October 2008 ALERT Newsletter

Published 10/05/2008 | By WD4NYL

Hi everybody and welcome the October ALERT Newsletter.Yesterday Alabama conducted the annual Simulated Emergency Test. ALERT was activated & K4NWS was manned, taking simulated storm reports via RF and the Spotter Chat. Initially there was some concern about participation, since there were two conflicting events to work against, that being Alabama vs Kentucky & the race in Talladega, but there seemed to be plenty of people out there contributing. Band conditions were good & weather conditions were good, even with a land falling hurricane & tornadoes rearranging all of Central Alabama. And despite the state being devastated from one end to the other, it was fun. Very, very hectic at times, but, fun. A full report on the SET will be given at our meeting October 14, which will give you an incentive to be there. And, if you don’t come, we are going to talk about you, as we usually do. So consider yourself forewarned….;-)See you then.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Mark’s Almanac October, named after the eighth month on the Roman calendar, is a mild and dry month, the driest of the year, in fact. And, it is a sunny month with the amount of possible sunshine reaching the ground in the 60% or greater range. Weather shifts from autumn pattern to revisiting the summer pattern and back again. The Azores-Bermuda High shifts Eastward into the Atlantic, but, leaves weaken high pressure centers over the Virginias, which still try to block out approaching fronts. October is usually a quite month for tornadoes, with a 40% decrease in activity. Nationwide an average of 28 tornadoes occur in October and those tornadoes are usually weak. Our Hurricane threat continues, with hurricane activity increasing during the first half of the month, concentrating in the Caribbean, both from formation in the Caribbean and from the long track Cape Verde hurricanes which enter the Caribbean. And, we still have the little “gifts” that the Gulf of Mexico occasionally will provide. But after the second half of the month the activity will begin a steady decrease. 28% of the year’s hurricanes occur in October.Hurricane Prognosticator Deluxe Dr. William Grey, of Colorado State is predicting an active October & November. He is now calling for four named storms in October and November, including two hurricanes, one of them major. As of October first, 13 named storms have developed, including four hurricanes. Two of the hurricanes were major. So, just because it’s cool here, doesn’t mean the oceans have cooled off. Action still may be lurking just around the bend. This is the month for Alabama’s version of “Indian Summer’s” arrival. Technically speaking Indian Summer doesn’t occur until “Squaw Winter” or the first frost arrives, but, exact date when Indian Summer arrives varies with latitude. We live in Alabama, and while the earliest frosts have occurred by October 17, they usually wait until November. So, we, in our milder climate call the first warm up after the first cool down “Indian Summer”. Cool weather will seem to have arrived & Summer is over & boom, it’s warm again & your are melting once again, wondering why the weather is acting so crazy & muttering “global warming”. Also, in late October & Early November the leaves will be reaching their peak fall colors. October’s Full Moon is “Hunters Moon” in Native American folklore. ………………………………………………………………………………………. This month’s meeting will be on October 14 at 7PM at the National Weather Service forecast office at the Shelby County Airport I hope to see you there. Until then, 73 and take care. Mark WD4NYL PRESIDENT www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx/

Posted in ALERT Newsletter, Amateur Radio

October 2008 ALERT Newsletter

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