I hope all of you fared well during our recent snowstorm. While some areas received up to a foot of snow, I received a glorious half inch, which still made for a good snowball or two. Hopefully the next round, which is threatening ice, will prove to be a minor event or non-event. The good news is that warm weather is just around the corner. It’s just a matter of time. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Cooking Methods During Power Outages Recently as we were looking ahead toward our first round of winter weather problems I posted the following on Facebook: “If you are going to prep for the possible coming winter weather event, might I suggest you forget the bread and milk and instead get canned food requiring no cooking, such as chili, stew, soup, etc., and some “comfort food” like cookies and chips. Grab some extra batteries, toilet paper and food for the pets. And, remember this will be very short lived situation.” This message was well received and I obtained useful feedback both on online and off. One interesting comment I received was “you ever ate cold stew…yuck”, pointing out the value of sandwiches and milk to wash them down. This reminded me that, while I have ways to heat food and boil water during an emergency, many may not have the equipment or have no knowledge of how to cook “off the grid”. This being the case I wanted to make a few hints and suggestions which might prove useful for your emergency Two things I should point out. The first being that winter weather emergencies in Alabama are very short lived events, 72 hours after the event it may be 60 or 70 degrees outside. The second thing being that in a short term emergency (which I define as 72 hours or less), unless you have specific medical needs, food is really a minor consideration. Here I will quote a rule known as the “Rule Of Threes”: “During an emergency or survival situation, You can die within three seconds from hasty unwise decisions made during a panic. You will begin dying within three minutes without oxygen. You will begin dying within three hours without shelter. You will begin dying within three days without water. You will need food after three weeks”. Three days – 72 hours without food will not kill you. To roughly quote author J Wayne Fears, “just think this: ‘what a great opportunity to start that diet I’ve been thinking about.’” Everyone has gone without food for two or three days before and survived. When? You may ask. Do you remember that time when you were so sick that you were sure you were throwing up vital Everything, including air made you wretch – from both ends. You felt like you were dying, looked even worse, didn’t even want to hear the word “food” and yet you are alive and reading this. Consider you were in a physically compromised condition, feverish, probably dehydrated, could not eat, barely could drink and yet you survived. Why, should you expect to not be able to do the same thing again during an emergency? It is really the FEAR of lack of food, rather than the actual lack of food that people react to. Certainly you would feel miserable at first without your regular meals, and I’m not suggesting that you make no preparations, but, if you don’t, you won’t become skeletal after missing a few biscuits for a You absolutely should prepare and preferably do this well in advance of ANY potential problems, whether it is tornadoes, winter weather or common sicknesses and injuries that may temporarily disable you. And, you should certainly have extra food on hand for children. Before we look at a few ways to heat up your chow during a blackout, I’ll give a word of caution! Outdoor grills and stoves should not be used indoors. This is due to carbon monoxide dangers, and fire dangers, both from the actual fire or from spilled or leaking fuel. They can be used on the porch, or deck or other well ventilated areas, as long as you are careful not to set the deck on fire. Always think “safety first”. Now let’s look at some cooking options, starting with indoor solutions. PORTABLE BUTANE TABLETOP “BISTRO” STOVE These stoves, sold under the brand names Coleman, Camp Chef, Sterno and others are very portable, weighing only 3 1⁄2 pounds, produces 8000 BTUs of heat and are suitable for indoor or outdoor use. It is not uncommon to see these in use in grocery stores for cooking and food demonstrations. The stove operates using an 8.8oz butane cylinder, about the size of a small can of hair spray. These canisters will last over an hour at full continuous burn, around 3 hours at low to moderate continuous burn and even longer if used for shorter burn times. The stove will handle up to a 10 inch pot or skillet. The stove costs, depending on the brand and the store you choose, from $20-$30 and the cylinder prices vary widely from $3 per cylinder to 4 cylinders for $6. So for less than $40 you can have a reliable backup stove. My setup cost $26, fuel and everything. STERNO OR “CANNED HEAT” These canisters are basically a candle in a can. The candle is made from denatured alcohol and jellied alcohol. It is designed to be burned directly from the can and is widely used by restaurants for buffet heating and for heating chafing dishes. They are lit just like a candle and placed directly on the table under the chafing dishes, which are elevated a couple of inches to receive maximum heat. These are reusable, and I see these used at work almost daily during buffets. They come in small and large sizes, and an optional foldable “stove”, which is basically a frame to hold the candle and support a pot, is available. Prices vary with size and store, but, a typical price would be $20 for 12 pack of 6 hour cans. OUTDOOR SOLUTIONS When warm weather returns, outdoor solutions become viable. Some quick suggestions would be: These stoves, commonly called “Coleman stoves” have been used for generations by campers. The “traditional” stove has two burners and run off of “white gas”, also called “camp fuel” used for camp stoves and lanterns, usually consisting of naphtha. Regardless of brand, and there are many, these stoves can be a little messy when fueling, but, work well and can cook anything that a regular stove can cook. There are also “dual fuel” models, which can run off of camp fuel or gasoline, and there are propane models available also. Prices range widely up to $179 depending on store, brand and luck. Other warm weather options would be your trusty Charcoal BBQ Grill or a Fire Pit, which you probably are familiar with. Lastly I would give honorable mention to an old fashion Camp Fire. A couple of years ago I ran a short series of articles in this newsletter called “The 5 Main Ways To Push Up Daisies In A Disaster & How To Avoid Them” and I mentioned “Miss Julie”. “Miss Julie” is originally from the Philippines. She and her husband survived the April 27th, 2011 tornado. She told me that after three days without power she told her husband “when I was little girl, we used to cook by campfire in the back yard, so my husband built a fire and we had hot soup!” If it worked for “Miss Julie”, this will work for you also. Think about these solutions, and consider making these a part of your emergency equipment so you can have the comfort of warm food on a very dark stormy night. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Top Ten Amateur Radio Countries (From N0HR.com per IARU statistics) Rank Country Ham Population 1. Japan 1296059 2. United States 679854 3. Thailand 141241 4. South Korea 141000 5. Germany 79666 6. Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) 68692 7. Spain 58700 8. United Kingdom 58426 9. Canada 44024 10. Russia 38000 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… February ALERT Sunday Night Net Report Our net meets each Sunday at 7 PM local time on 146.88 MHz and all are invited to participate. If you haven’t checked in before or if has been a while, I invite you to join us! Date Net Control QNI QTC Feb 1 WD4NYL 38 0 Feb 8 KK4NGD 44 0 Feb 15 N4HEY 37 0 Feb 22 WD4NYL 51 0 ————————————————- MONTHLY TOTAL 170 0 ————————————————- YEARLY TOTAL 390 0 Note: QNI = Check-ins & QTC = National Traffic System formal radiogram traffic. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Originally called Martius, March is the third month & first month of the Roman calendar. March is named for Mars, the god of war, and was the start of the military campaign season. The beginning of “Meteorological Spring”, which is based on changes in temperature and precipitation, not the solar angle, is March 1 March is a wet month. Most floods occur in March and rainfall averages around 6 inches. Tornadic activity sharply increases in March with there being an increase of 2.2 times the number of tornadoes over the February amount. The focal point for this tornadic activity is the Gulf States. March is the hail maximum for the Deep South. This is due both to the number of thunderstorms & due to the freezing level still being near the surface. This allows hail to form at lower altitudes and reach the ground intact, as opposed to summer months, when the near surface level temperatures are higher and melts the hail into liquid before impact. Killing frosts are gone and the last average frost is on March 16. March is a snow month for Alabama & there is a 45% chance of snow up to one inch, and an 8% chance of one inch or more. The good news is that there is hope on the horizon as Spring will arrive at Vernal Equinox on March 20 at 22:45 UTC or 5:45 P.M. CDT. Remember to get the eggs out, as it is said that you can stand eggs on their ends at the hour of Daylight Savings Time begins at 2 AM on March 8. So remember to “spring forward” one hour. This, of course means I will lose one hour of “beauty sleep”, which is something I desperately need. Saint Patrick’s Day is March 17, and you better participate by wearing a Touch O’ The Green or you will be plagued by leprechauns and gnomes. Not a pleasant experience, I can assure you. Looking skyward, Mercury glimmers just above the east-southeast horizon in the early dawn. Venus and Mars appear very close together in the west-southwest at evening twilight. On March 20 a trio will be formed as the crescent moon joins them in the evening twilight. Mars and Venus will have their closest approach to each other on March 21, with Mars just to the upper right of brilliant Venus. Giant Jupiter rises in the east-northeast at twilight in western Leo and by 10 PM is near maximum Saturn at the head of Scorpius the Scorpion rises around 2 AM. Uranus in Pisces is getting low in the west just after dark, to the upper left of Venus and Mars. Neptune is hidden behind the sun. Full Moon will occur on March 5 at 18:06 UTC or 12:06 PM CST. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes “Worm Moon”. So called because the rains disturb the earthworms & they are seen wiggling around after the rains. They are edible by the way, but I think I’ll let you have my share. Incidentally slugs are edible also. Just think of them as snails without the shell New Moon will occur March 20 at 9:35 UTC or 4:35 AM CDT. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere. At that time, if you happen to be in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans near Greenland, Iceland or the islands off Northern Russia you will have the opportunity to view a total solar eclipse. The greatest eclipse will occur around 9:46 UTC in the waters southeast of Iceland. This will of course occur at 4:46 AM in the dark here, which thrills me to no end. On March 6 the US space probe Dawn will arrive at Ceres. Ceres is the largest object located in the main asteroid belt between Mars & Jupiter. At 590 miles across, nicely rounded by gravity in a process known as “hydrostatic equilibrium” and having cleared most of its immediate area of other objects, it qualifies as a “Dwarf Planet”. Another probe, New Horizons, will reach Dwarf Planet Pluto on July 14, 2015. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) currently recognizes five Dwarf Planet in our solar system: Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake & Eris. Other probable Dwarf Planets are 2007OR, Quaoar, Sedna, Orcus, 200 MS4 and Salacia. There are probably hundreds, maybe thousands more lurking in the dark regions beyond Neptune and the distant edge of the solar system at the borders of Beyond our star system, 1819 planets have been confirmed as of February 26, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/ I don’t try to keep up with the 676,205 “minor planets” or asteroids floating around. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… This month’s meeting will be on February 10 at 7PM at the National Weather Service Forecast office at the Shelby County Airport. If for some reason you cannot attend the meeting in person, you can still participate via telephone. The teleconference number is 1-877-951-0997 & and the participant code is 741083. Remember the Birmingham Hamfest, March 7 & 8! Hope to see you there! www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx/ Weather Resource Database

Hi Everyone, I hope this finds you well this Groundhog Day. So far this winter we have been able to miss the winter weather that our friends up north are dealing with. Remember that Alabama winter weather can creep upon us unexpectedly, even into March. Regardless, spring is drawing closer every day. But, until it arrives, bundle up, grab some hot chocolate and think warm thoughts this cold shivery night. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ALERT Sunday Night Net Beginning this month I will include the monthly net statistics for the ALERT Sunday Night Net. Our net meets each Sunday at 7 PM local time on 146.88 MHz and all are invited to participate. If you haven’t checked in before or if has been a while, I invite you to join us! January ALERT Sunday Night Net Report Date Net Control QNI QTC Jan 4 N4HEY 67 * 0 Jan 11 KK4NGD 51 0 Jan 18 WD4NYL 50 0 Jan 25 KK4NGD 52 0 ————————————————- MONTHLY TOTAL 220 0 ————————————————- YEARLY TOTAL 220 0 * Ties WD4NYL for most check-ins. Note: QNI = Check-ins & QTC = National Traffic System formal radiogram traffic. Let’s talk about nets, for a moment. There are many types of Nets. There are emergency nets for emergency preparedness and response, DX nets, which alert stations to rare DX finds on HF, rag chew nets, where everyone gives updates on what is happening in their world, and NTS traffic nets, passing radiograms all over North America. The ASNN was designed to be a “discussion Net”. Where any topic related to Amateur Radio could be discussed. It is also a “training net”, and training topics are occasionally presented during the “discussion” time after the announcements and swap shop items have been passed. While the ASNN is not a formal traffic net, we can and do accept NTS traffic. Normally, if someone indicates they have formal NTS traffic, the Net Control will ask if anyone if is going to the state Section Nets who can carry the traffic to them. For instance, if I am available, I can take it and pass it on HF. If no one is available and the NCS cannot relay the traffic himself, by necessity the traffic would have to be deferred to another net. How does the NTS system work anyway? Let’s explore this for a few moments. As an example of how NTS traffic is relayed, let’s assume I have traffic for Atlanta. Normally I won’t put this on a two meter net, as I have HF capability. But, on our example we will assume I didn’t. I check into the local net and list my traffic. “I have one piece of format traffic for Georgia”. The NCS calls for a volunteer to take the traffic to one of the section nets. The Alabama NTS Section Nets are: Alabama Day Net 3965 MHz LSB 10:00 AM CST Alabama Traffic Net Mike 3965 MHz LSB 6:30 PM CST Daily & 8:00 AM Sunday Alabama Section Net 3575 MHz CW 7:00 PM Daily There are also NTS Nets using digital modes, for those with that station capability. I send the message to the volunteer, which should be in a format similar to this example, which I obtained courtesy of the North Carolina ARRL NCARR. http://www.ncarrl.org/index.html ARRL RADIOGRAM FORMAT GENERAL Follows is a description of the different parts of the Amateur Radio Message format. Some sections are OPTIONAL, and I recommend they not be used, unless needed. The use of this pre-printed message form from ARRL is NOT necessary for handling traffic. Use any paper you seem appropriate. MESSAGE NUMBER (Mandatory) This can be any number the originating station chooses. Most start with 1 the first of each year. Once a message is numbered, that same number remains with the message until it is delivered. Example: NR 1 PRECEDENCE (Mandatory) The Precedence of the Message determines what order the messages will be handled. The following four precedence’s are used in ascending order of priority: ROUTINE (R on CW) 99.99% of all messages have this precedence. These messages will be handled last. WELFARE (W on CW) This message is either an inquiry to the health and welfare of an individual in a disaster area or a report of the health and welfare of an individual. These messages will be handled before ROUTINE traffic. PRIORITY (P on CW) These are messages have specific time limits. They are also for Official messages, not covered in the EMERGENCY category. This traffic will be handled before WELFARE or ROUTINE. EMERGENCY (EMERGENCY on CW) This is any message having life and death urgency to any person or group of persons, which is transmitted by Amateur Radio in the absence of regular communication facilities. When in doubt, do NOT use this precedence. This traffic will be handled first and immediately. Example: NR 1 R (for Routine) HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS (Optional) Handling Instructions are sometimes used to tell the various stations along the way, what the desires of the originating station are. If not needed, it is best not to use. On phone: the sending station would say, “HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS n”, n explained below. On CW: Send HXn. HXA (Followed by a number) Collect landline delivery authorized by the by addressee within … miles. (If no number, authorization is unlimited). HXB (Followed by a number) Cancel message if not delivered within … hours of filing time; service originating station. HXC Report the time and date of delivery to originating station. HXD Report to the originating station the identity of the station from which you received, plus time and date. Report the identity of the station to which it was relayed, plus time and date, or if delivered report time and date of delivery. HXE Delivering station get a reply from the addressee, and originate a message back. HXF (Followed by number) Hold delivery until … (date). HXG Delivery by mail or landline toll call not required. If toll or other expense involved, cancel message and service originating station. Example: NR 1 R HXG STATION OF ORIGIN (Mandatory) This is the call sign of the Amateur Radio Station generating (originating) this message. This call sign, along with the message number, serve as the “serial number” of this message. Any future reference to this message would be: “Number nn of CALL nn4nnn”. Example: NR 1 R K4IWW CHECK (Mandatory) This is a count of the number of words used in the TEXT (only) of the message. Words in the address or signature are NOT counted. Groups of figures, letters, combinations of figures and letters, and “X” are counted as words. This is the method that Amateurs use to make sure that the TEXT was received without error. Both the sender and receiver should end up with the same word count (CHECK). Example: NR 1 R K4IWW 12 (If the check has a prefix ARL, the letters ARL indicates that the message includes ARRL Numbered Radiogram text. The letters ARL are also inserted in the text before the ARRL message number that represents the text from the list. Note that ARRL message numbers must be spelled out (e.g., FORTY SIX) and are counted as words for the check. For example, ARL FORTY SIX is counted as 3 words. For example, the following message includes ARRL Numbered Radiogram text: ARL Sixty One, by the way, means “Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.” ARRL Numbered Radiograms are as follows: Group 1 for Possible Emergency Use ARL ONE – Everyone is safe here. Please don’t worry. ARL TWO – Coming home as soon as possible. ARL THREE – Am in ________ hospital. Receiving excellent care and recovering fine. ARL FOUR – Only slight property damage. Do not be concerned about disaster reports. ARL FIVE – Am moving to a new location. Send no further mail. Will inform you of new address when relocated. ARL SIX – Will contact you ASAP. ARL SEVEN – Please reply by Amateur Radio through the Amateur delivering this message. This is a free public service. ARL EIGHT – Need additional ________ mobile or portable equipment for immediate emergency use. ARL NINE – Additional ________ radio operators needed to assist with emergency at this location. ARL TEN – Please contact ________. Advise to stand by and provide further information, instructions, or assistance. ARL ELEVEN – Establish Amateur Radio emergency communications with ________ on ________ MHz. ARL TWELVE – Anxious to hear from you. No word in some time. Please contact me as soon as possible. ARL THIRTEEN – Medical emergency situation exists here. ARL FOURTEEN – Situation here is becoming critical. Losses and damage from ________ increasing. ARL FIFTEEN – Please advise your condition and what help is needed. ARL SIXTEEN – Property damage very severe in this area. ARL SEVENTEEN – REACT communications services is also available. Establish REACT communication with ________ on channel ________. ARL EIGHTEEN – Please contact me as soon as possible at ________. ARL NINETEEN – Request Health and welfare report on ________ (Name, Address, Phone). ARL TWENTY – Temporarily stranded. Will need some assistance. Please contact me at ________. ARL TWENTY ONE – Search and rescue assistance is needed by local authorities here. Advise availability. ARL TWENTY TWO – Need accurate information on the extent and type of conditions now existing at your location. Please furnish this information and reply without delay. ARL TWENTY THREE – Report at once the accessibility and best way to reach your location. ARL TWENTY FOUR – Evacuation of residents from this area urgently needed. Advise plans for help. ARL TWENTY FIVE – Furnish as soon as possible the weather conditions at your location. ARL TWENTY SIX- Help and care for evacuation of sick and injured from this location needed at once. Group 2 for Routine Messages ARL FORTY SIX – Greetings on your birthday and best wishes for many more to come. ARL FIFTY – Greetings by Amateur Radio. ARL FIFTY ONE – Greetings by Amateur Radio. This message is sent as a free public service by ham radio operators at ______. Am having a wonderful time. ARL FIFTY TWO – Really enjoyed being with you. Looking forward to getting together again. ARL FIFTY THREE – Received your _____. It’s appreciated, many thanks. ARL FIFTY FOUR – Many thanks for your good wishes. ARL FIFTY FIVE – Good news is always welcome. Very delighted to hear about yours. ARL FIFTY SIX – Congratulations on your _______, a most worthy and deserving achievement. ARL FIFTY SEVEN – Wish we could be together. ARL FIFTY EIGHT – Have a wonderful time. let us know when you return. ARL FIFTY NINE – Congratulations on the new arrival. Hope mother and child are well. ARL SIXTY – Wishing you the best of everything on ______. ARL SIXTY ONE – Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. ARL SIXTY TWO – Greetings and best wishes to you for a pleasant holiday season. ARL SIXTY THREE – Victory or defeat, our best wishes are with you. Hope you win. ARL SIXTY FOUR – Arrived safely at ______. ARL SIXTY FIVE – Arriving ______ on ______. Please arrange to meet me there. ARL SIXTY SIX – DX QSLs are on hand for you at the ______ QSL Bureau. Send ______ self addressed envelopes. ARL SIXTY SEVEN – Your message number ______ undeliverable because of ______. Please advise. ARL SIXTY EIGHT – Sorry to hear you are ill. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. ARL SIXTY NINE – Welcome to the ______. We are glad to have you with us and hope you will enjoy the fun and fellowship of the organization.) PLACE OF ORIGIN (Mandatory) This field is the City and State of either the Station of Origin or the person in the Signature. In most cases, this will be the same place. Example: NR 1 R K4IWW 12 CARY NC TIME FILED (Optional) The time the message was originated. You may either use UTC or Local time. Examples: 1615Z or 1115 EST. Most messages do NOT use this field. It is only useful if the message has a short time value. Example: NR 1 R K4IWW 12 CARY NC 1615Z DATE (Mandatory) This is the date the message was originated. In Amateur Radio, we use month and day. The year is NOT used. If the message is over a year old, it should be sent to the circular file. Example: NR 1 R K4IWW 12 CARY NC 1615Z DEC 20 ADDRESSEE (Mandatory) The name(s) and address of the person to which this message is going. It looks like the address on an envelope used in snail mail. Include a phone number, if you have it. The more information here, the easier the delivery will be. Example: JOHN Q PUBLIC 1234 MAPLE AVE ANYTOWN NC 27000 919 555 1234 DELIVERING STATION INFO (Optional) This section is rarely used. If the message is to be mailed or hand delivered, it is nice to put your (the delivering station) info here so the addressee can reach you if there is any question, or they want to send a return message. Most messages are delivered by phone. TEXT (Mandatory) Finally! This is the message you are sending for the signature person to the addressee. It should be short (usually less than 25 words) and in telegram style. No punctuation is used. The letter “X” is used (similar to STOP in telegrams) to end one idea and start another. Many messages do not even have an “X” in them. Example: ARRIVE 7PM DEC 24 X LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU X LOVE The above TEXT has a count of 12. So the CHECK is 12. As Amateur Radio is non-commercial, the TEXT should have no commercial value. Each Radio Amateur is the judge of what is commercial and what is not. SIGNATURE (Mandatory) This is the name if the person sending the message. It may be the name or call of the originating station. However, it is usually the name of a “third party”, for whom the originating station is generating the message. Example: BETTY M PUBLIC RECEIVED (Optional) This is for the handling station to write down whom they received the message from. This field is only for the book keeping of the handling station. SENT (Optional) This is for the handling station to write down whom they sent the message to. This field is only for the book keeping of the handling station. (Many thanks to the NCARRL Organization for their permission to use the preceding article, which was written by Will Harper K4IWW) Back to our example of traffic handling on our local nets, the volunteer who received my traffic carries the traffic to one of the section nets. From whichever Section Net he goes to, the out of state traffic is then carried onward from the Section net to the Fifth Region Nets either DRN5 or RN5. These nets which operate on 75 and 40 Meters, using are both LSB and high speed CW. Why exactly Alabama is in the NTS Fifth Region with New Mexico and Texas, instead of the Fourth Region with Tennessee and Georgia I’ve never figured out. From the Region Net the traffic is carried to the Central Area Net or CAN, covering the Central Time Zone of the US and Canada, on 75, 40 and 20 Meters. The traffic is then carried to the Transcontinental Corps, which sends it to the EAN or Eastern Area Net, covering the Eastern Time Zone and then onward to the Fourth Region Net and then to one of the Georgia Section Nets, such as the Georgia Single Sideband Net and finally to a ham in Atlanta who phones the addressee and cheerfully gives him the message and usually asks if they wish to send a reply. If they do, the entire process is repeated in reverse order. This may sound like a laborious, complicated, time consuming process, but, actually it is a very efficient, time tested, well-oiled system, which has been in operation for many decades and has proven vital during disasters. The usual transit time from point of origin to point of delivery is 24 hours or less. Traffic nets are fun, by the way. I “cut my teeth” net wise on the Alabama Section Nets and was Net Manager of the old Alabama Emergency Net Delta slow speed CW Section Net, and liaison to the ASN, ATNM and RN5 Nets. So, if you have HF capability, I would urge you to give it a try! For more information on the NTS see http://www.arrl.org/nts …………………………………………………………………………. Mark’s Almanac February, or Februarius, as the Romans called it is named after the Latin term februum, which means “purification”. Ancient Rome celebrated the Februa purification ritual on February 15, which was Full Moon on the old lunar based Latin calendar. February was not originally included in the Roman calendar, which began in March, but was added, along with January by Numa Pompilius around 713 BC, and until 450 BC was considered the last month of the year. February was originally 29 days long, but one day was taken and added to August, so the that Emperor Augustus’s month would be equal to Julius Caesar’s month of July. Now only Leap Year has 29 days, the next of which will occur in 2016. In the Southern Hemisphere February is the equivalent of August. But, for us, February is a cold month with more snow falling in February than in any other month. Statistically speaking, there is a 70% chance of snow flurries, and a 57% chance of snow up to one inch. There is a 13% chance of over one inch, and a 3% chance of 4 inches or more. There is hope on the horizon though, as the worst of winter weather is usually over by February 15. Ground Hog Day is on February 2 & believers will watch Punxsutawney Phil and Birmingham Bill, to see if they saw their shadows. Looking skyward, Mercury has disappeared into the glow of sunset. Venus shines in the west-southwest in evening twilight and is gradually getting higher each week and will be a brilliant “Evening Star” by spring. Mars in Aquarius glows in the Southwest at dusk, to the upper right of Venus and sets around 8PM. Venus and Mars will be visible within only half a degree of each other, or half a little finger diameter at arm length, in the evening sky on February 22. Look for this impressive sight in the west just after sunset. Giant Jupiter rises in the east-northeast at twilight in western Leo and by 9 PM is brightly in the east. The giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth on February 6. If you have a telescope, this will be a great time to bundle up and look at the Jovian system, as his moons change position nightly and you see the cloud bands on another world, so close, yet so very far away. Saturn at the head of Scorpius the Scorpion is well up in the southeastern before and during dawn. Uranus in Pisces is in the southwest right after dark. Neptune in Aquarius is sinking into the evening twilight. Full Moon will occur on February 3 at 5:09 PM CST. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Snow Moon because the heaviest snows usually fell during this time of the year. Since hunting is difficult, this moon has also been known by some tribes as the Full Hunger Moon or Cold Moon New Moon will occur February 18 at 5:47 PM CST. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere. The February sky is alit with bright stars. With Orion the Hunter overhead, along with his faithful hunting dogs, Canis Major & Canis Minor, the Large & Lesser Dogs. In Canis Major is the blue star Sirius, The Dog Star, which 8.6 light years away, is the brightest star in the night sky. February and March are the best times of the year for seeing the Zodiacal Light. In the evening away from city lights and after twilight has faded you might see a faint, roughly triangular, whitish glow near the sunset point. This is Zodiacal Light, which is formed by the sunlight reflecting off millions of minute particles of cosmic dust aligned with the Earth’s orbital plane. Another sight, much more common is the Earth Shadow. At sunset, on very clear days, as the sun goes farther below the horizon, you will see what appears to be a layer of gray cloud rising along the eastern horizon. This is actually the silhouette of the earth’s shadow being cast against darkening sky, sometimes with a pinkish glow along the edge. It fades as twilight fades into darkness. 1810 planets have been confirmed beyond our star system as of January 29, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/ ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… This month’s meeting will be on February 10 at 7PM at the National Weather Service Forecast office at the Shelby County Airport. If for some reason you cannot attend the meeting in person, you can still participate via telephone. The teleconference number is 1-877-951-0997 & and the participant code is 741083. Birmingham Hamfest is only five weeks away, March 7 & 8! Hope to see you there! Mark / WD4NYL Editor ALERT Newsletter www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx/ Mark’s Weatherlynx Weather Resource Database

Hi Everyone, I hope you all had a good Christmas and have a Happy New Year. 2014 was an active year for ALERT with new members, new equipment and new opportunities. I feel 2015 will be a good year for ALERT and I look forward seeing what the New Year will bring. A brief rundown of the regular ALERT schedule for the first six months is: January 13 Regular Meeting February 10 Regular Meeting March 7 & 8 Birmingham Hamfest / ALERT & NWS table & Skywarn Forum March 10 Regular Meeting / Nominating Committee Formed April 14 Regular Meeting / Nominating Committee Report May 12 Regular Meeting / ALERT Elections June 9 Regular Meeting July 14 Regular Meeting / New Officers Take Office / Dues Due $$$ ALERT appreciates your efforts and participation in responding to callouts, serving in the various ALERT offices, and for supporting our organization, both on the air and off. YOUR ALERT thanks you! ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Winter Weather Preparations As we dig deeper into winter, the time will come when the dreaded “S” word will be mentioned & the usual Southern Snow problems will occur. Keeping this in mind, you should think about creating or updating an emergency kit for your car. A Winter Survival Car Kit should include: • Jumper cables to restart engine • Cat litter or sand for tire traction • Shovel to scrape snow away from tires • Ice scraper to clear windshield • Warm clothes including gloves, a hat, sturdy boots, warm jacket and even a change of clothes • Blankets to keep warm inside the vehicle • Flashlights and extra batteries for increased visibility • First aid kit including necessary medications in case you are stuck on the road • Food pack items containing protein such as nuts and energy bars, or Snickers Bars also canned fruit or meat and a portable can opener are good additions • Water for each person in your car and any pets you might carry • AM/FM radio to listen to traffic reports and emergency messages, should the car battery go dead • Bring a fully charged cell phone with a list of emergency numbers (don’t forget your mobile phone charger) and if you have your old cellphone, charge it and keep it handy. You can still make 911 calls on it. • Road flares or reflective triangles • Make sure your gas tank is full • Baby formula and diapers if you have a small child • A charged up 2 Meter HT & a cussed CB radio for when you can’t find a soul on the forest of repeaters that your HT or mobile rig are “kerchunking”. Should you find yourself stranded, be safe and stay in your car, put on your flashers, tie a bright cloth to the antenna, call for help and wait until it arrives. You don’t want to wander aimlessly seeking shelter, when your car already is a shelter. Even if it got buried in snow, which isn’t going to happen in Alabama anyway, all you would end up with is an igloo with bucket seats. Unless you actually SEE your destination and how to SAFELY get there, without crossing downed power lines, STAY PUT! A car is a lot easier to find than a freeze dried body, or in the case of downed power lines, a well roasted one. Be aware of potential hazardous weather well before it happens. Reference the NWS Hazardous Weather Outlook or HWO http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/?n=hwo and reliable media sources. Be very wary of Internet and especially Facebook weather sources and rumormongering. Flashy graphics doesn’t necessarily guarantee flashy results, accuracy or truthfulness. Blatant hoaxes and honest mistakes abounded last year and certainly will this year also. As this event nears stay tuned to your weather sources & make reasonable preparations. Eighteen loaves of bread & 42 gallons of milk don’t fit that description. The items in the above list, canned food, drinks and so forth do. And, remember that EVEN IF IT DOES SNOW, that this is Alabama. In two days there will be a heat wave. So try to relax and enjoy the snowy adventure. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Mark’s Almanac January is named for the Roman god Janus, the god of gates and doors, and so openings and beginnings. January receives more sunlight than December, but the equilibrium between incoming solar heat and the heat radiated into space by the northern snowfields does not peak until late January and early February, six weeks after winter solstice. So the weather continues to cool, with January 8 – 20 being the coldest part of the year. Typically in January there is a 53% chance of up to one inch of snow & a 25% chance of over one inch of snow. With the exception of the southern tip of Nova Scotia, all of Canada and roughly one half of the Continental US, or “CONUS”, are now covered with snow. Canada’s Hudson’s Bay is frozen, as is the ocean water between Baffin Island and Greenland. http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/ims/ims_gif/DATA/cursnow_usa.gif Barometric pressure is highest in January. Looking skyward, Mercury is emerging from the deep glow of the sunset, shining just to the lower right of much brighter Venus. Brilliant Venus shines low through the glow of sunset, appearing 30 to 40 minutes after sundown above the southwest horizon. Mars in Capricorn glows in the Southwest during and after twilight and sets around 8PM. As Mars sets in the Southwest, Giant Jupiter is rising in the east-northeast in western Leo around 8PM. Saturn is low in the southeastern sky between Libra and Scorpius before and during dawn. Uranus in Pisces is high in the south right after dark. Neptune in Aquarius is getting low in the southwest after dark. The Quadrantid Meteor Shower will occur January 3 & 4. This is an above average shower producing between 40 to 100 meteors per hour radiating from the constellation Bootes, in the area near the end of the handle of the Big Dipper and the head of Draco the Dragon. This shower is a quirky shower in that its particle stream is very narrow. Therefore, the peak time is only a couple of hours, and that peak varies each year. According the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s “Observer’s Handbook 2015” the peak will occur at 8PM CDT on January 3, which will put the stream close to the, if not below the northeast horizon. But, as will all things astronomical, the timing may slip, so one should keep looking through the night, and even if the radiant point is below the horizon, they will still be zipping overhead and will appear longer. This year’s shower will be competing with a Full Moon, but, it will still be worth the effort. This shower is believed to be produced by dust grains from burnt out comet 2003 EH1, which may also be the remainder of comet c/1490 Y1, which was lost to history after a prominent meteor shower was observed in 1490, possibly due to the breakup of the comet. The Quadrantid meteors take their name from an obsolete constellation, Quadrans Muralis, found in early 19th-century star atlases between Draco, Hercules, and Bootes. In the 1800’s astronomers were naming and renaming constellations, often “stealing stars” from existing constellations, and naming them for whatever, or whoever suited them. Quadrans Muralis was removed, along with a few other constellations, from crowded sky maps in 1922 when the International Astronomical Union adopted the modern list of 88 officially-recognized constellations. The Quadrantids Shower, were “re-zoned” to Bootes after Quadrans Muralis disappeared, but kept their name possibly because another shower was already widely-known to meteor watchers as the “Bootids”, which peaks in June. Interesting to note is that the stars that make up our constellations rotate around the galactic center of the Milky Way at different speeds. Over time the constellations will appear to deform and then cease to exist. In 20,000 years, none of the currently observed constellations will be found in the night skies. Guess I had better plan on getting some new star charts by then. January’s Full Moon is “Wolf Moon” in Native American folklore. Coincidentally, January was called “Wulf-Monath” or “Wolf Month” by the Saxons. So called because this full Moon appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages. It has also been called “Old Moon” and “Moon After Yule”. Full Moon will occur Sunday January 4, 10:53 PM CST, and New Moon will occur Tuesday January 20, 7:14 AM CST 1781 planets have been confirmed beyond our star system as of December 22, 2014, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/ ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… This month’s meeting will be on January 13 at 7PM at the National Weather Service Forecast office at the Shelby County Airport. If for some reason you cannot attend the meeting in person, you can still participate via telephone. The teleconference number is 1-877-951-0997 & and the participant code is 741083. Did you know that the Birmingham Hamfest is only nine weeks away, March 7 & 8? Hope to see you there! Mark / WD4NYL Editor ALERT Newsletter

Hi everyone and Merry Christmas! Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Christmastime is a time of wonder & mystery. A time of bright lights, shining trees and the time of hide and seek, as presents are hidden from inquiring minds and fingers. People smile more this time of year and are friendlier, as they drift from store to store looking for gifts and treasures. It is a time of Santa, elves and Elvis having a “Blue, blu blu blu Christmas”. Of manger scenes, shepherds and of the Christ Child. And, it is a time when one’s mind and memories drift back to days of childhood, and Christmases now long gone by. And, towards friends and family, some here, some now gone & you long that they were once again near, as it was once upon a time. And, it’s a time to remember that the true “reason for the season” occurred in a manger, long, long ago on that first cold and chilly “Silent Night.” Christmas is still a special time, a magical time…. So as you go about your Christmas preparations remember the magic that was once there when you were a child & don’t let that magic die. For Christmas truly is “the most wonderful time of the year”. …………………………………………………………………………………………….. Mark’s Almanac December, the tenth Roman Month, is the cloudiest month of the year, with only 40 to 60% of possible sunshine poking through the clouds. It is also the stormiest month of the year for the Continental US & the Gulf of Mexico. By “stormy” meaning large-scale storms, not necessarily the tornadic storms that they bring, even though we are still in the Second Tornado Season. A region of heavy rainfall usually forms from Texas to Northwest Florida to Tennessee and Arkansas. Cold waves bringing rain, snow, ice and occasionally tornadoes, sweep across the region. December can be cloudy and cold, and, then it can swing back into spring like warmth, luring plants to bloom early, only to have the frosts and freezes return and the plants are “nipped in the bud”. Hurricane season is now “officially” over, however Mother Nature sometimes throws a surprise in to make life interesting. In 122 years of records, from 1851 to 2013 there have been 6 December hurricanes. The last December hurricane being Hurricane Epsilon during the 2005 season, the year in which we ran out of hurricane names. That year also featured Tropical Storm Zeta, the latest forming Tropical Storm which formed on December 30, 2005 and lasted until January 7, 2006. Looking skyward, we are experiencing a temporary planetary dearth as Mercury, Venus and Saturn are currently lost in the glow of the Sun. Mars is still with us however, glowing in the southwest during and after twilight, setting around 8 PM. Jupiter rises in the east-northeast around 10 or 11 PM and shines brightly in western Leo. Uranus is high in the southeast in Pisces just after dark. Neptune is high in the south in Aquarius also the early evening sky. December’s Full Moon occurs on December 6 at 6:27 AM. Decembers Full Moon was called “Full Cold Moon” in Native American folklore. This Full Moon’s name comes because this is the time of year when the cold winter air settles in and the nights become long and dark. This moon has also been known as the Moon Before Yule and the Full Long Nights Moon. The Geminid Meteor Shower peaks on December 13-14. The Geminids is one of the year’s best meteor showers, and my personal favorite. It’s a consistent and prolific shower, and usually the most satisfying of all the annual showers, even surpassing the more widely recognized Perseids of August. This shower typically produces 50 or more multicolored meteors and fireballs an hour, or about one every minute, and 120 per hour at its peak. As a general rule, the dazzling Geminid meteor shower starts around mid-evening and tends to pick up steam as evening deepens into late night. No matter where you live worldwide, the greatest number of meteors usually fall in the wee hours after midnight, or for a few hours centered around 2 a.m. local time. If you’re game, you can watch the Geminid shower all the way from mid-evening until dawn. This year we will have the disadvantage of a waning Gibbous moon which will interfere with the shower, but, it will still be worth the effort. The Geminid’s are associated with mysterious asteroid 3200 Phaethon. 3200 Phaethon is an asteroid that occasionally sprouts a comet-like tail, which it shouldn’t do and it doesn’t produce enough debris to cause a meteor shower, and yet it does. The day with the least sunlight will occur as Winter Solstice arrives December 21 at 5:03 PM CST. The South Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its southernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.44 degrees south latitude. This is the first day of winter (winter solstice) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of summer (summer solstice) in the Southern Hemisphere. One little known fact is that due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis and it’s mildly eccentric egg shaped orbit that the sun will set earlier the first week of December than it does at Winter Solstice, the longest night and shortest day of the year. If one looks at the sunrise/sunset and length of day data from the US Naval Observatory, you will find that the sun sets four minutes earlier on December 7, than it does December 21. This is counterbalanced by sunrise coming later and later in the December mornings, which clips more sunlight off at sunrise than the day gains at sunset. The actual data is: Dec 7 Sunrise 6:38 AM Sunset 4:39 PM Length of day 10 hours 1 minute Dec 21 Sunrise 6:48 AM Sunset 4:43 PM Length of day 9 hours 56 minutes Jan 7 Sunrise 6:52 AM Sunset 4:55 PM Length of day 10 hours 3 minutes Don’t feel bad about our short days, however. Feel bad for poor Point Barrow Alaska, where the Sun has now completely disappeared and won’t reappear until January 22, when it will glow for an entire 23 minutes. New Moon will occur On December 21, at 6:36 PM CST, as the Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere. The Ursids Meteor Shower will occur on the night of December 22 & 23. The Ursids is a minor meteor shower producing only about 5 – 10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tuttle, which was first discovered in 1790. The shower runs annually from December 17 – 25. It peaks this year on the night of the 22nd. This will be one of the best years to observe the Ursids because there will be no moonlight to interfere with the show. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor, but can appear anywhere in the sky. 1773 planets have been confirmed beyond our star system as of November 19, 2014. ………………………………………………………………………………………. This month’s meeting will be on December 9 at 7PM at the National Weather Service Forecast office at the Shelby County Airport. December’s meeting will feature the ALERT Christmas party! You are all cordially invited to the ALERT Christmas party Tuesday, December 9 at the NWS Forecast Office. This is a Pot Luck affair, which means you bring your own pot, meaning a pot with food in it, a covered dish, or desert, but no booze. Bring your spouse, kids, and perspective members and be prepared to have Christmas fun! If you plan on attending, please contact Johnnie Knobloch, KJ4OPX at 934-7392 or wxjohnnie@gmail.com and let him know how many are coming and what you might be bringing. I hope to see you there. Until then, from the house of Mark WD4NYL & Teresa KQ4JC we wish you a very Merry Christmas! 73 and take care. Mark WD4NYL Editor ALERT NEWSLETTER www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx/