The Hurricane Watch Net, founded by Jerry Murphy, (Amateur radio call sign K8YUW), was formed in 1965 during Hurricane Betsy, as an informal group of radio amateurs who recognized a need to provide communications to and from hurricane affected areas.  The Hurricane Watch Net has continued to operate during every hurricane threatening land in the Atlantic, Caribbean Basin, and Gulf of Mexico, and has acquired a formal, direct association, with the National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL since that time.  To this day, the Hurricane Watch Net activates on 14.325.00 MHz whenever a hurricane is within 300 miles of projected landfall or becomes a serious threat to a populated area.