ALERT NEWSLETTER – August 2024

Hi everyone,

My original plan for today was to cut the jungle which used to be called “my yard”, but, as my phone is cheerfully announcing, “Flood Advisory In Effect”, the yard and the unknown secrets it holds will have to wait yet again.

Have you ever been in a rain forest? Well keeping in mind, a quote from last month’s Newsletter “Tropical conditions are dominant, with conditions similar to that of the Amazon Valley” and considering that Alabama is 70% forest, and since it has been consistently dumping rain on us nearly every afternoon, this is about as close as it gets to being in a rain forest without airfare becoming involved.

Enjoy(?) it while it lasts, for in just a little over a month the heat and humidity will begin its annual retreat towards the tropical realms and in about 6 months from now we will be griping and wishing we could borrow one of these days for a welcomed winter thaw.

So hang onto that buoy and lifeboat, for the rain is coming to an end!

Our next ALERT meeting will be on August 13, at the NWS Forecast Office at the Shelby County Airport.

See you there!

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When The Squirrels Sneeze On The Power Pole

On July 8, 2024, Category 1 hurricane Beryl made landfall along the southeast Texas, snapping power poles as it shredded the power grid. CenterpointEnergy, the supplier for Houston and the surrounding areas reported that roughly 87% of their customers lost power.

Repairing such damage doesn’t occur overnight, as it basically means rebuilding an electrical infrastructure that took decades to build.

In the days that followed, with the help of electrical crews from nearby states, steady progress was made as is seen here:

Date Outages

July 8 2,745,894
July 9 2,095,934
July 10 1,546,564
July 11 1,233,332
July 12 994,461
July 13 529,098
July 14 435,000
July 15 281,850
July 16 139,485
July 17 50,099
Julu 18 15,000
July 19 6,817

As you can see, many we’re out of power for days, many for a week and some for nearly two weeks.

Closer to home, after the April 27, 2011, tornadoes some were without power for two weeks.

So, the question arises, how long could YOU remain sustainable without power?

I remember as a child in the 1960’s it was said “if a squirrel sneezes the pole the power goes out”.

I loved it. My Mom would dig out long taper candles, little stubby candles and Dad would drag oil lanterns out of the cupboard and for a few hours we were in the 1800’s. Mom would say “do your homework. This is how Abraham Lincoln did it”. I loved the “adventure living” and would groan in disappointment as the appliances groaned back to life as the power was restored.

Sixty years later I still have those lanterns. The glass globes are polished, the wicks are trimmed, and the fuel is ready should “adventure arrive”.

That’s the fun part that still appeals to the child in me. The not so fun part is what to do with the food in the fridge and freezer, and in my case, my CPAP machine and other various necessities. So the child in me fights the adult in me and as a young lady at work said “adulting isn’t fun”.

So, what, besides waiting, can you do to ease the impact of a prolonged power outage?

Here are some ideas.

One answer of course is having a generator. There are two approaches to this:

1. A large generator to power the entire house. This is absolutely not a DIY project. First you need deep pockets, as they cost from $7000 up to the five digit mark. Then you need an actual electrician to install the wiring and the transfer switches that will switch the house off the electric grid and onto the generator. Try this yourself, and you probably will end up with ashes where the house once stood. So, this is a major investment, though I have seen it done.
2. A smaller portable generator can be used to power key equipment and appliances. In this scenario you can power the freezer, refrigerator, medical equipment, maybe small heaters, etc. The size and cost of the generator is determined by the anticipated load it will bear. These may range from $500 to $5000 or more depending on its capacity. A cheaper one may only be able to run the freezer and a few “luxury items.

Generators, not including the initial and ongoing costs have some drawbacks to consider:

1. Maintenance. Have you ever put a lawn mower away in the fall and then pulled it out in the spring and nearly dislocated a shoulder trying to get the miserable thing to crank and it just goes “rat-tat-tat-tat” and nothing else? Generators, unless they are properly maintained, will do the exact same thing. Fuel lines will clog, carburetors will gum up and spark plugs fouled up simply by them not being run. You may make every promise in the world to fire that puppy up once a month, but life and it’s 10,000 responsibilities will interfere, and you probably will forget. Then the lights go out, you try to crank it up and the poor thing will only give you “rat-tat-tat-tat” and nothing else. So, if you get one, fire her up on a regular basis. At work I monitor ours as it test fires every Monday.
2. Fuel. How much fuel can you practically and safely store? Putting 500 gallons in the basement not far from the pilot light of your gas heater is a recipe for disaster. You need to rotate the fuel on a regular basis, as it doesn’t stay good forever. I keep fuel stabilizer in stock also, for “just in case”.
3. The “Beacon Effect”. Generators are noisy. After a major power outage, the sound of a generator in the darkness can act as a beacon drawing people to your location thinking you can or should help them, whether you have the ability and resources to or not.

You may have no clue who they are, what they are or if they can be trusted. Plus, you probably don’t have the goods in stock to feed a few hundred random folks showing up at your doorstep. Not all of whom may be “understanding” if you don’t just fork over the family food.

Though largely forgotten, this was a problem after Katrina and to a lesser degree occurred after Beryl also.

Here is a true example of how things can go wrong. One friend’s power was lost during a snowstorm, and he fired up his generator and all the neighbors came pouring in. Being kindhearted, he let them stay. Things went ok for a couple of days, until some of the men decided to hike a few miles to the highway, where they could see lights, go to the liquor store, come back and get roaring drunk. My friend told them if they tried that they would have to leave, as he didn’t want his wife and young children exposed to that, as you never know how people will react when they get “soaked”. Will they be sleepy, weepy, be the life of the party or want to cut you up for a chicken wing? They went ahead with their plan anyway, came back loaded so they could “get loaded” and my friend booted them out, and though some apologized later, some won’t speak to him to this day.

So, maybe you don’t want to advertise to the world that you are prepared. For not every visitor “behaves”.

Another answer, which I opted for, is an inverter.

One place I worked at had an equipment room which housed a hefty charger and inverter all tied in to 32 deep cycle batteries in parallel. This was to power the computer system and other key systems until the power was restored or they could safely power everything down for the long haul. This was well maintained.

At another place I worked they had a similar system, but it was not maintained at all, and all the batteries went dry, and the connections corroded, and the entire mess was covered with green goop.

I use a much smaller system using the same concept. In my case two deep cycle batteries in parallel powering is 2400-watt inverter. I periodically charge the batteries using a car charger, and if there was a prolonged outage, I can charge the batteries using the SUV as a charging station. At some point I may add a solar option.

With this I can power the freezer, let’s say hit it every four or five hours to chill it down. Also I can power the communications gear, which includes CB, GMRS, ham VHF and HF capability and the TV, which can run off an antenna if the cable goes out, for “situational awareness” and to watch The Young & The Restless.

And, I have my beloved lanterns!

But, let’s say the clock runs out, as the fuel runs out. What do you do then?

Let’s focus on food.

First, eat what’s in the fridge, as it will spoil quickly.

Cook and eat what you can and boil the eggs, so they will last a few days extra.

How are you supposed to do that cooking with the power out you might ask?

Simple, by using Coleman stoves, butane stoves, propane stoves, Sterno stoves. Camp stoves, solar ovens, grilling, campfires, a camping Dutch Oven with charcoal, etc. You can cook without electricity, and probably have in the past.

It’s like when we have periodic Snowmageddons. For whatever reason, folk, not only here in the South, but, also across North America, Europe and even Australia, anywhere a threat of a blizzard is mentioned, will rush to buy bread and milk. If you mention there are better options folk get defensive as one lady did when she said online “laugh all you want, my children are not going hungry”.

That’s great.

But, they could be having hot chili, soups, stew, chicken and dumplings, steaks, potatoes, bacon, eggs, anything that can be cooked over a flame, as you would on the blooming patio deck grill or if you were camping instead. Nutritious, delicious, beneficious, which ought to be a word, a veritable smorgasbord of culinary delights at one’s fingertips. You can have a steaming plate of pan seared salmon served in with garlic butter. Perched atop mashed potatoes with a side of asparagus. A toothsome, tasty treat guaranteed to tantalize the tastebuds and tickle the tonsils. A bonafide epicurean delight…but instead people choose….(sigh)…sandwiches….

Next is the freezer, which you should not open until now, as it’s the world’s best cooler. Go ahead and invite the neighbors over, as you are going to have to cook everything in it and there is no way you can eat it all.

After you have eaten your way through the fridge and freezer, next comes the cans and dry goods in your pantry.

You do have a pantry, don’t you? I do.

My Mom and Dad were of the Great Depression / World War II Generation. They conserved, took care of their things, gardened and preserved food, how to “make do with what you have” and believed in having a well-stocked pantry of food. They were not hoarders, but believed in being prepared, for “SHTF” was not a theoretical scenario to them, for they lived through the “real deal”. Economic wasteland and a nation and world at total war.

The children of the Great Depression / World War II Generation laughed at them for being hoarders and old fogeys. Even today a major insurance company has advertisements about “not being like your parents”.

But, the grandchildren of that WWII generation are actively buying books, devouring videos and earnestly trying to relearn the knowledge and skills that were common knowledge of their grandparents. For, the world is an unpredictably volatile place and being prepared is a prudent move.

Are you ready for life’s adventures and misadventures?

Hopefully I’ve given you some ideas to chew on.

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Mark’s Almanac

August was originally named “Sextilis”, the sixth Roman month. It was renamed August in honor of Caesar Augustus and lengthened to 31 days, to equal Julius Caesar’s month of July.

August is hot and humid and summer temperatures remain at or near their summer peak.

The rapid vegetation growth of spring is over, and, since conditions are now perfect for the growth of mold, fungi & germs, plants have a “used” look, which is enhanced if rainfall is scarce.

In August the choir of cicadas whine in the afternoon & towards the end of the month the big Yellow Sulphur Butterflies will begin heading to the South-Southeast, giving hints of their soon upcoming fall migration & cats will begin to hint of growing their winter coats.

Hurricane breeding grounds in August are the Atlantic, with Low Latitude “Cape Verde” storms forming off Africa crossing the Ocean and either threatening the Eastern Seaboard or striking the Leeward Islands, entering the Caribbean and then striking the Yucatan, or the Western or Northern Gulf coast. Breeding grounds also include the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

August is second only to September in the number of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes. From 1851 to 2023 there have been 407 Tropical Storms and 254 Hurricanes, 84 of which made landfall in the United States, the most notable storms being Hurricanes Camille, Katrina and Ida in 1969, 2005 and 2021, which devastated Mississippi and Louisiana and Hurricane Andrew which ravaged South Florida in 1992.

21% of a year’s Hurricanes occur in August, however, 85 to 95% of land falling Hurricanes have not occurred by August 15.

Days grow shorter as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon steadily decreases from 74.4 degrees at the beginning of the month to 65.0 degrees at the month’s end. Daylight decreases from 13 hours 48 minutes on August 1 to 12 hours 54 minutes on August 31.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

August 1 Sunrise 6:00 AM Sunset 7:47 PM
August 15 Sunrise 6:09 AM Sunset 7:34 PM
August 31 Sunrise 6:20 AM Sunset 7:14 PM

Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.7 is in Cancer, The Crab.

Mercury, magnitude +0.7 in Leo, The Lion, is lost in the glow of the Sun

He will pass between the Sun and the Earth, or reach “Inferior Conjunction” on August 18.

Venus, magnitude -3.9 in Leo, The Lion, is lost in the glow of the Sun the first third of the month.

She emerges in the evening sky 8° above the western horizon around 7:42 PM CDT as the duck fades into darkness and sets 59 minutes after the Sun.

At month’s end she rises at 7:28 PM CDT, 9° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness and sets at 20:16 PM CDT.

Earth, magnitude -4.0 as viewed from the Sun, and her Moon is in the Leo, The Lion.

Mars, magnitude +0.9, with his Moons Phobos and Deimos in Taurus, The Bull, is an early morning object.

At the first of the month, he rises at 1:25 AM CDT and reaches an altitude of 46° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 5:20 AM CDT.

At midmonth he rises at 1:05 AM CDT and reaches an altitude of 53° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 5:32 AM CDT.

At months end he rises at 12:43 AM CDT and reaches an altitude of 60° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 05:45 AM CDT..

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude +7.8, is in Sagittarius, The Archer.

Jupiter, magnitude –2.1, and his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring, in Taurus, The Bull, is an early morning object.

At the first of the month, he rises at 1:51 AM CDT, and reaches an altitude of 45° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 5:40 AM CDT.

On August 14 Mars and Jupiter will pass by each other, or be in “Conjunction” as they pass within 0.3° of each other in the predawn sky.

By midmonth he rises at 1:05 AM CDT, and reaches an altitude of 57° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 5:51 AM CDT.

At months end he rises at 12:11 AM CDT, and reaches an altitude of 70° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:02 AM CDT.

Saturn, magnitude +0.7, and his 146 moons and extensive debris ring system, is in Leo, The Lion.

He is a late evening and early morning object, becoming visible around 10:38 PM CDT at an altitude of 11° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest altitude of 49° above the southern horizon around 3:25 AM CDT. He will be lost as he fades into the dawn.

By midmonth he becomes visible around 9:41 PM CDT at an altitude of 11° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest altitude of 49° above the southern horizon around 2:27 AM CDT. He fades into the dawn around 5:34 AM CDT at 29° above the southwestern horizon.

At month’s end he becomes visible around 8:35 PM CDT at an altitude of 11° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest altitude of 49° above the southern horizon around 1:20 AM CDT. He fades into the dawn around 5:46 AM CDT at 14° above the western horizon.

Uranus, magnitude +5.8, and his 27 moons and ring, in Taurus, The Bull, is reemerging into the predawn sky.

Near the first of the month, he rises at 12:45 AM CDT, and reaches an altitude of 49 ° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 4:51 AM CDT.

By midmonth he rises at 11:51 PM CDT, and reaches an altitude of 62° above the southeastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 5:03 AM CDT.

At months end he rises at 10:49 AM CDT, and reaches an altitude of 74° above the southeastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 5:17 AM CDT.

Neptune, magnitude 7.8, and his 14 moons and ring, is in Pisces, The Fish,

At the first of the month, he becomes accessible at 11:56 PM CDT at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon and reaches an altitude of 55° above the southern horizon at 4:05 AM CDT and fades into the dawn twilight around 04:51 AM CDT, 53° above the southern horizon.

By midmonth he becomes accessible at 11:00 PM CDT at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon and reaches an altitude of 54° above the southern horizon at 3:09 AM CDT and fades into the dawn twilight around 5:03 AM CDT, 45° above the southern horizon.

At months end he becomes accessible, at 9:56 PM CDT at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon and reaches an altitude of 54° above the southern horizon at 2:04 AM CDT and fades into the dawn twilight around 5:17 AM CDT, 32° above the southern horizon.

Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim +14.4 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) 1, nicknamed MK1 by the discovery team, shines faintly at magnitude +17.2 in Coma Berenices.

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia, originally referred to as Xena and Gabrielle, is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude +18.7 in Cetus the Sea Monster.

At least six 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 Sextans, The Sextant.

50000 Quaoar, and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Scutum, The Shield.

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, originally nicknamed Snow White by the discovery team, 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.

120347 Salacia, and her moon Actaea glows at magnitude 20.7 in Andromeda, The Chained Woman. Salacia is considered a “borderline” Dwarf Planet. Some astronomers saying she “most certainly is a Dwarf Planet”, while others disagreeing based on her size, saying she is too small to have compressed into a fully solid body, to have been resurfaced, or to have collapsed into “hydrostatic equilibrium”, that is to assume spherical shape like a planet.

This dark world lies beyond the orbit of Neptune, orbiting 4,164,420,166 miles from the Sun.

The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 46 years, 10 months and 25 days is 14,214,591,428 miles, or in Light Time, 22 hours, 41 minutes and 14 Seconds from Earth as of 4:18 PM, July 27, 2024, sailing 38,027 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.
Voyager – Mission Status (nasa.gov)

There are 1,385,938 known asteroids and 3,975 comets as of July 24, 2024 per NASA/JPL Solar Dynamics Website JPL Solar System Dynamics (nasa.gov).

5,741 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of July 23, 2024, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/.

New Moon will occur at 5:15 AM CDT or 11:15 UTC on August 4. 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 its farthest distance from Earth on August 8, when she will be 251,841 miles from Earth.

The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks on the night of August 12 & 13, with 50 to 60 meteors per hour. This shower, produce by debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862, ranks as the best of the best, famous for producing bright meteors. The shower runs annually from July 17 to August 24. It peaks this year on the night of August 12 and the morning of August 13.

The first quarter moon will block out some of the fainter meteors in the early evening. But the Moon will set shortly after midnight leaving dark skies for what could be an excellent early morning show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Perseus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur August 12 at 10:19 AM or 16:19 UTC.

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

August’s Full Moon will occur August 19 at 1:27 PM or 18:27 UTC. August’s Full Moon was called “Fruit Moon” in Cherokee Folklore, “Women’s Moon” among the Choctaw, “Sturgeon Moon” by the Algonquin because the large sturgeon fish of the Great Lakes and other major lakes were more easily caught at this time of year. This moon has also been known as the Green Corn Moon and the Grain Moon and at one time was called “Dog Days Moon” by the Colonial Americans.

This is the first of four Supermoons for 2024. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.

Since this is the third of four full moons in this season, it is known as a blue moon. This rare calendar event only happens once every few years, giving rise to the term, “once in a blue moon.”

There are normally only three full moons in each season of the year. But since full moons occur every 29.53 days, occasionally a season will contain 4 full moons. The extra full moon of the season is known as a blue moon. Blue moons occur on average once every 2.7 years.

The second definition of a Blue Moon is two full moons in a calendar month, but this doesn’t apply in this case.

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

The moon will be at Perigee or its closest approach to Earth on August 20, when she will be 223,817 miles from Earth.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur August 26 at 4:28 AM CDT or 09:28 UTC.

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

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This month’s meeting will be on August 13 at 7PM at the NWS Forecast Office in Calera.

Hope to see you there!

Mark / WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter