Local Ham operators prepare for Ike

Clearwater, Fla. - For Jim Carter, being a Skywarn Spotter is more than a hobby.

"The primary mission for Skywarn is to protect life, limb and property," said Carter.

Local Ham operators, including Carter, are preparing for Hurricane Ike now. By now they know the drill.

"Actual storms, tornadoes, hurricanes. We help track those storms along with the National Weather Service," said Carter.

They are able to track the damage from out in the field.

"We start moving, actually, the minute the EOC opens up," he said.

Ham operators can inform the National Weather Service about downed trees and power lines in addition to other damage.

"We're in the middle of it and we do anything we can for safety," added Carter.

Carter has been a ham operator since 1993 and remembers the storms of 2004.

"Everything from trees, down to roofs taken off," he said. "A lot of heavy rain and flooding."

Ham operators have historically played an important role in crisis communication.

"The first sets of distress calls from the Titanic were heard by radio amateurs back in the 1900s," explained Carter. "The worst thing I've ever seen is basically a house cut in half by a tree."

It was that childhood experience in Ohio that inspired him to become a Ham operator. His experience has taught him that, even if Ike doesn't make a direct hit, there still could be a concern for our coast.

"Hail, severe lightning, heavy rain and tornadic activity. So, in other words, the outer bands are just as dangerous, maybe a little more dangerous, than the hurricane itself," said Carter.

Amateur radio operators are already in place down in the Keys. Here, locally, they are getting prepared for Ike as well.

"Even if it doesn't hit, hopefully, we'll get some training out of it and some information out of it and maybe something else to go on."