ALERT NEWSLETTER – November 2022

Hi everyone,

I hope this finds you well, and untouched by the hobgoblin attack of the 31st. We had no trick or treaters this year, so you know what that means. Yes, I have to eat ALL of the candy. Which is a tough job, but someone has to do it.

As we enter November, we also enter the Fall tornado season. The Fall season is often more severe than the Spring Season.

Just as in the Spring, you need to review your plans and procedures for the storms to come.

Take this time brush up on your skills, check and prepare your equipment and make sure that you have reliable methods to receive timely watches and warnings. This includes NOAA Weatheradio and phone Apps from local broadcast media. This does not include social media posts, as the medium’s algorithm can accidently “bury” a warning in the newsfeed. Also, beware of good meaning “amateur weather experts”, including myself. Instead trust the REAL experts at our NWS. They have the training, knowledge and expertise, which you can place confidence in.

Hopefully we will have a calm Fall as we look forward toward Thanksgiving and the Holiday Season.

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Toys For You To Play With

Have you ever heard of or played with a WebSDR?

What is a WebSDR you might ask?

A WebSDR is a Software-Defined Radio receiver that is connected to the internet. It allows you to tune and explore the radio spectrum as if you had a top of the line all mode receiver at your fingertips. With them you can explore the world of CLF, MF, HF and VHF radio even if you don’t have access to a traditional radio & antenna setup. For example, at work, on vacation or at home dealing with overzealous HOAs.

Depending on the receiver location, you can even tune in your own transmissions as received at that location, which is valuable if someone says you have terrible audio, or your signal is pure mush. You can see if it is true or not and get an idea of what others are hearing.

In an emergency they could be used to receive information by listening to HF nets in areas out of range of your receiver. For example, an earthquake strikes California and you want to listen to the 75 meter emergency nets, but being 2000 miles away they are far out of range. If you could access a WebSDR in, say Arizona, Nevada or Oregon, they would be well within range of those nets.

Online receivers are not new, they have been available for many years, but they were hampered technologically and limited the site to one user at a time and usually with a time limit.

A WebSDR is different in that they allow many listeners to listen and tune simultaneously and independently, and thus listen to different signals and different bands.

Before I list my favorite WebSDRs sites I will mention a website, which is also available as an App called “Radio Garden”.

Radio garden is not a true WebSDR, but a cleverly designed directory you can use to access AM & FM broadcast feeds worldwide. A globe is displayed with little green dots. Click a dot and that radio station will appear.

Want to listen to surf music from Adelaide Australia? Just click the dot on the map. Want to hear Jamaica? No problem Mon, everything will be copacetic.

Think of it as IHeart Radio on a grand scale.

Their website is Radio Garden – Birmingham AL

Here are my favorite WebSDR sites:

N4DKD Online Receiver KiwiSDR (asuscomm.com)
NA5B WebSDR Reciever System NA5B
WebSDR Directory websdr.org,
KiwiSDR Directory kiwisdr.com/public/
DX Zone WebSDR : WebSDR Software Defined Radio Online – The DXZone.com

While there are WebSDR Apps for smartphones, they are not free and I am cheap. So I just go to the websites and created shortcuts for my phone.

If there are sites that you frequently visit, if you use an iPhone or iPad, it’s easy to add shortcut icons to you Home screen using Safari to allow you quick access your favorite sites and I’m here to tell you how to do it!

Open Safari and go to the website you wish to save, once there look at the bottom of the screen and you should see the “share button”, which looks like a rectangle with an upward arrow. Click the share button and scroll upward until you see “Add to Home Screen”.

Tapping this will bring up a menu that will allow you to name the shortcut icon whatever you wish.

The simply press “Add” and clear out of the screen. Your shortcut will be on your Home screen!

Just tap it and Safari will automatically take you to that website.

For an iPad the process is similar.

Open Safari and go to the website you wish to save and tap once near the bottom of the screen to make the navigation toolbar appear.

Locate the “share button “(the rectangle with an upward arrow) and tap it.

The Share menu will appear on the right side of the screen. Tap “Add to Home Screen.”

“Add to Home Screen” will pop up and you can name the shortcut icon whatever you wish.

The press “Add” and clear out of the screen. Your shortcut will be on your Home screen.

Tap it and Safari will automatically take you to that website.

What of Androids?

On an Android both Google Chrome and Mozilla Foxfire will allow you to place quick access links of your Home screen.

With Chrome go to the website you wish to add, and once there open the Chrome’s Settings menu by tapping the three vertical dots in the top right hand corner.

An “Add to Home Screen” option should appear, which you will select.

On this “Add To Home Screen” screen, there will be a preview of the shortcut’s icon. Tap the “Add Automatically” button to place the new icon to you Home Screen wherever space is available.

If you want to place the icon somewhere different on your Home Screen, just touch and hold the icon, and drag it to your desired location.

IF you use Firefox, go to the website you wish to add. Touch and hold the website’s URL in the address bar until a popup menu appears.

Select “Add Page Shortcut” option.

A new window will open and you will see a preview of the Icon.

Press the “Add Automatically” button to add the icon on the Home Screen.

To configure the exact location as to where the shortcut is placed on the Home Screen, touch and hold the icon, and drag it to your desired Home screen location.

Try these sites out. There is a learning cure involved, as they are sophisticated receivers, but, once you learn how to use them, they are addictive!

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Mark’s Almanac

With the arrival of November we enter our second tornado season. Alabama and the Southeast are “blessed” by being the only area on Earth having two tornado seasons. The cause of the second season is the same as the spring season – clashes of cold and warm air masses. The cold air of winter is invading and trying to push the warmth of the summer back into the sea, which is the same process of springtime.

This second season is often more destructive than the spring season. From 1950 to 2020 there have been 279 November tornadoes in Alabama resulting in 52 fatalities and 1069 injuries. The third largest tornado outbreak occurred on November 24 – 25 2001 when 36 tornadoes occurred and 21 tornadoes occurred during the outbreak of November 23 – 24 2004.

November was Alabama’s leading tornado month from 2001 to 2011 until the dual outbreaks of April 15 and April 27 2011 erased that record.

So beware of a warm & muggy November day. Especially one with a south wind, as something may really be “in the air”.

The Hurricane threat greatly diminishes, with hurricane activity occurring mainly in the open Atlantic, threatening the Eastern Seaboard, but usually veering off into sea as cold fronts off the East Coast deflect them. Hurricanes can still form in the Caribbean, which usually visit the Yucatan, but can enter the Gulf.

From 1851 – 2021 there have been 101 Tropical Storms and 48 hurricanes, 5 of which made landfall in the United States.

Some notable November hurricanes are:

The 1932 Cuba hurricane, known also as the Hurricane of Santa Cruz del Sur or the 1932 Camagüey Hurricane. Although forming as a tropical depression on October 30, it became the only Category 5 Atlantic hurricane ever recorded in November, and was the deadliest and one of the most intense tropical cyclones in Cuban history. On November 6, the tropical cyclone reached its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph. The storm weakened to Category 4 intensity as it came ashore in Cuba’s Camagüey Province on November 9 with winds of 150 mph. The storm took 3,033 lives.

Hurricane Ida, in 2009 was the strongest land falling tropical cyclone during the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season. Ida formed on November 4 in the southwestern Caribbean, and within 24 hours struck the Nicaragua coast with winds of 80 mph. It weakened significantly over land, although it restrengthened in the Yucatán Channel to peak winds of 105 mph. Ida weakened and became an extratropical cyclone in the northern Gulf of Mexico before spreading across the southeastern United States. The remnants of Ida contributed to the formation of a nor’easter that significantly affected the eastern coast of the United States.

1985’s Hurricane Kate was the latest Hurricane in any calendar year to strike the United States.
Kate formed on November, 15 and reached hurricane intensity on November 16, and reached Category 2 intensity three days later. Kate struck the northern coast of Cuba on November 19. Once clear of land, she strengthened quickly, becoming a Category 3 storm and reached its peak intensity of 120 mph. On November 21 Kate came ashore near Mexico Beach, Florida, as Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph.

Hurricane Lenny, or Wrong Way Lenny, occurred in 1999. It is the second-strongest November Atlantic hurricane on record, behind the 1932 Cuba hurricane. Lenny formed on November 13 in the western Caribbean Sea and moved retrograde from the West to East passing South of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. He reached hurricane status south of Jamaica on November 15 and rapidly intensified over the northeastern Caribbean on November 17, attaining peak winds of 155 mph near Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. It gradually weakened while moving through the Leeward Islands, eventually dissipating on November 23 over the open Atlantic Ocean.

1994’s Hurricane Gordon claimed 1122 lives in Haiti when it passed just west of the country as a tropical storm on November 13, 1994.

Figure 2 – November Tropical Cyclone Breeding Grounds

Both the Atlantic and Pacific Hurricane seasons ends November 30.

Days rapidly grow shorter as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon steadily decreases from 40.9 degrees at the beginning of the month to 34.8 degrees at the month’s end. Daylight decreases from 10 hours 40 minutes on November 1 to 10 hours 07 minutes on November 30.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

November 1 Sunrise 7:06 AM Sunset 5:55 PM
November 15 Sunrise 6:19 AM Sunset 4:45 PM – After Daylight Savings Time Ends
November 31 Sunrise 6:33 AM Sunset 4:39 PM

The blooms of summer have faded, but you may find yourself still sneezing, due to ragweed and mold.

Mold is a fall allergy trigger. You may think of mold growing in your basement or bathroom – damp areas in the house – but mold spores also love wet spots outside. Piles of damp leaves are ideal breeding grounds for mold.

Oh, and did I mention dust mites? While they are common during the humid summer months, they can get stirred into the air the first time you turn on your heat in the fall. Dust mites can trigger sneezes, wheezes, and runny noses.

November welcomes the peak of fall colors. For Birmingham the peak occurs around November 15, but the date can vary depending on your elevation & latitude.

Indian Summer and Squaw Winter continue to battle it out, but the cool or cold weather will eventually win, with the first average frost being on November 11.

The usual fall effects occur in North America with Canada’s Hudson Bay becoming unnavigable due to pack ice & icebergs. Navigation in the Great Lakes becomes perilous due to storms bringing the “Gales Of November” made famous in the Gordon Lightfoot song “The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald”.

And, don’t be surprised if you hear ducks overhead & see wedges of Canadian geese heading south for the winter. And if you see strange birds appearing in your front yard, remember that for 336 species of birds Alabama IS south for the winter.

Looking skyward, at the beginning of the month, the Sun, magnitude -26.8 is in Virgo, The Virgin.

Mercury, magnitude -1.7, in Virgo, The Virgin is lost in the glow of the Sun and will pass behind our parent star or be in “Superior Conjunction” on November 8.

He will then emerge into the morning sky.

Venus, magnitude –3.9, Virgo, The Virgin is lost in the glow of the Sun.

Earth and her Moon, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in Cetus, The Sea Monster.

Mars, with his moons Phobos and Deimos, magnitude -1.1, in Taurus, The Bull, is visible in the wee hours of the morning becoming visible around 10 PM above the northeastern horizon and reaches his highest point in the sky at around 4 AM. He disappears into the western twilight around 7 AM.

Dwarf Planet Ceres shines at magnitude +8.7 in Leo.

Jupiter, and his 79 moons and ring, magnitude -2.8, is in Pisces, The Fish. He is visible in the evening sky 20 degrees above the eastern horizon as dusk fades into darkness. He reaches his highest point in the sky around 10:30 PM above the southern horizon and sinks below the western horizon around 2 AM.

Saturn, his 82 moons and extensive debris ring system, shining at magnitude +0.7, in Capricornus, The Sea Goat, is an early evening object.

He becomes visible around 6:30 PM above the southeastern horizon. He reaches his highest point in the southern sky around 8 PM and remains visible until midnight when he sinks below the southwestern horizon.

Uranus, his 27 moons and ring, glow at magnitude, +5.7, in Aries, The Ram, is approaching “Opposition” or directly opposite the Earth and Sun and is visible as a morning object. He becomes visible around 8:30 PM above the eastern horizon and reaches his highest point in the sky at 1:30 AM, in the southern sky. He becomes lost in the dawn twilight around 6 AM.

Uranus reaches Opposition on November 9. The blue-green planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view Uranus. Due to its distance, it will only appear as a tiny blue-green dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.

Neptune, his 14 moons and ring, at magnitude, magnitude +7.7, in Aquarius, The Water Bearer,
is an early evening object, becoming accessible around 7 PM above the southeastern horizon and reaches the highest point in the southern sky 10 PM. He will sink below the western horizon around 2 AM.

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 18.6 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 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.

2014 UZ224 nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles from the Sun, at magnitude +23.0 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.

5190 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of October 18, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur November 1 at 12:37 AM or 05:37 UTC

During a Quarter Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.

The Southern Taurids Meteor Shower. The Taurid Meteor shower is an unusual shower in that it consists of two streams – the Southern and Northern Taurids. The first, the Southern Taurids, is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10. The first stream reaches Earth on November 4th and peaks at 18:00 UTC, which is 1 PM our time. So, it is a daylight shower, but the nights before and after you might can catch a few despite a waxing gibbous Moon.

The second stream comes later in the month.

Full Moon will occur November 8. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 6:03 AM CST or 11:03 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Beaver Moon because this was the time of year to set the beaver traps before the swamps and rivers froze. It has also been known as the Frosty Moon and the Dark Moon.

A Total Lunar Eclipse will occur November 8 . A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes completely through the Earth’s dark shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse, the Moon will gradually get darker and then take on a rusty or blood red color. The eclipse will be visible throughout eastern Russia, Japan, Australia, the Pacific Ocean, and parts of western and central North America.

In Birmingham the eclipse timings are:

Eclipse Begins 2:02 AM
Partial Eclipse Begins 3:09 AM
Total Eclipse Begins 4:16 AM
Maximum Eclipse 4:59 AM
Total Eclipse Ends 5:41 AM (Moon close to horizon, make sure you have a clear WNW horizon)
Moonset 6:19 AM
Partial Eclipse Ends 6:49 AM (below horizon)
Eclipse Ends 7:56 AM (below horizon)

The Northern Taurid Meteor Shower, the second of the two Taurid streams, will occur November 11 & 12. The Northern Taurids is a long-running minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. This shower is, however, famous for producing a higher than normal percentage of bright fireballs. The second stream is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke.

The shower runs annually from September 7 to December 10. It peaks this year on the night of the 11th and morning of the 12th. Unfortunately, the nearly full moon will dominate the sky this year, blocking all but the brightest meteors. But if you are patient, you should still be able to catch a few good ones. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus but can appear anywhere in the sky.

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on November 20, when she will be 251,608 miles from Earth.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur November 16 at 7:27 AM or 12:27 UTC

During a Quarter Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.

The annual Leonid meteor shower occurs from November 6 – 30 and peaks on the night of November 17 & the morning of the 18th. Though the Leonids are an “average shower”, producing only an average of 15 meteors per hour, they are well known for producing bright meteors and fireballs.

This shower is also unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001. The Leonids are produced by dust grains left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865.

Its productivity varies per year, but it can deposit 12 to 13 tons of particles across the planet. Which is why having an atmosphere to shield us is such a nifty thing.

The second quarter moon will block many of the fainter meteors this year. But the Leonids can be unpredictable so there is still potential for a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo but can appear anywhere in the sky.

New Moon will occur November 23. 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 phase occurs at 22:58 UTC or 5:58 PM CDT. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

The Moon will be at Perigee or its closest approach to Earth on November 5, when she will be 225,450 miles from Earth.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur again November 30 at 8:38 AM or 01:38 UTC

During a Quarter Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.

Finally, don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour at 2 AM, Sunday morning November 6th, as Daylight Savings Time ends and the clock goes back to the way the Good Lord intended.

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This month’s meeting, due to it being on Election Day, will be on November 8 at 7PM via Microsoft Teams.

Look for the meeting announcement for online access details.

Mark / WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter

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