Hi Everyone, and welcome to the 191 st Alert Newsletter!
I hope this finds you doing well & that you have been enjoying these cool spring days.
Our May 9 ALERT meeting will feature our annual elections.
These will be the first elections since life was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Positions to be decided are President, Vice President, Treasurer/Membership, Secretary and NWS
Liaison/K4NWS Station Trustee.
Those recommended by the Nominating Committee and any nominations from the floor (made by
a current ALERT Operational Member) and any volunteers for those positions will be voted on by
secret ballot, or acclamation if no other nominations exist from the floor.
If you are a paid up Operational Member or Supporting Member, which is a member interested in
Amateur Radio, Skywarn or Emergency Communications, but doesn’t have a ham license, you
may vote in the 2023-2024 ALERT leadership elections.
The positions of Public Information Officer and the non-permanent 1 two year and 2 one year
Board of Directors positions will be appointed by the incoming President.
The Editor of the Newsletter isn’t mentioned in the Bylaws and is merely a voluntary “labor of
love” of which I have been overseeing since 2007. And, not hearing any volunteers clawing at the
doors to take over, I will probably (pending Presidential approval) continue onward and upward to
infinity and beyond.
The officers will assume their positions at the July meeting.
July is also when ALERT dues are due. Remember, if you wish to respond to ALERT callouts or
serve as an officer you MUST be current with your dues.
May your May be a happy one!

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2023 Hurricane Outlooks

Colorado State University has issued its outlook for the 2023 tropical season, which runs from
June 1 to November 30.
https://tropical.colostate.edu/Forecast/2023-04.pdf
Their forecast predicts a near average season with 13 named storms during the Atlantic hurricane
season. Of those, researchers expect 6 to become hurricanes and 2 to reach major hurricane
strength of Category 3 or greater, with sustained winds of 111 miles per hour or greater.
There is 44% chance for at least one major hurricane to strike the United States.
There is 22% chance for at least one major hurricane to strike the US East coast including the
Florida Peninsula.
There is 28% chance for at least one major hurricane to strike the Gulf Coast from the Florida
Panhandle to Brownsville Texas.
AccuWeather’s 2023 Atlantic hurricane outlook also calls for an “near average” season with 11 to
15 named storms. Of those storms, 4 to 8 are forecast to become hurricanes, 1 to 4 being major
hurricanes and 2 to 4 hurricanes are likely to hit the United States.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurricane/accuweathers-2023-atlantic-hurricane-season-
forecast/1503557
The National Hurricane Center will issue their outlook on May 25.
A “Normal” season sees about 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes.
The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, after “above average” predictions, ended up being a near
“average season” with 14 named storms, 8 hurricanes 2 of which were major.
Despite it being a near average season, it became one of the costliest Atlantic seasons due to the
impact of Hurricane Ian, which struck Florida on September 28 th . Ian was the strongest hurricane
to hit Florida since Michael in 2018, following the exact path of Hurricane Charley in 2004.
This year El Nino conditions are forecast to return this summer around the peak of hurricane
season, which would be the first time since 2018 and 2019. El Niño leads to stronger upper level
winds, or wind shear, in the Atlantic, which is less favorable for tropical development.
The 2023 North Atlantic Basin Tropical Cyclone names are Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Don, Emily,
Franklin, Gert, Harold, Idalia, Jose, Katia, Lee, Margot, Nigel, Ophelia, Phillippe, Rina, Sean,
Tammy, Vince & Whitney.
Note that the names are used on a six-year rotation & that this list will return in 2027. Only names
of catastrophic or damaging storms are retired. Which is why you will never have another
Andrew, Betsy, Camille, Fredrick, Gilbert, Ivan, Katrina or Opal, to name a few ne’er-do-well
storms of the past.
If so many storms occur that the 2023 list is depleted, the storm names will revert to the World
Meteorological Organization supplemental list of names: Adria, Braylen, Caridad, Deshawn,
Emery, Foster, Gemma, Heath, Isla, Jacobus, Kenzie, Lucio, Makayla, Nolan, Orlanda, Pax, Ronin,
Sophie, Tayshaun, Viviana and Will.
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The Mysterious World Of Unlicensed Radios

The Christmas of 1966, when I was 8 years old, I was given a pair of General Electric walkie
talkies. These sets operated on CB Channel 14. While being crystal controlled for transmit, they
had very wide open receivers, receiving anything in or near the 11 Meter band, because they were
basically junk.
My friends and I played with them for a season, talking house to house, fencing with the 3 foot
long antennas, or 3 feet until we broke them trying to put each other’s eyes out and finally lay
these sets aside and moved on to other things.
During the brief time we used them, I only heard one other station beside ours come through the
ether, some guy who called himself “the Georgia Bulldog”, which seemed odd.
Ten years later, in 1976, I found one of the pair in the closet and out of curiosity, I plopped a in 9
volt battery and thought the receiver must have been shot, as there were dozens upon dozens of
people doubling, tripling, quadrupling, cussing and screeching on top of each other.
The CB Boom was booming.
A few months later my everyone in my family would have a CB radio. I would talk to my sister as
she drove to work at night to make sure she arrived safely and I talked many people as I ploughed
through the noise with my puny, but fun station.
Two factors worked to make the CB Boom the disaster that it proved to be. One being that it was
the fad of the day which suddenly plopped two million people into 23 channels, soon to be
increased to 40. The second factor was that the boom hit just as Solar Cycle 21 was heading
towards its peak. So not only did you have to deal with the local free for all, but you also had a
few hundred thousand intimate friends from California dumping in on you via the ionosphere as
well.
Why the FCC created a service meant for local communications in a DX band is still hard to
comprehend.
In 1977, to help relieve overcrowding and to give little walkie talkies half of a chance, the FCC
created 5 channels for “toy” walkie talkies just beneath the 6 meter ham band on 49.830, 49.845,
49.860, 49.875 and 49.890 MHz. 49.860 being the most used commonly frequency.
These new $7.95 100 mw units touted “up to ¼ mile range” and the “toy” Channel 14 units were
phased out and no longer sold after 1978, although a few not dubbed “toys” continued for a while.
Curious as to what activity I might hear, I got a 49 MHz walkie talkie and I never heard another set
drift in. But, I heard something else, quite by accident.
As it turned, out these frequencies were also shared with cordless telephone handset channels 6,
2, 3, 5 & 7, in that order. The base units were in the 46 MHz range. They also shared frequencies
with the older cordless phone base channels 06A, 13A,19A, 25A & 27A, whose handsets were just
below and slightly within the 160 meter ham band in the 1.695 – 1.825 MHz range. Then I
accidently found that baby monitors also used the same 5 channels.
So, quite by accident, I found that basically half my neighborhood had “bugged” itself . And,
Good Lord in Heaven the things I heard!
Now this was before the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 made it illegal to listen to
certain forms of communications. But, even after this act became effective, the FCC said “The
FCC and the Communications Act do not forbid certain types of interception and disclosure of

radio communications, including: Mere interception of radio communications, such as
overhearing your neighbor’s conversations over a cordless phone…” so, I wasn’t breaking the law
listening. And listen I did. It was kind of hard not to.
Exactly what I heard, I will never say, but suffice it to say that The Young & Restless had nothing
on some of those little old ladies that kept drifting in. Just because they were in their 80’s didn’t
mean they weren’t messy little biddies with “secrets”. I won’t even hint at what I heard, as this is a
family friendly forum, except to say, “People, people, people….Good Lord above”.
But that was decades ago as a teenager, and in a totally different neighborhood than I live in now.
And, though there might be some units still using the 49 MHz range, most are in the 900 MHz, 1.9
GHz and 2.4 GHz range.
I don’t know if anyone in my neighborhood uses 49 MHz devices. I’m not sure I really want to
know either. I sort of wish I hadn’t heard what I heard back then. Sometimes ignorance truly is
bliss.
Incidentally, in the early days of cellphones, during the 1G-Analog cellular days, before the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 made it illegal to do, if you had an older TV whose
tuner went to Channel 83 and tuned carefully in those unused upper UHF TV channels you could
eaves drop on cellphone calls. Most of the traffic was mundane “pick up a loaf of bread” type
conversations, some tended to be pornographic and a very significant percentage of calls you
heard were clearly drug trafficking related.
Everything is now digital and encrypted, so drug dealers can feel safe, and by law scanners and
broadband receivers have the cellular frequencies, 824 – 849 & 869 – 894 MHz blocked.
The 49 MHz band is still available for unlicensed devices and may still be used, but it’s not the
only license free band.
In the March 2019 Newsletter Article we covered “Non-Amateur Radio Options For Emergency
Preparedness” and mentioned the license free or “licensed by rule”, (whatever that means)
services, the Family Radio Service – FRS, Multi User Radio Service – MURS and Citizens Band
aka CB.
The Class D Citizens Radio Service aka Citizen Band or just plain CB we are fairly familiar with.
Channel 19 is the Highway Channel (except in California and the West Coast, where Channel 19 is
for east-west traffic and Channel 17 is for north-south traffic). Channel 9 in the US is reserved for
emergencies, and sometimes is sporadically monitored in some locations, but not to be depended
on, since you can’t assume anyone is actually listening. Often, during band openings you will
hear Spanish speaking stations, from areas where Channel 9 is just another channel. Channel 6
aka “the Super Bowl”, a channel with whopping signals, sometimes splattering from one end of
the band to the other, wild and wooly, but never ever boring. The other channels have traffic that
is just random chit chat, usually without profanity or kookiness, just people talking normally and
stations “shooting skip” seeking distant stations, which is perfectly legal as of 2018.
I said “fairly familiar with” in that there is a love-hate relationship with ham and CB radio. To
some, CBers are the Great Boogeymen of Radio. Anyone acting like a fool on the air is
automatically declared to be a CBer, when in fact, it usually turns out being an ancient amateur
with a cooked cranium.
Yes, there are some CBers who use illegal equipment, with illegal power on illegal frequencies
and some who act like foul mouthed louts, but not all do. I tend to believe that most CBers
actually run “clean” stations and operations, but you since they “behave” they don’t stand out.
Sort of like school day. People remember the hooligans, but the quite shy ones that didn’t act out
fade into the mists of memories. I operate a “clean” station and have since 1976.

At first, I believed the ham vs CB resentment, (and the resentment goes both ways), was simple
rivalry, not unlike rival sports teams. Alabama fans may insult Auburn fans, but more Alabama
fans than not “root” for Auburn, except during that certain dreaded day in November. There are
those who take it to a much darker level though.
Some CBers resent hams because some hams are so quick and vocal condemning CBers. Some
hams resent CBers pointing to poor CB operating practices, disregard for the FCC rules, because
of the history of CB or simply because they think “that’s what the ‘cool kids’ do.” And we all
wanna be cool, don’t we?
Having “dual radio citizenship”, being in both CB & ham since 1977, I can see both sides of the
argument.
As to history, 65 years ago what is now CB was the 11 Meter Amateur Radio band, which
stretched from 26.960 to 27.230 MHz. This was a secondary allocation in the realm of ISM or
Industrial, Scientific and Medical devices and was never a popular band. Partly because it was
not harmonically related the other Amateur bands, such as 160, 80, 40, 20 15 or 10 Meters, and
largely because of interference from the devices of the primary ISM users which legally created
hellacious broadband interference from coast to coast.
Not that much protest was heard, when in 1958 the frequencies were reallocated and given to a
new the Class D Citizens Radio Service aka Citizens Band. But, popular or not, the “we was
robbed” sentiment helped create the love/hate relationship that exists to this day.
GMRS, which shares frequencies with FRS, is sometimes confused as “UHF CB” and some are
under the impression that GMRS is CB Version 2.0 or a “ham like“ service. There is some truth
that the defunct UHF Class A CB was the forerunner of GMRS and defunct VHF Class B is
arguably an even more distant ancestor of FRS, but that is where the similarities end.
Class C CB, now known as the Radio Control Radio Service, includes spectrum at 72 and 76 MHz
in addition to the original 27 MHz channels interspersed among voice channels as well as CB
Channel 23.
In 1973 there was a petition to create a Class E CB service in the neglected 220 MHz or 1.25 meter
amateur band, which, with due credit to the ARRL, was defeated in 1977.
However, in the late 1980’s, the United Parcel Service (UPS) began lobbying the FCC to reallocate
part of the 1.25-meter band to the Land Mobile Service, as they publicized plans to use the band to
develop a narrow-bandwidth wireless voice and data network using a mode called ACSSB
(amplitude-companded single sideband). They picked 220 MHz citing that it was little used and
that it was in the public interest. In 1980 the FCC reallocated 220 – 222 MHz to private and federal
government land-mobile use. The UPS then changed their minds and went in another direction
communications wise and the FCC issued parts of the band to other private commercial interests,
especially pagers, which have now gone the way of dinosaurs.
So, basically we hams lost 220 – 222 MHz for nothing, though the FCC did reallocate 219 – 220
MHz on a secondary bases for amateur use, for fixed digital message forwarding. So, if you ever
look at a frequency allocation chart and wonder why there is a gap of 220 – 222 MHz in the 219 –
225 MHz 1.25 meter band, now you know why.
Will the FCC ever give the frequencies back to the Amateur service? Probably not, as there is so
little activity on the band. Which is a shame, as it’s a very good band. There is a scarcity of
radios and a scarcity of people, probably due to the scarcity radios, which is due to the scarcity of
people who can’t find radios to talk to the few people with radios, and so forth and so on.

Moving on to GMRS/FRS & MURs, what can you REALLY hear on the GMRS/FRS & MURs
frequencies?
After months of monitoring at a location atop Red Mountain from 1000 feet up overlooking the
city, Interstates I-65, I-20/59, I-22 and US Highways 280 & 31 and their tangled drug induced
interchanges. I can tell you that in Birmingham, at least, on FRS and GMRS 95% of what I hear is
business related. I hear schools, security, a hospital, a pet supply store, plumbers, contractors,
random Spanish, and occasionally kids on FRS Channel 1 screeching, but no highway traffic like
CB Channel 19 or “meeting cool new people” as in 2 meter ham radio. It is just not that type of
realm.
There is a repeater near Birmingham in Blount County at Palisades Park near Oneonta on 462.600
Mhz, (DCS 155), which Red Mountain blocks me from hearing at home, but, from work on Red
Mountain, it has a great signal and beautiful audio.
This repeater is operated by JR Lowery KK4CWX. If you have a GMRS license, standard protocol
is to always contact the repeater owner and ask permission to use the repeater before actually
doing so, and if I can ever bore a hole through Red Mountain, look out world, here I come!
As for GMRS, some suggest, (though GMRS frequencies are referred to as “frequencies” not
“channels” since the FCC doesn’t call them “channels” and some radios use different channel
configurations) using Channel 16 for 4 x 4 off road groups (4×4=16) and Channel 19 for highway
use, mimicking CB. Channel 20 was promoted as the “Travelers Channel” with a PL tone of 141.3
Hz, the “Travel Tone”, by groups, but, after months of listening, I see no one frequency used more
than any other. Everything is very random and unpredictable.
On MURs, unless I am near a Walmart, months go by before I hear any signal. Then it may be an
itinerant worker or two cars on a road trip chatting until they drift out of range.
MURs, which has 2 watts power output, and as opposed to FRS. no antenna restrictions and the
same propagation characteristics as 2 meters, is an overlooked resource.
What other low power services are there?
There are critters known as a “LowFERs”.
LowFERs or “Low Frequency Experimental Radio”, are experimental stations that operate below
the AM Broadcast Band from 160 – 190 kHz, with up to 1 Watt using a 3 meter (9.84 feet) antenna.
This is not to be confused with the new 2,200 meter ham band, which stretches from 135.7 – 137.8
kHz, which is available for CW and phone operations with 1 Watt EIRP.
Most LowFER activity is in the form of CW beacons, though actual CW QSO’s do occur, and with
good band conditions and a lot of luck, 100 – 300 miles or more range is possible during winter
nights.
LowFER activity is hindered by interference from power line control carriers, utility stations and if
the conditions are VERY good, Broadcasters from Europe and Africa, as there is a Longwave
Broadcast band in ITU Region 1 from 148.5 – 283.5 kHz.
MedFERs, or Medium Frequency Experimental Radio suffers the same plight of AM broadcast
interference, and even more so seeing that they lie from 510 – 1705 kHz, overlapping the AM
Broadcast Band. They use a mighty 1/10 th of a Watt and a 3 meter (9.84 feet) antenna.

At one time they had a refuge from 1600 – 1710 kHz, with the only competition being fish net
buoys in the Gulf IDing in CW and an aeronautical beacon in Caracas Venezuela. Then the FCC
expanded the AM band to 1700 kHz, which took away all their fun.
HiFERs or High Frequency Experimental Radio lies in a 14 kHz wide slice of spectrum centered at
13.560 kHz. The ultimate in QRP operations, they use 4.8 milliwatts into a dipole or quarter wave
antenna. They are plagued by interference from diathermy machines and other devices in the
Industrial, Scientific, and Medical or ISM band.
Want your own FM radio station? The FCC does permit very low power operations using a 200
kHz wide FM signal where the emission “shall not exceed 250 microvolts per meter at 3 meters”.
The actual output of the transmitter is based on field strength not, output power. One person I
know played oldies music from his iPod to his neighborhood, which the neighbors told him they
enjoyed.
Recently, I was in an online argument, which seems to be the New American Pastime, as a certain
error laden website, “carcbradios.com” stated “The frequencies that can be used without a
license are: 1.) 902 to 928 MHz (33cm Amateur Band)…”
,
They are wrong and slightly correct, in that there are companies that market 1 watt, FHSS
(Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) handheld radios under the ISM umbrella. They typically
stay on a frequency for 90 milliseconds and then hop to another frequency, or about 11 hops per
second.
But, this is a far cry from the case of “aw just get a ham radio and use it, because who gives a rip
anyway?” (An attitude becoming more and more prevalent as people bootleg on ham bands, the
Marine Band and anywhere a radio happens to land).
Yes, it is a radio and yes, it is license free, but then again you don’t need a license for a cellphone
either.
We will close out this article with a little beast called “PMR446”.
PMR446 is the European Union equivalent of the Family Radio Service in the US. Where FRS
operates in the 462 MHz range, PMR446, which uses 500 mw, operates in the 446 MHz range,
which in the US is the 70 CM ham Band.
PMR446 Analog FM frequencies are:
Ch 01 446.00625 MHz “Children’s Channel”
Ch 02 446.01875 MHz
Ch 03 446.03125 MHz
Ch 04 446.04375 MHz
Ch 05 446.05625 MHz
Ch 06 446.06875 MHz
Ch 07 446.08125 MHz
Ch 08 446.09355 MHz “Calling Chanel”
Ch 09 446.10625 MHz
Ch 10 446.11875 MHz
Ch 11 446.13125 MHz
Ch 12 446.14375 MHz
Ch 13 446.15625 MHz
Ch 14 446.16875 MHz
Ch 15 446.18125 MHz
Ch 16 446.19375 MHz

There are also 32 DMR channels interspaced between the listed FM channels from 446.003125 –
446.196825 MHz, but I’ll focus on the FM channels.
PMR446 radios, in their original purpose as unlicensed low power two way radios, are illegal for
use in the US and are not sold in the US. But, it is possible you might hear one now and again, as
visiting Europeans will on occasion bring them with them, not knowing or perhaps not caring
about their legality, or lack thereof.
The interesting question arises though, since they are FM in the voice portion of the 70 CM band,
can a licensed ham use them? The answer is theoretically yes.
They reside in the portion of the band recommended for simplex, auxiliary and control links and
repeaters and Channel 1 is very close to the 70 CM National Simplex Frequency 446.000 MHz.
Two problems arise. First, will it interfere with auxiliary and control links or repeaters?
Secondly the frequency arrangements are 12.5 kHz “splinter frequencies”, which are non-
standard.
But, if the answer to the first question is “no”, that resolves the main concern. So, yes, a US ham
could legally use a pair of FM PMR446 radios, even if they have weird spacing, say for camping
and such. But, with only a 500 milliwatts to play with, there are much better options available.
Assuming you are a ham, just get a regular run of the mill HT and ham away. If you don’t have a
license and don’t want to fork out $35 for a GMRS license, get an FRS or MURs radio.

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Mark’s Almanac

May is the fifth month & third month of the Roman calendar. May is named for the Greek goddess
Maia, who was identified with, Bona Dea, the Goddess of Fertility, who was celebrated in May.
Since ancient times the first day of the month, “May Day” has been a time of celebration. In Rome
it honored Flora, the goddess of flowers.
On May the fifth Mexican’s celebrate Cinco De Mayo, the celebration of Mexico’s 1862 victory over
Napoleon III’s forces at Puebla. This is not, as many assume, Mexico’s Independence Day, which
is actually on September 16.
Rainfall decreases in May as the Azores-Bermuda High strengthens, expands Westward over the
Southeastern US & begins rerouting storm systems northward.
The door opens to the Gulf of Mexico & Gulf moisture spreads northward over the continent.
The center of maximum tornadic activity also shifts northward over the Nation’s Heartland. May is
the peak tornado month, with a 42% increase over April’s amount.
Eastern Pacific hurricane season begins May 15, and although the North Atlantic hurricane
season has not arrived, occasionally a tropical system will form in the Gulf of Mexico. From 1851
to 2022 there have been 27 Tropical Storms and 5 Hurricanes, including an 1863 Category 2 storm,
the knowledge of which is based on historical reanalysis by NOAA’s Michael Chenoweth and Cary

Mock in 2013 and posthumously given the name Hurricane Amanda, named after, a Union ship the
storm washed ashore. It made landfall near Apalachicola Florida.
60% of off-season Hurricanes occur in May.
Days continue to grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon increases from 71.6
degrees at the beginning of the month to 78.4 degrees at the month’s end. Daylight increases
from 13 hours 31 minutes on May 1 to 14 hours 13 minutes on May 31.
Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:
May 1 Sunrise 5:59 AM Sunset 7:30 PM
May 15 Sunrise 5:47 AM Sunset 7:41 PM
May 30 Sunrise 5:39 AM Sunset 7:52 PM
Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.7 is in Aries, The Ram.
At the beginning of the month Mercury, magnitude +4.2 in Aries, The Ram, is hidden in the glow of
the Sun. He will pass between the Earth and the Sun, or be in “Inferior Conjunction, on May 1.
He will then emerge very low into the predawn morning sky on May 12, at 5:09 AM, some 30
minutes before Sunrise, and brighten rapidly as the month progresses.
On May 29, he will reach his highest point above the horizon or “Greatest Western Elongation”,
13° above the horizon, rising around 4:30 AM, and hour before Sunrise, at magnitude +0.4.
Venus, magnitude -4.1 in Taurus, The Bull, becomes visible around 7:45 PM, 35° above the
western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3
hours and 21 minutes or so, after Sunset.
On May 12, she will be at her highest point in the sky in her 2023 evening visit, shining brilliantly
at a magnitude of -0.3, 40° above the horizon.
One interesting note, during the pandemic, while many we’re shut in watching TV, Washington
University in St. Louis graduate student Rebecca Hahn was busy doing something else. She took
the highest-resolution imagery available of the Venusian surface, which was obtained by NASA’s
Magellan spacecraft from 1990 to 1994 using radar to penetrate the perpetual cloud cover and
loaded it into mapping software like that used by engineers and urban planners on Earth. She
then set out to map every single volcano visible in the grainy, black-and-white images by hand.
The result was a map of 85,000 volcanos.
So, with sulfuric acid rains, 855° surface temperatures, 1000 PSI atmospheric pressure, and now
this, I have decided not to visit there after all.
How many of these volcanoes are active, no one knows. While Mars has inactive volcanoes, only
Earth and Jupiter’s moons Io & Europa have active volcanoes. Io is so volcanic that it is
constantly resurfacing itself.
Earth, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in the constellation Virgo, The Virgin.
Mars, magnitude +1.3, in Gemini, The Twins, is an early evening object, becoming visible around 8
PM, 56° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He then sinks towards the horizon,
setting just before 1 AM.
He will reach his furthest distance from the Sun in his 687 day orbit, or “Aphelion” on May 30.

Mars has a significantly elliptical orbit around the Sun, and at Aphelion he receives 31% less heat
and light from the Sun than at his closest point, “Perihelion”, which he will reach May 8, 2024.
Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude +7.5, is in Coma Berenices, or “Berenices Hair.
Jupiter, magnitude –2.1, in Pisces, The Fish, is lost in the glow of the Sun as the month begins.
By mid-month he will emerge into the dawn sky, rising around 4:30 AM, an hour before the Sun,
reaching an altitude of 10° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks an
hour later.
Jupiter will pass 0.8° South of the Moon on May 17.
Saturn, magnitude +0.9, in Aquarius, The Water Bearer. Is an early morning object, rising, at the
beginning of the month, around 3 AM, 2 hours and 50 minutes before the Sun at an altitude of 24°
above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks.
He rises earlier and earlier as the month progresses, by mid-month rising around 02:14, 3 hours
and 30 minutes before the Sun, and reaching an altitude of 31° above the south-eastern horizon
before fading from view as dawn breaks around 05:06 AM.
By months end he will rise a little after 1 AM and reach an altitude of 38° above the south-eastern
horizon before fading into the dawn around 5 AM.
Uranus, magnitude +5.9 in Aries, is lost in the glow of the Sun.
He will pass behind the Sun, or be in “conjunction”, on May 8.
Neptune, magnitude 7.8 in Pisces, The Fish, is lost in the glow of the Sun as the month begins.
By months end he will emerge into the morning sky rising a little after 2 AM, 3 hours and 26
minutes before the Sun and reaching an altitude of 27° above the south-eastern horizon before
fading from view as dawn breaks around 4:30 AM.
Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim +14.5 in Capricorn, The Sea Goat..
Dwarf Planet 136108 Haumea, her ring and moons Hiʻiaka and Namaka, shines at a faint
magnitude of +17.3 in Bootes, The Herdsman
Dwarf Planet 136472 Makemake with his moon S/2015 (136472) faintly shines at magnitude +17.1
in Coma Berenices.
Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia is barely visible in the most powerful
telescopes at magnitude +18.7 in Cetus the Sea Monster.
At least five additional bodies with the preliminary criteria for identifying dwarf planets, and
though not “officially” declared as such, are generally called dwarf planets by astronomers as
well.
90482 Orcus, and his moon Vanth shines at magnitude +19.1 between Hydra, the Sea Monster and
Serpens, The Snake.
50000 Quaoar,and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Ophiucus, The Serpent Bearer,

90377 Sedna, the coldest, and at one time, the most distant known place in the Solar System,
glows faintly at magnitude +20.8 in Taurus, The Bull.
225088 Gonggong, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Aquarius, The Water
Bearer.
Unnamed Dwarf Planet 2014 UZ224, nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles
from the Sun, at magnitude +23.1 in Eridanus, The River.
Currently the most distant observable known object in the Solar System, and asteroid unofficially
called Asteroid 2018 AG37, and nicknamed FarFarOut, glows at a barely detectable +25.5
magnitude in Lynx.
FarFarOut is 12,246,241,135 miles or in Light Time, 18 hours, 15 minutes and 40.1951 seconds
from Earth.
The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 45 years, 7 months and 20 days
is 14,793,533,059 miles, or in Light Time, 22 hours, 3 minutes and 34 Seconds from Earth as of
11:50 AM, April 26, 2023, sailing through Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer.
It is still in contact with the Earth via NASA’s Deep Space Network from interstellar space, or more
poetically put “somewhere between the stars.”
There are 1,281,179 known asteroids as of April 26, per NASA.
5338 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of April 17, per NASA’s
Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/.
Full Moon will occur May 15th at 12:36 PM CDT or 17:36 UTC, May 5. The Moon will be located on
the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated. May’s Moon is
“Flower Moon” in Native American folklore, because of the abundance of spring flowers. It has
also been called “Corn Planting Moon” & “Milk Moon”.
During a Full Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -12.7.
There will be a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse May 5. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon
passes through the Earth's partial shadow, or penumbra. During this type of eclipse, the Moon will
slightly darken, but not completely. The eclipse will be visible throughout Asia, Australia and
parts of eastern Europe and eastern Africa.
The Moon will be at Perigee or its closest distance from Earth on May 10, when she will be 229,500
miles from Earth.
Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur May 12 at
9:29 AM or 14:29 UTC.
During the Quarter Moons the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.
The Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower, an above average shower, peaks May 5 & 6. It can produce up
to 60 meteors per hour at its peak, but most of the activity is seen in the Southern Hemisphere. In
the Northern Hemisphere, the rate can reach about 30 meteors per hour, which is still a decent
shower. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet Halley, due to return in a mere 39
years in the summer of 2061. The shower runs annually from April 19 to May 28. It peaks this year
on the night of May 5 and the morning of the May 6. The nearly full moon will be a problem this
year, blocking out all but the brightest meteors. If you are patient, you should be able to catch a

few good ones. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from
the constellation Aquarius but can appear anywhere in the sky.
New Moon will occur on May 19 at 10:55 AM CDT or 15:55 UTC. The Moon will be located on the
same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. 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 Moon will be at Apogee, or her farthest point from the Earth on May 25 at 251,351 miles.
First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur May 27 at
10:23 AM or 15:23 UTC. During the Quarter Moons the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.
In the Northern Sky the Big Dipper, part of Ursa Major, the Great Bear, begins the month upside
down, “spilling its water” on Polaris, the North Star, which is the tip of the handle of the Little
Dipper or Ursa Minor, the Little Bear.
Interestingly, the Big and Little Dippers are arranged so that when one is upright, the other is
upside down. In addition, their handles appear to extend in opposite directions. The Big Dipper is
by far the brighter of the two, appearing as a long-handled pan, while the Little Dipper resembles a
dim ladle.
The Big Dipper is called by other names across the world. In the Netherlands it’s the “Saucepan”,
“The Plough” in England and “The Great Wagon” in other parts of Europe.

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This month’s meeting will be on May 9 at 7 PM.
The meeting will be held at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Calera and remotely as
was last month’s meeting. Details and instructions will be issued as the time nears.
I hope to see you there!
Mark Wells
WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter

Hi Everyone,

I hope this finds you well during these stormy days.

2023 has proven to be an active tornado year. January was the second most active January on record for tornadoes, with 168 preliminary tornado reports, second only to January 1999, which had 214 tornadoes nationwide. Storms continued through February and March, including a severe weather outbreak on March 2 & 3.

AccuWeather, an American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide. predicts 1,055 to 1,200 twisters will touch down across the United States throughout 2023, slightly below the historical average of 1,225.

The devastation we see sin Mississippi and Arkansas goes to underscore the danger and vulnerability we all face from a tornado that season is far from over.

The threat is real and ongoing, so make sure you have a plan in place and a safe place in mind, both at home, school and at work should a tornado threaten you or your loved ones.

Pay attention to forecasts – possible tornado threats are usually forecast many days in advance.

Pay attention Watches and Warnings – have multiple reliable ways to receive them wherever you
may be located, whether at home or at work. Also remember that tornado watches include the wording “in and close to the watch area.” Just because your county is not in the watch doesn’t necessarily mean you should let your guard down.

Pay attention to the conditions around you – brief spin up tornados can occur between radar
scans or in areas of problematic radar coverage, either due to the distance from the radar, signal obstructions or atmospheric conditions affecting the radar returns.

Do understand that with the exception of the NWS, state and local authorities, and local news media, not everyone will give you good valid information or instructions as to what to do in an emergency and social media is perhaps one of the worst sources, as everyone is an “expert” online and on Facebook.

Beware of well-meaning misinformed people.

Heed the advice of learned authorities and reliable sources, as they know what is or may be about to happen and any overriding circumstances and conditions that may be present that may alter the usual recommended actions.

Stay safe!

See: Tornado Safety (Online Tornado FAQ) (noaa.gov)

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Amateur Radio Testing Opportunities

One cloudy day in November 1977 I sat in Jim Bonner, K4UMD’s ham shack nervously scribbling as he sent Morse Code at 5 WPM. He read my chicken scratches, smiled and said “well if anyone ever asks if you passed the 5 WPM test, you can tell them you did.” Then he then handed the written test, which I crawled through and after rereading the tests and my answers, I handed it back to him. He then read the answers and said, “I think you passed, but the FCC has to grade it”.

New hams stress out that the FCC hasn’t issued their license yet. “I mean honestly, it’s been 48 hours since I took the test.”

In 1977 I checked to mailbox every day for a month anxiously waiting for the FCC’s verdict – pass or fail. Then on December 27, 1977, I saw an oblong envelope from the FCC in Gettysburg, PA that said “WD4NYL”.

It seemed miraculous. I really had passed the blooming thing. WD4NYL. I’ve never forgotten the feeling when I saw that, and I guess for sentimental reasons I never changed call signs. It’s “vintage” now.

Getting into ham radio was one of the best decisions I’ve made in life. 99% of the people I have met have been some of the nicest folk you could ever meet. The remaining 1% lunatic portion may have, well, actually there is no “may” about it, have raised my blood pressure and at times tempted me to get a voodoo doll from the French Quarter of New Orleans, but, they couldn’t stop me.

Today, entering ham radio is easier than ever before, with online resources and unlike the 70’s and 80’s where we waited for the FCC’s three visits to Birmingham (“dates to be determined”), or travelling to Atlanta, there are frequent testing opportunities by multiple groups.

If you have never gotten your ham radio license, which you need to legally transmit on a ham radio, and to gain the knowledge of how things do and do not work and how to communicate effectively, there are several opportunities which will be available to you in the near future.

Amateur radio license examinations will be held on the following dates:

April 8, 2023 – Jasper, Walker County
Sponsor: Walker County ARES
Location: American Red Cross
Time: 9:00 AM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

April 15, 2023 – Helena, Shelby County
Sponsor: KF4IOL Fellowship ARC
Location: Helena Sports Complex
Time: 1:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

April 15, 2023 – Pell City, St. Clair County
Sponsor: Pell City VE Team
Location: Pell City Public Library
Time: 11:30 AM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

April 22, 2023 – Pinson, Jefferson County
Sponsor: CAVEC
Location: Pinson Valley High School
Time: 9:00 AM
http://www.cavechamexam.com/pinson-al-exam-site-info.html

May 6, 2023 – Columbiana, Shelby County
Sponsor: Central Alabama ARC
Location: Columbiana Church of Nazarene
Time: 2:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

May 13, 2023 – Jasper, Walker County
Sponsor: Walker County ARES
Location: American Red Cross
Time: 9:00 AM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

May 14, 2023 – Birmingham, Jefferson County
Sponsor: ARA Group
Location: BARC Meeting Location – Birmingham
Time: 2:00 PM
https://www.aragroup.org/calendar/calendar.htm

May 15, 2023 – Helena, Shelby County
Sponsor: KF4IOL Fellowship ARC
Location: Helena Sports Complex
Time: 1:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

May 20, 2023 – Pell City, St. Clair County
Sponsor: Pell City VE Team
Location: Pell City Public Library
Time: 11:30 AM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

May 27, 2023 – Pinson, Jefferson County
Sponsor: CAVEC
Location: Pinson Valley High School
Time: 9:00 AM
http://www.cavechamexam.com/pinson-al-exam-site-info.html

June 6, 2023 – Columbiana, Shelby County
Sponsor: Central Alabama ARC
Location: Columbiana Church of Nazarene
Time: 2:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

June 10, 2023 – Jasper, Walker County
Sponsor: Walker County ARES
Location: American Red Cross
Time: 9:00 AM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

Jun 11, 2023 – Hoover, Shelby County
Sponsor: ARA Group
Location: Hoover, Shelby County
Time: 2:00 PM
https://www.aragroup.org/calendar/calendar.htm

June 17, 2023 – Helena, Shelby County
Sponsor: KF4IOL Fellowship ARC
Location: Helena Sports Complex
Time: 1:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

June 17, 2023 – Pell City, St. Clair County
Sponsor: Pell City VE Team
Location: Pell City Public Library
Time: 11:30 AM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

June 27, 2023 – Pinson, Jefferson County
Sponsor: CAVEC
Location: Pinson Valley High School
Time: 9:00 AM
http://www.cavechamexam.com/pinson-al-exam-site-info.html

July 1, 2023 = Columbiana, Shelby County
Sponsor: Central Alabama ARC
Location: Columbiana Church of Nazarene
Time: 2:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

July 8, 2023 – Jasper, Walker County
Sponsor: Walker County ARES
Location: American Red Cross
Time: 9:00 AM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

Jul 9, 2023 – Birmingham, Jefferson County
Sponsor: ARA Group
Location: BARC Meeting Location – Birmingham
Time: 2:00 PM
https://www.aragroup.org/calendar/calendar.htm

July 15, 2023 – Helena, Shelby County
Sponsor: KF4IOL Fellowship ARC
Location: Helena Sports Complex
Time: 1:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

July 15, 2023 – Pell City, St. Clair County
Sponsor: Pell City VE Team
Location: Pell City Public Library
Time: 11:30 AM (Walk-ins allowed)
Learn More

July 22, 2023 – Pinson, Jefferson County
Sponsor: CAVEC
Location: Pinson Valley High School
Time: 9:00 AM
http://www.cavechamexam.com/pinson-al-exam-site-info.html

The Tuscaloosa County VE Group (not affiliated with TARC) is currently scheduling test sessions on an “as needed” basis.

If you are interested in testing, whether to obtain a new Technician license or to upgrade your existing license, contact us Allan or Bridget Thompson via email ks4yt@yahoo.com or telephone at 205-919-7505.

Tuscaloosa Amateur Radio Club (tclarc.org)

For information on exams near you if you are not in the Jefferson Shelby County areas see:
Find an Amateur Radio License Exam in Your Area (arrl.org)

Online Exam sessions do exist, created April 30, 2020, as a byproduct of COVID19 restrictions.

Ham radio license tests are administered by Volunteer Exam Coordinators (VECs) that are approved by the FCC to administer the exam.

There is some setup required with a webcam, a Zoom meeting, and possibly a qualified proctor – it all depends on which VEC you choose to administer your exam. Each VEC will have their own detailed requirements and instructions.

Before you get in touch with a VEC to try to schedule your exam, make sure you have studied for the exam and can easily score the 74% required to pass.

See: https://hamradioprep.com/

The only concern I have about the online approach is that it totally omits mentoring or “Elmering” process / opportunities where hams learn from each other, which in my mind is a two way street. Older hams mentoring the younger hams using their experience and younger hams mentoring us old goats, as the younger hams know how to integrate computer technology in ways us old goats, or at least this old goat, can barely comprehend. We need each other.

That’s were the value of getting involved with the ham radio clubs come in.

That said, online sources, per the ARRL site are:

W9TWJ VETEAM
Contact: Tanner Jones
Email: W9TWJ@arrl.net
Sponsor: Unsponsored
Website: https://w9twj.com/exams/
Exam Website: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/W9TWJ

KA4KBX VETEAM
Contact: Gary Pike
Email: vetesting@yahoo.com
Sponsor: KJ4PJE PARC
Website: https://parcradio.org/pages/online.html
Exam Website: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/KJ4PJE

N0ZRD VETEAM
Contact: Gordon Hanson
Email: N0ZRD@mnyarc.org
Sponsor: MNYARC/KOLTC.org
Website: https://exam.mnyarc.org
Exam Website: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/N0ZRD

KK7GKO VETEAM
Contact: ‘Gene’ Cecil McDole
Email: genemcdole2@gmail.com
Sponsor: PARC-US
Exam Website: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/PARC-US

KB7UTV KC7QJO VETEAM
Contact: Lawrence Simon
Email: larry@simonlj.net
Sponsor: Las Vegas VE Team
Website: https://www.lvhamtest.us/video-supervised-license-exam-sessions/
Exam Website: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/KC7QJO

W4WRE VETEAM
Contact: Rodney Webb
Email: W4WREares@gmail.com
Sponsor: Lakeway ARC – W2IQ
Website: http://www.hamonlinetests.com/
Exam Website: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/W4WRE

NL7CW VETEAM
Contact: Brandin Hess
Email: testing@aarg.club
Sponsor: Last Frontier Volunteer Examiner Club, Inc.
Website: https://aarg.club/?page_id=14
Exam Website: https://hamexamgen.com/schedule.php

WB9ZPH VETEAM
Contact: Janet Crenshaw
Email: wb9zph@gmail.com
Sponsor: WB9ZPH
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/wb9zph
Exam Website: http://hamstudy.org/sessions/wb9zph

AD6ZH VETEAM
Contact: Morris Jones
Email: ad6zh.mj@gmail.com
Sponsor: Silicon Valley VE Group – register on website or email team for an appt.
Website: http://www.svve.org

N9LHS VETEAM
Contact: Linda Straubel
Email: straue75@gmail.com
Sponsor: Daytona Beach ARA – contact team (7:30pm testing Mon-Thurs)
Website: https://www.dbara.org/about/testing-sessions/
Exam Website: https://www.dbara.org/about/testing-sessions/

N2YGK VETEAM
Contact: Alan Crosswell
Email: alan+exams@columbia.edu
Sponsor: Columbia University VE Team ARC
Website: https://www.w2aee.columbia.edu/content/remote-license-exams
Exam Website: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/W2AEE

AH0A VETEAM
Contact: Joseph Speroni
Email: ah0a@arrl.net
Sponsor: Emergency Amateur Radio Club – ZOOM video session
Website: http://earchi.org/
Exam Website: http://hameducation.org/register/

WF9S VETEAM
Contact: Atsunobu Tama
Email: liaison@ve-kobe.matrix.jp
Sponsor: ARRL VE Kobe
Website: http://www.ve-kobe.matrix.jp/
Exam Website: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/wf9s

KM6ZQB VETEAM
Contact: Heather Parker
Email: parker_prince@yahoo.com
Sponsor: San Diego ARRL VE Team
Website: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/KM6ZQB-D
Exam Website: http://hamstudy.org/sessions/arrl/km6zqb

K4WVZ VETEAM
Contact: David Robinson
Email: davidmrobinson15@gmail.com
Sponsor: Sun City W4SPC – email team for an appointment

KT4V VETEAM
Contact: Ken Zieleck
Email: zieleck@gmail.com
Sponsor: Carteret Cnty ARS – email team for an appointment
Website: http://www.w4ymi.org/

WW1RF VETEAM
Contact: Allan Ryan
Email: testing@barnstableARC.org
Sponsor: Barnstable ARC – on demand testing, EMAIL team for an appointment
Website: https://www.barnstablearc.org/?q=node/12

KD8JBS VETEAM
Contact: Benjamin Murray
Email: kd8jbs@arrl.net
Sponsor: Williams County ARC
Exam Website: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/kd8jbs

K3BV VETEAM
Contact: Peter Dernikos
Email: info@vea.org.au
Sponsor: Book a time slot BEFORE registering on exam website.
Website: http://www.vea.org.au/book-us-online-exam
Exam Website: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/K3BV/

N8JMW VETEAM
Contact: Jacqueline Welch
Email: n8jmw2@gmail.com
Sponsor: Geauga ARA
Website: https://geaugaara.org/
Exam Website: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/N8JMW
Additional ARRL VE Teams
For additional ARRL teams offering remote online exams visit: https://hamstudy.org/sessions/arrl/remote

Becoming a ham operator is one of the wisest decisions I made.

Whether you become a ham due to interests in radio technology, severe weather or emergency preparedness, I invite you to join the fun.

And, with all these testing opportunities available why wait?

For more information see:

Amateur Radio – Becoming A Licensed Operator

https://alertalabama.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/ALERTOperationalMembers/EZqBOkJRHoFKkyTtjXWiCvoBUsxigEGL_NQD1Nv0XLNKqA?e=t7fVrh

Getting Licensed (arrl.org)

I hope to see you on the air!

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Mark’s Almanac

The Romans called April “Aprilis”, probably from the word “aperire”, which means, “to open”. This time of year being when buds open. It was originally the second month of the Roman calendar, before Roman King Numa Pompilius added January & February in 700 BC.

Freezing weather comes to an end as Birmingham’s average last freeze is April 1, while Tuscaloosa’s is March 26. The record for the latest freeze date is April 21, 1953 for Tuscaloosa and April 23, 1986 for Birmingham.

Snowfall is still possible though, as April 3, 1987’s 5 inches proves. The latest trace of snow was April 25, 1910.

April is less wet than March & rain becomes more localized and less widespread in nature. The sun heats the lower atmosphere near the ground and since the upper atmosphere is still cold, the warm air rises, reaches the dew point line, forms clouds & then it may rain. April is the first time in the spring season that favors local convective activity, which is why you have “April Showers”.

North Atlantic Tropical activity remains at a minimum. From 1851 to 2022 there has never been a Hurricane and only two Tropical Storms – Ana in 2003 and Arlene in 2017 which affected only shipping.

April is peak tornado month, with wide scale outbreaks possible. There are 2 ½ times the number of tornadoes as in March. 25% of the year’s tornadoes will have occurred by April 28.

From April 1950 to 2022, 9781 tornadoes were reported. From 1950 – 2022 there were causing, as of 2022, 1946 deaths and as of 2013, 29,090 injuries.

As of 2017, Oklahoma leads the nation in killer violent tornados, having had 64, followed by Iowa with 54, Texas with 53, Kansas with 48 and Alabama 44.

As of 2015, Alabama ranks fourth in the number of April tornadoes, following Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. They along with Illinois belong to the “over 400 club” having had over 400 tornadoes since 1950.

As of 2017 Alabama leads the nation in F5 & EF5 tornadoes, having had 9, followed by Oklahoma and Kansas with 8, and a two-way tie for third between Iowa and Texas with 6.

As of 2016 Alabama leads the nation in tornado deaths with 633, followed by Texas with 552 and Mississippi with 477.

The counties most likely to be struck by violent EF5 tornadoes are Lawrence, Limestone, Morgan, Madison and Marion, all of which have been struck three times.

Tuscaloosa has been stuck by four F4 & EF4 tornadoes including 1932, 1975, 2000 & 2011.

The suburbs of Birmingham, including Oak Grove, Pleasant Grove, McDonald Chapel and Smithfield have been struck by two F4 & EF4 tornadoes in 1956 & 2011 and by two F5 tornadoes in 1977 & 1998.

My Grandfather, who passed away in 1958, once said “someday a big tornado is going to go right up Jones Valley and tear everything up”.

Indeed, there is no logical or climatological reason why and an EF4 or EF5 tornado hasn’t struck or won’t strike the densely populated areas of Birmingham, including the high rises of downtown.

Whether it is due to “Divine Providence” or “random chance” otherwise known as “luck”, Birmingham has been spared.

When will that luck run out?

The Top 10 Counties for Tornadoes from 1950 – 2021 are:

Jefferson 105
Mobile 100
Baldwin 97
Cullman 95
Tuscaloosa 83
Madison 80
Marshall 72
Dekalb 68
Limestone 65
Walker 57

A large percentage of the Mobile and Baldwin County tornadoes were in association with landfalling tropical systems.

There is no basis to the myth that mountains can block tornadoes, and yet there is the strange coincidence that from the southern terminus of the Appalachian Mountains at Tannehill State Park in Tuscaloosa & Bibb Counties northeastward through Jefferson, Shelby, Blount, St. Clair, Marshall, Etowah, Dekalb and Cherokee Counties there are roughly twice as many tornadoes on the windward side of the Appalachian mountain range than on the leeward side.

But no matter where you might be reading this, always beware of the storms of April.

Days continue to grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon rapidly increases from 61.1 degrees at the beginning of the month to 71.3 degrees at the end. Daylight increases from 12 hours 32 minutes on April 1 to 13 hours 29 minutes on April 30.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

April 1 Sunrise 6:35 AM Sunset 7:08 PM
April 15 Sunrise 6:17 AM Sunset 7:18 PM
April 30 Sunrise 6:00 AM Sunset 7:29 PM

Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.8 is in Pisces, The Fish.

At the beginning of the month Mercury, magnitude -1.6, is in Pisces, The Fish, lies tow in the evening twilight. He with be half lit, or at “dichotomy” on April 8 and reach his highest point in the sky on April 9.

He reaches high highest point in the sky, or “Greatest Eastern Elongation “, reaching a peak altitude of 18° above the horizon at sunset on April 12 and his greatest visual separation from the Sun also on April 12.

He will then progressively get lower each night until finally disappearing from the night sky by months end.

Venus, magnitude –4.0 in Aries, The Ram, is the brilliant “Evening Star” dominating the Wester skies in the early evening. She becomes visible around 7:30 CDT, 31° above the horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting around 10 PM CDT.

Earth, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in the constellation Virgo, The Virgin.

Mars, magnitude +0.9, in Taurus, The Bull, is an early evening object, becoming visible around 7:30 CDT, 74° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He then sinks towards the horizon, setting around 2 AM.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude 6.9 is in Coma Berenices, Berenice’s Hair

Jupiter, magnitude –2.1 in Pisces, The Fish, is sinking steadily towards the western horizon and will soon disappear, literally riding into the sunset. He becomes visible a little after 7 PM CDT, just 8° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness and sets 1 hour after sunset.

He will soon disappear from the evening sky and pass behind the Sun on April 11.

He will reach his furthest point from the Earth, its apogee on April 13.

Saturn, magnitude +0.9, in Aquarius, The Water Bearer, is lost in the glow of the Sun.

Uranus, magnitude +5.8, in Aries, The Ram, is moving ever closer to the sunset, becoming visible around 8 PM CDT, 28° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He then sink towards the horizon, around 10:30.

Neptune, magnitude +7.8 in Pisces, The Fish, is hidden in the glow of the Sun.

Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.5 in Capricorn, The Sea Goat..

Dwarf Planet 136108 Haumea, her ring and moons Hiʻiaka and Namaka, shines at a faint magnitude of 17.3 in Bootes, The Herdsman

Dwarf Planet 136472 Makemake with his moon S/2015 (136472) faintly shines at magnitude 17.1 in Coma Berenices.

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude 18.7 in Cetus the Sea Monster.

At least five additional bodies with the preliminary criteria for identifying dwarf planets, and though not “officially” declared as such, are generally called dwarf planets by astronomers as well.

90482 Orcus, and his moon Vanth shines at magnitude 19.1 between Hydra, the Sea Monster and Serpens, The Snake.

50000 Quaoar,and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Ophiucus, The Serpent Bearer,

90377 Sedna, the coldest, and at one time, the most distant known place in the Solar System, glows faintly at magnitude +20.9 in Taurus, The Bull.

225088 Gonggong, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Aquarius, The Water Bearer.

Unnamed Dwarf Planet 2014 UZ224, nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles from the Sun, at magnitude +23.1 in Eridanus, The River.

Currently the most distant observable known object in the Solar System, and asteroid unofficially called Asteroid 2018 AG37, and nicknamed FarFarOut, glows at a barely detectable +25.5 magnitude in Lynx.

FarFarOut is 12,246,241,135 miles or in Light Time, 18 hours, 15 minutes and 40.1951 seconds from Earth.

This object was discovered during an ongoing search for the source of the “gravity well” or the pull of gravity of a large body in space beyond Neptune that is apparently altering the path of objects in the outer solar system. The yet to be discovered Planet X, presumably is a Neptune sized planet tracing an unusual, elongated orbit in the outer solar system 20 times more distant from the Sun than Neptune.

There are 1,273,729 known asteroids as of March 22, per NASA.

5312 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of March 16, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/

April’s Full Moon will occur on April 5 at 11:37 PM CST or 04:37 UTC April 6. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Pink Moon because it marked the appearance of the moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the first spring flowers. This moon has also been known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Growing Moon, and the Egg Moon. Many coastal tribes called it the Fish Moon because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.

This moon has also been known as the Full Crow Moon, the Full Crust Moon, the Full Sap Moon, and the Lenten Moon.

During a Full Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -12.7.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur April 13 at 4:12 AM CDT or 09:12 UTC.

During the Quarter Moons the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0

The Moon will be at Perigee or her closest approach to Earth on April 15, when she will be 228,644 miles from Earth.

New Moon will occur on April 19 at 11:14 PM CDT or 04:15 UTC April 20. The Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. 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.

A Hybrid Solar Eclipse, which is an eclipse which occurs when the Moon is almost too close to the Earth to completely block the Sun and appears as a total eclipse to some parts of the world and an annular to others, will occur April 20.

The eclipse path will begin in the southern Indian Ocean and move across parts of western Australia and southern Indonesia. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout most of Indonesia and Australia.

While we are on the topic of eclipses, you should absolutely mark April 8, 2024 on your calendars, For on that date there will be a total eclipse which will pass through Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and New England. It will be a very deep partial eclipse in Alabama, Deeper than the eclipse of 2017. Two Total Eclipses will pass directly over South Alabama in 2045 & 2079, if you want to wait for them. I plan to anyway.

The Lyrid Meteor Shower which, runs annually from April 16 – 25, peaks on the evening of April 22 and morning of April 23. This is a minor shower, with only 12 to 24 meteors per hour. These meteors sometimes produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds.

This shower is produced by dust particles left behind by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861.

The thin crescent moon will set early in the evening leaving dark skies for what should be an excellent show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Lyra but can appear anywhere in the sky.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur April 9 at 9:21 PM or 21:21 UTC.

During the Quarter Moons the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on April 28, when she will be 251,220 miles from Earth.

Evenings in early April offer an excellent opportunity to view the zodiacal light. Zodiacal light is a faint, roughly triangular whitish glow seen in the night sky which appears to extend up from the vicinity of the sun along the ecliptical plane. It is caused by sunlight scattered by space dust in the orbital plane of the Earth.

From the Northern Hemisphere, early spring is the best time of year to observe this elusive glow after sunset. It appears slightly fainter than the Milky Way, so you’ll need a clear moonless sky and an observing site located far from the city. Look for the cone-shaped glow, which points nearly straight up from the western horizon, after the last vestiges of twilight have faded away.

This is the time of year when the dim Little Dipper – Ursa Minor – juts to the right from the North Star, Polaris, which is the end of the Little Dipper’s handle, during late evening. The much brighter Big Dipper curls over high above it, “dumping water” into it. They do the reverse in the fall.

Now that it’s spring, the signature fall-and-winter constellation Cassiopeia is retreating down after dark. But for mid-northern latitudes Cassiopeia is circumpolar, never going away completely. Look for it fairly low in the north-northwest these evenings. It’s standing nearly on end.

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I am looking for articles and items for the Newsletter. One might say “the wellspring of ideas runneth dry”. Put, another way, I NEED HELP!

Any items will be appreciated. Send to wd4nyl@bellsoth.net

Thanks in advance!

This month’s meeting will be on April 11 at 7PM.

The meeting will held at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Calera and remotely as was last month’s meeting. Details and instructions will be issued as the time nears.

I hope to see you there!

Mark Wells
WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter

Mark’s Weatherlynx
Weather Resource Database
www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx

Hi Everyone,

The Birminghamfest is almost here, and I hope you can attend.

This event will be held at the Trussville Civic Center on Friday March 3 from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM and Saturday, March 4 from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.

There will be forums, vendors, ham radio testing and a flea market with parts and equipment needing a new home.

Admission is $10, which includes 1 prize ticket. Children under 12 will be admitted for free.

For more information go to http://birminghamfest.org/

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Birmingham NWS Spring 2023 Storm Spotter Courses

The Birmingham NWS office is presenting several online and in person Basic Spotter Courses and online Advanced Spotter Course this spring. These online classes allow individuals to complete the courses in the comfort of their own home or office using GoToWebinar.

By attending any course, which are free and runs about 2 hours, individuals or a group of individuals will become SKYWARN Storm Spotters.

Unless you are in need of or just want to attend a refresher Course, you do not need to attend more than one Basic SKYWARN Course, as the material covered is the same; however it is required you to attend at least one Basic SKYWARN Course before taking the Advanced SKYWARN Course.

These courses are two-way, meaning you will be able to interact with the meteorologist leading the training. You will be muted while training is in-progress, and unmuted when applicable (e.g., for questions); or, you can use the built-in chat feature.

How do you Attend an Online SKYWARN Spotter Class?

To avoid being hurried, give yourself at least 15 minutes prior to
the start of the class to complete the following steps:

1. Via the schedule below, register by clicking the link
corresponding to the class you’d like to attend.

2. Select the ‘join webinar’ button on the registration page or
in your confirmation email and follow the prompts.

3. Enjoy the class and ask questions.

The current schedule is as follows:

Basic Class Online Tuesday, March 2 at 6:30 PM
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6168173799236067157

Basic Class In Person Thursday, March 9 at 6:00PM

Haleyville City Hall
911 21st Street
Haleyville, AL 35565

Basic Class Online Thursday, March 9 at 6:30PM
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1961787558016220501

Advanced Online Thursday, March 23 at 6:30 PM
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6907446934845704540

Basic Class Online Thursday, March 30 at 6:00PM

Tuscaloosa County Courthouse Annex
2513 7th Street
Tuscaloosa, AL 35401

These classes will help you provide the NWS the vital “ground truth” information they need to verify radar indications, target their attention and help you relay reports in a clear manner to the NWS, via the direct number, by calling 205-664-3010 and pressing option 2, online at http://www.weather.gov/bmx/submit_storm_report or amateur radio.

This knowledge helps SKYWARN Net Control stations filter reports, by giving them knowledge of what reporting stations are trying to describe. This way they can tell if the report is a valid report, an invalid report by an overly excited operator or a valid, but poorly described report, which without this knowledge would be mistakenly dismissed.

For further information on these classes visit: http://www.weather.gov/bmx/skywarnschedule

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Mark’s Almanac

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 freezing level is higher and near surface level temperatures are higher melting the hail into liquid before impact.

North Atlantic Tropical activity remains at a minimum. From 1851 to 2022 there has been only one Hurricane to occur. A 100 MPH unnamed Hurricane which affected the Lesser Antilles in March 6- 9, 1908. Some sources also cite a pre-Civil War Tropical Storm also occurring, but others do not.

South Atlantic Tropical activity doesn’t have a sharp peak as the North Atlantic season does in September, however currently March has a thin lead in activity, as from 1957 – 2022 there have been 87 identified Tropical or Subtopical Storms, including the only known South Atlantic Hurricane – Hurricane Catarina which struck Brazil March 28, 2004.

Brazilian authorities at first were unwilling to admit that Catarina was a hurricane, for up until that time is was considered impossible for the South Atlantic to generate a tropical system, due to wind shear, cold sea surface temperatures and the lack of storm systems from which a storm could develop. With extensive damage from an impossible storm looking at them, they finally reluctantly agreed that maybe NOAA’s opinion was right.

Meanwhile, back in Alabama…

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 21:17 UTC or 3:17 PM CDT.

The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall, or Autumnal Equinox, in the Southern Hemisphere.

Remember to get the eggs out, as it is said that you can stand eggs on their ends at the hour of equinox.

You might also think about the Aurora, for Auroras love equinoxes. At this time of year, the interplanetary magnetic field or IMF can link up with Earth’s magnetic field, prying open cracks. Solar wind then pours in to fuel displays of the aurora borealis with no geomagnetic storm required. Researchers call this the Russell-McPherron Effect, named after the physicists who first described it in the 1970s

If you do see them be cautioned though, for among some northern Native American tribes it is said that as you are looking at the northern lights do not wave sing or whistle at them. Alerted to your presence the spirits of the lights will come down and take you away.

This month sees the return of Ruby Throated Humming Birds and the Giant Yellow Sulfur Butterflies that migrated south during the Fall and the clouds of pollen that we love so well.

Days grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon rapidly increases from 49.0 degrees at the beginning of the month to 60.7 degrees at the end. Daylight increases from 11 hours 28 minutes on March 1 to 12 hours 30 minutes on March 31.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

March 1 Sunrise 6:16 AM Sunset 5:44 PM
March 15 Sunrise 6:58 AM Sunset 6:55 PM
March 31 Sunrise 6:36 AM Sunset 7:07 PM *Daylight Savings Time

Why the sunrise is later midmonth as opposed to the first and the last of the month is due to a combination of the quirks in the Earth’s orbit, it’s axial tilt and it being near equinox affecting the length of day based on sunlight as opposed to the measurement of time based on the Earth’s rotation.

Daylight Savings Time begins at 2 AM on March 12. 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.

I don’t particularly care for Daylight Savings Time. I share the same opinion I found on the “Republic Of Lakotah” website:

When told the reason for daylight saving time the old Native American said…
“Only a white man would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket and sew it to the bottom of a blanket and have a longer blanket.”

Saint Patrick’s Day is Thursday 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, the Sun, magnitude -26.8 is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer.

At the beginning of the month Mercury, magnitude -0.6 in Capricornus, is hidden deep in the sunrise. He will pass behind the Sun on March 17 and will be at Apogee or his farthest point from the Earth.

He will reach his closest distance from the Sun, or Perihelion, on March 31.

Venus, magnitude –3.9 in Pisces, The Fish, becomes visible around 6 PM, 24° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 8 PM.

Venus & Jupiter will be next to each other or be in “Conjunction” on March 1, when they will be 0.5° apart.

Venus will pass just 0.1° North of Moon March 24.

Earth, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in the constellation Pisces.

Mars, magnitude +0.3, in Taurus, The Bull, is an evening object. He becomes visible around 6 PM, 81° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He reaches his highest point in the sky around 6:30, 81° above your southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around near 1 AM, when he sinks below 10° above your north-western horizon.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude 7,2 is in Virgo, The Virgin. He will reach “Opposition” or located directly opposite the Sun on March 21.

Jupiter, magnitude –2.1 in Pisces, The Fish, becomes visible around 6 PM, 27° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting a little after 8 PM.

Saturn, magnitude +0.9, in Aquarius, The Water Bearer, is lost in the glow of the Sun.

Uranus, magnitude +5.8, in southwestern Aries, The Ram, is an early evening object.

He becomes visible around 7 PM, 51° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting around 11 PM.

Neptune, magnitude +7.8 in Aquarius, The Water Bearer, is hidden in the glow of the Sun.

Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.5 in Sagittarius, The Archer.

Dwarf Planet 136108 Haumea, her ring and moons Hiʻiaka and Namaka, shines at a faint magnitude of 17.4 in Bootes, The Herdsman

Dwarf Planet 136472 Makemake with his moon S/2015 (136472) faintly shines at magnitude 17.1 in Coma Berenices.

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude 18.7 in Cetus the Sea Monster.

At least five additional bodies with the preliminary criteria for identifying dwarf planets, and though not “officially” declared as such, are generally called dwarf planets by astronomers as well.

90482 Orcus, and his moon Vanth shines at magnitude 19.1 between Hydra, the Sea Monster and Serpens, The Snake.

50000 Quaoar,and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Ophiucus, The Serpent Bearer,

90377 Sedna, the coldest, and at one time, the most distant known place in the Solar System, glows faintly at magnitude +20.7 in Taurus, The Bull.

225088 Gonggong, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Aquarius, The Water Bearer.

Unnamed Dwarf Planet 2014 UZ224, nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles from the Sun, at magnitude +23.1 in Eridanus, The River.

Currently the most distant observable known object in the Solar System, and asteroid unofficially called Asteroid 2018 AG37, and nicknamed FarFarOut, glows at a barely detectable +25.5 magnitude in Lynx.

FarFarOut is 12,246,241,135 miles or in Light Time, 18 hours, 15 minutes and 40.1951 seconds from Earth.

This object was discovered during an ongoing search for the source of the “gravity well” or the pull of gravity of a large body in space beyond Neptune that is apparently altering the path of objects in the outer solar system. The yet to be discovered Planet X, presumably is a Neptune sized planet tracing an unusual, elongated orbit in the outer solar system 20 times more distant from the Sun than Neptune.

5272 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of February 21, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on March 3 when she will be 252,208 miles from Earth.

March’s Full Moon will occur on March 7 at 6:42 AM CST or 12:42 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as “Worm Moon”. So called because the rains disturb the earthworms & they are seen wiggling around after the rains.

This moon has also been known as the Full Crow Moon, the Full Crust Moon, the Full Sap Moon, and the Lenten Moon.

During a Full Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -12.7.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur March 14 at 9:10 PM CDT or 03:10 UTC.

During the Quarter Moons the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0

The Moon will be at Perigee or her closest approach to Earth on March 19, when she will be 225,370 miles from Earth.

Vernal Equinox occurs at 21:17 UTC or 3:17 PM CDT on March 20. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall, autumnal equinox, in the Southern Hemisphere.

The name “Vernal” comes from the Latin vernālis, which means “of those things pertaining to the spring”.

New Moon will occur on March 21 at 11:25 AM CDT or 17:25 UTC. The Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. 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.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur March 28 at 9:33PM or 03:33 UTC. During the Quarter Moons the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on March 31 when she will be 251,606 miles from Earth.

Celestial carnivores are emerging from hibernation. After dinnertime at this time of year, five carnivore constellations are rising upright in a ragged row from the northeast to south. They’re all seen in profile with their noses pointed up and their feet (if any) to the right. These are The Great Bear, Ursa Major in the northeast, with the Big Dipper as its brightest part, Leo the Lion in the east, Hydra the Sea Serpent in the southeast, The Lesser Dog, Canis Minor higher in the south-southeast, and The Greater Dog, bright Canis Major in the south.

Sirius, shining at magnitude −1.46, the brightest nighttime star, blazes high in the south on the meridian, in Canis Major by about 8 or 9 p.m. Using binoculars, you will find a fuzzy spot 4 degrees south of Sirius, directly below it when the constellation is directly South. Four degrees is somewhat less than the width of a typical binocular’s field of view.

That dim little patch of gray haze is open star cluster Messier 41, a small gravitationally bound group of 100 stars about 2,200 light-years away and moving away from us at 869 miles per second. Sirius, by comparison, is only 8.6 light-years away.

Canopus, shining at magnitude -0.72, making it the second-brightest star after Sirius, lies 36° almost due south of Sirius. That’s far enough south that it never appears above the horizon if you are above latitude 37° N, such as southern Virginia, southern Missouri and central California. Luckily we lie south of that latitude, with our horizon lying, in the case of Central Alabama, around latitude 33°.

Canopus is located in the southern constellation Carina, The Keel, part of the defunct constellation Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts who searched for the Golden Fleece.

The constellation of Argo was introduced in ancient Greece. However, due to the massive size of Argo Navis and the sheer number of stars that required separate designation, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille divided Argo into three sections in 1763, including Carina, the Hull or Keel, Puppis, the Poop Deck, and Vela the Sails.

In the 19th century, these three became established as separate constellations, and were formally included in the list of 88 modern IAU constellations in 1930.

Canopus, 313 light years away, crosses low above the horizon, due south just 21 minutes before Sirius and is worthy of a peak.

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This month’s meeting will be on March 7 at 7PM.

The meeting will held at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Calera and remotely as was last month’s meeting. Details and instructions will be issued as the time nears.

I hope to see you there!

Mark Wells
WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter

Mark’s Weatherlynx
Weather Resource Database
www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx

Hi Everyone,

Our spring tornado season is just around the corner and now is the time to review your plans and procedures for those storms to come.

Take this time to brush up on your skills. Do not wait until the sirens sound. For by then it may be too late.

In preparing, you should ask yourselves these questions:

Is my family shelter (and everyone should have one) ready?
Is my equipment, both antennae & radios working?
Are the batteries charged?
Are my communications channels still functional? Including RF, Internet & telephone resources.
Can I reliably receive weather watches and warnings?
If you are on the NWSChat or Slack Chat, is your password up to date?
Is your training and knowledge fresh, or do you need to do a quick review?

Are you prepared both at home and at work?

In preparing, remember that keeping yourself and your family alive and intact during and after the storms is your number one priority.

Here’s hoping that your February will be peaceful and safe.

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2022 Tornado Statistics

In 2022 Alabama was the second most active year for tornadoes on record, with 98 tornadoes, second only to the Super Outbreak of 2011.

The Top 10 years for Alabama tornadoes are:

1. 2011 – 145 Tornadoes
2. 2022 – 98 Tornadoes
3. 2008 – 94 Tornadoes
4. 2019 – 82 Tornadoes
5. 2009 – 80 Tornadoes
6. 2005 – 77 Tornadoes
7. 2020 – 71 Tornadoes
8. 2006 – 69 Tornadoes
9. 2021 – 67 Tornadoes
10. 2016 – 65 Tornadoes

One might ask why there has been such an increase in tornadoes in the 21st century?

Several factors might be at play including:

1. Improvements in NWS radar allowing detection of smaller tornadoes and refinement of detection techniques.
2. NWS & Broadcast media Storm Spotter training classes providing more trained “eyes on the sky”.
3. social media basically increases the number of spotters, whether they have received formal training or not. Which is where filtering of reports becomes crucial.
4. Broadcast media improvements, with reporters in the field, tower cams, etc.
5. An actual shift in Tornado Alley from the Midwest to the Mississippi & Alabama area.

One thing to consider is that there may be more tornadoes occurring in the less densely populated areas of Alabama than we realize, as the area thinly spread with spotters.

The complicated thing is that the western counties lie on the extreme range of the radar sites. Sumpter & Pickens County and for that matter Kemper & Noxubee County in Mississippi are covered by the Jackson MS, Columbus AFB, Mobile & Birmingham NEXRAD sites, but all at long range. The curvature of the Earth prevents a near ground level view. We can see what may be happening in the mid-levels of thunderstorms, but what is happening at the lower levels is an educated guess.
That’s why when I am elected President in 2024, one of my first Executive Orders, in addition to declaring the Crimson Tide a National Treasure, will be the establishment of a NEXRAD site either in York Alabama or Meridian Mississippi (depending on how many people voted for me in each – yes, I’m a crook) to plug that coverage gap.

That and each office will get a fleet of portable NEXRAD units that they can plunk down wherever they want, crank up a tower and after the storms pass move them on to the next area of interest.

In 2022 there were 43 EF0, 39 EF1, 14 EF2 and 2 EF3 Tornadoes.

The Birmingham County Warning Area had 50 Tornadoes
The Huntsville County Warning Area had 8 Tornadoes
The Mobile County Warning Area had 37 Tornadoes
The Alabama portion of the Tallahassee Warning Area had 2 Tornadoes

Monthly tornado totals were:

32 in March
20 in April
12 in November
11 in October
9 in February
7 in January
4 in May
3 in December
0 in June, July, August & September

There were 16 injuries and 3 fatalities

43 0ut of 67 counties had at least one tornado.

The Top 10 Counties for Tornadoes from 1950 – 2021 are:

Jefferson 105
Mobile 100
Baldwin 97
Cullman 95
Tuscaloosa 83
Madison 80
Marshall 72
Dekalb 68
Limestone 65
Walker 57

A large percentage of the Mobile and Baldwin County tornadoes were in association with landfalling tropical systems.

And 2023?

January 2023 has already set a new record for tornadoes, with 28 having occurred as of January 22.

So, with the year still very young, stay prepared, keep a jaundiced eye towards the sky, and remember that the question isn’t IF severe weather is coming, but WHEN.

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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 that Emperor Augustus’s month would be equal to Julius Caesar’s month of July. Now only Leap Year, which will next occur in 2024, has 29 days.

Ground Hog Day is on February 2 & believers will watch that flea bitten danged old Yankee Punxsutawney Phil and True Southern Gentleman Birmingham Bill, to see if they see their shadows. If so, prepare for six more weeks of winter.

How did we come up with Groundhog Day anyway?

It is said by one theory that the first day of Spring is about six weeks after Groundhog Day, on March 20 or 21. 1000 years ago when the world used the Julian calendar, Spring Equinox fell on March 16, which is exactly six weeks after February 2. So, if the groundhog saw his shadow on Groundhog Day there would be six more weeks of winter. But, if he didn’t, there would be only 42 more days of winter left instead. Get the calculator out and you will find that 42 days equals six weeks, so Groundhog Day may have started out as a practical joke.

The modern 21 Century version blurs this into saying that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and fails to see its shadow, winter will soon end. If not, it will return into its burrow, and the winter will continue for 6 more weeks.

It is believed that the Germans in Pennsylvania brought Groundhog Day with them.

Morgantown, Pennsylvania storekeeper James Morris’ diary entry for Feb. 4, 1841 states “Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy, he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.”

So, how accurate is the little goomer?

Well, Groundhog Day believers claim a 75% to 90% accuracy rate. The National Climatic Data Center, on the other hand, says it’s more like 39%.

But you know how Heathens can be.

If the NCDC is right, maybe they can still use the critter anyway, by flipping the theory around, so if he predicts warmth, you go with winter & vice versa.

I think this is called “Inverse Forecasting”. Or it should be anyway.

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.

North Atlantic Tropical activity is at a minimum. From 1851 to 2022 there has been only one Tropical Storm to occur, 70 MPH Tropical Storm #1, which affected Florida on February 2 & 3, 1952.

Days grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon rapidly increases from 39.5 degrees at the beginning of the month to 48.6 degrees at the end. Daylight increases from 10 hours 35 minutes on February 1 to 11 hours 26 minutes on February 28.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

February 1 Sunrise 6:44 AM Sunset 5:18 PM
February 14 Sunrise 6:33 AM Sunset 5:31 PM
February 28 Sunrise 6:17 AM Sunset 5:43 PM

Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.8 is in Capricornus.

At the beginning of the month Mercury, magnitude 0.00 in Sagittarius, The Archer, is emerging into the morning sky as it approaches greatest elongation west. From Birmingham, he is visible low in the southeast in the dawn sky, rising a little after 5:09 AM, a 1 hour and 36 minutes before the Sun, and reaching an altitude of 11° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn.

Mercury’s 88 day orbit around the Sun will carry it to its furthest point to the Sun, or “Aphelion” at 0.47 AU or Astronomical Units, or 43,689,000 miles, on February 15.

Unlike most of the planets, which follow almost exactly circular orbits around the Sun only varying in their distance from the Sun by a few percent, Mercury has a significantly elliptical orbit.

His distance from the Sun varies between 0.307 AU or 28,537,000 miles at ”Perihelion”, the closest approach to the Sun, and 0.47 AU at Aphelion, his furthest distance from the Sun. This variation, of over 50%, means that his surface receives over twice as much energy from the Sun at Perihelion as compared to Aphelion.

Venus, magnitude -3.8 in Aquarius, The Water Bearer, shines brilliantly low in the west-southwest in evening twilight. Look for her far to the lower right of bright Jupiter above.

She becomes visible around 5:30, 15° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 1 hour and 43 minutes after the Sun, or about a half hour after twilight’s end.

Earth, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in the Constellation Hydra.

Mars, magnitude -0.5 in Taurus, The Bull, shines very high toward the south in early to mid-evening.

He becomes visible around 5:30 PM, 58° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He then reaches his highest point in the sky, or “Culmination” around 8:00 PM, 80° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until just after 2 AM, when he sinks below 8° above the north-western horizon.

Mars is fading, from magnitude –0.6 to –0.1 and shrinking as the Earth recedes from Him.

Mars will pass 1.1° South of the Moon on February 27.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude 7.8, is in Virgo, The Virgin.

Jupiter, magnitude –2.2, in Pisces, The Fish, shines high in the southwest in twilight, becoming visible around 5:30 PM, 49° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting around 10 PM.

Jupiter will pass 1.2 North of the Moon on February 22.

Saturn, magnitude +0.9 in Capricornus, is hidden in the glow of the Sun and will pass behind the Sun or be in “Conjunction” on February 16 and will then emerge very low in the east-southeast morning twilight in late February.

Uranus, magnitude 5.8, is in Aries, and is high in the south-southwest in early evening. He becomes visible a little after 6:00 PM, 72° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness, at his highest point in the sky. He will continue to be observable until around 11 PM, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

In binoculars Uranus is a little pinpoint “star” and in small telescopes with sharp optics, high power, and a spell of good seeing, a tiny, fuzzy ball.

Neptune, magnitude 7.8, in Aquarius-Pisces border, is about 11° to the lower right of Jupiter. He becomes accessible just after 6 PM 31° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 46 minutes after the Sun at 9:00 PM.

Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.5 in Sagittarius, The Archer.

Dwarf Planet 136108 Haumea, her ring, and moons Hiʻiaka and Namaka, shines at a faint magnitude of 17.4 in Bootes, The Herdsman.

Dwarf Planet 136472 Makemake with his moon S/2015 (136472) faintly shines at magnitude 17.2 in Coma Berenices or “Berenices Hair”.

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude 18.7 in Cetus the Sea Monster.

At least five additional bodies with the preliminary criteria for identifying dwarf planets, and though not “officially” declared as such, are generally called dwarf planets by astronomers as well.

90482 Orcus, and his moon Vanth shines at magnitude 19.1 between Hydra and Serpens, The Snake.

50000 Quaoar, and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer.

90377 Sedna, the coldest, and at one time, the most distant known place in the Solar System, glows faintly at magnitude +20.9 in Taurus, The Bull.

225088 Gonggong, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Aquarius, The Water Bearer.

2014 UZ224 nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles from the Sun, at magnitude +23.1 in Eridanus, The River.

Currently the most distant observable known object in the Solar System, Asteroid 2018 AG37, nicknamed “FarFarOut”, which is 12.4 billion miles or 18.5 light hours from Earth, glows at a barely detectable +25.5 magnitude in Lynx.
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5241 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of January18, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on February 4, when she will be 252,572 miles from Earth.

Full Moon will occur February 5 at 12:30 PM CST or 18:30 UTC. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated. February’s Full Moon is “Full Snow Moon” in Native American folklore as the heaviest snows usually fall at this time of year. Since the harsh weather made hunting difficult, some tribes called it “Full Hunger Moon”.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur February 13.

During a Quarter Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.
The Moon will be at Perigee or her closest approach to Earth on February 19, when she will be 222,617 miles from Earth.

New Moon occurs February 20 at 1:08 AM or 07:08 UTC when the Moon will on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. 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.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur February 27.

During the Quarter Moons the Moon is only 10% as bright as a Full Moon.

Perhaps the biggest astronomical news of the month is Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3).

Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3) Is a relatively bright comet visible in binoculars and a pretty sight in modest telescopes in clear non-light polluted skies. Social media would have you believe that this is the ”comet of the century”, but we all know how social media can be.

Observers with dark, moonless skies may spot the comet with the naked eye as it sails between the Big and Little Dippers.

Current visual magnitude estimates put Comet ZTF at between magnitude 6.5 and 7.0. It should peak around magnitude 5.5 in early February.

I can tell you straight up, that you need to be away from city lights to really see this.

The least light polluted skies in Alabama are in a crescent shaped area of west Alabama from west of Tuscaloosa to near the Mississippi border and north and south of that line. An especially good area is southwest Alabama from south of Tuscaloosa to north of Mobile. Another area is southeast of Montgomery towards Eufaula.

Light Pollution Map – DarkSiteFinder.com

But, anywhere away from the pea soup, streetlamp, LED – “Leaves Eyes Damaged” headlight infested cities will help.

You will probably have to use “averted vision”, a trick astronomers use to see faint objects.

Averted vision is a technique for viewing faint objects which uses your peripheral vision instead of looking directly at the object.

This technique compensates for fact that the retina of the human eye has virtually no rods, the cells which detect dim light in black and white near the focal point of the eye, but, has mostly cone cells, which serve as bright light and color detectors and are not as useful during the night.
This situation results in a decrease in visual sensitivity in central field of vision at night.

But by looking as an object a little off to the nasal side of the field of view, which avoids the possibility that the object will be imaged on the blind spot, which everyone has at approximately 15 degrees on the cheek side of the field of vison, you can use the most light sensitive part of the eye, which is around 20 degrees off the center of vision.

For right-eyed observers it is best to shift to the right, and for left-eye observers it is best to shift to the left.

I have used this technique for many years and though it can be frustrating not being able to look directly at an object, as they tend to disappear from view when you look directly at them, it does work, and the object appears brighter. This is especially useful for observing diffuse objects such as galaxies, comets and nebulae.

You should give your eyes time to adapt to the dark. It can take typically 7 minutes for your eyes to become used to darkness and up to 30 minutes to become totally adjusted to the dark conditions of observing.

Care should be taken not to ruin this dark adaptation by being exposed to bright lights, such as headlights from passing cars, flashlights, or moonlight. Lights with red filters will not harm the eyes sensitivity.

Relaxing your eyes also helps. By straining at objects or squinting eyes we place stress on them which makes it harder for the eye to refocus on objects. By relaxing our eyes when we look through a telescope or by using an eye patch, we can improve our vision.

An eyepatch also helps preserve dark adapted eyesight. There is a theory that the reason so many pirates are depicted as wearing eyepatches is not that they typically had the worst of luck in combat with all of them losing an eye, but rather they were preserving their “night eye” so that when they went below the deck, which was very poorly lit, they could still see.

Comets are binocular objects rather than telescope objects. Binoculars have greater light gathering power than telescopes, which tend to over magnify objects. Plus, you have twice the light data reaching your brain with binoculars since you are using both of your eyes.

7 X 50 binoculars are usually recommended, though I prefer my 7 X 35 binoculars instead, as they give me a broader field of view, and I find they are easier to spot objects with.

To me 7 X 35 binoculars are the equivalent of a “Rich Field Telescope”. A Rich Field Telescope is designed to present the maximum possible number of stars within its wide field of view and is used for viewing larger objects such as star clusters.

Using such a telescope to sweep along the Milky Way on a dark moonless night, is one of the most beautiful sights that you will ever see. It is almost like being “up there”. I could get lost for hours drifting among the stars

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One event to mark on the calendar is the BirmingHAMfest, Friday and Saturday March3 & 4 at the Trussville Civic Center .

Doors open at 4:00 p.m. on Friday and close at 7:00 p.m. The hamfest will reopen at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and close at 4:00 p.m. with the grand prize drawing.

BARC :: BirmingHAMfest :: March 3-4, 2023

This month’s ALERT meeting will be on 7 PM February 14 at the NWS Forecast Office at the Shelby County Airport.

Finally, we are in need of weather, radio & emergency communications related articles for this newsletter. Any help at all will be appreciated.

Mark Wells
WD4NYL
ALERT Newsletter