn agencies, as well as for displaced families.
- Hams use all sorts of radios and antennas on a wide variety of frequencies to communicate with other hams across town, or around the world. They use ham radio for personal enjoyment, for keepting in touch with friends and family, for public service communications and to experiment with radio technology.
- Boaters, RVers and outdoor enthusiasts also use ham radio as an excellent way to maintain communications wherever they are.
- Whether it's a big station, or small and portable, hams enjoy the security of knowing they can get a message through in almost any situation without depending on a fragile infrastructure that can fail or be overloaded.
