ALERT Newsletter – June 2010

Published 06/03/2010 | By KV4S

Hi Everyone, June has arrived & with its arrival begins the North Atlantic Hurricane Season, which will last until the end of November. Hurricane season predictions are an inexact science, but most soothsayers are saying, that due to El Nino fading away, we will have a severe tropical season. How severe depends on whom you ask. NOAA is predicting 23 named systems, with 8 to 14 hurricanes, 3 to 7 of which will be major. Dr. William Gray & Phillip Klotzbach of Colorado State predicts 18 named systems, with 10 hurricanes, four of which will be major. Florida State has issued the news that they believe there is an 89% chance of the US being hit by a hurricane that would “cause property damage”. Personally I predict a 100% chance of hurricane related property damage either wind or water related within a 150 mile radius of landfall, with the greater damage potential occurring on the right side of the storm path, especially if at high tide, on a bay and it being on a full moon, going with the operating assumption that a storm actually forms and that it actually makes landfall on the continental US… <strong> Ok. There you go. Now where’s my grant money and my “free government <censored>”??? </strong> …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Hurricane Impact & Hurricane Response
Alabama is impacted by hurricanes in three ways:

Direct Impact – Where the core of the storm or the rain / wind field actually strikes or passes through a portion of Alabama. Examples being Hurricane’s Fredrick, Opal, Ivan or Katrina.

Indirect Impact – where the core is not over Alabama, but the feeder bands are passing through and causing havoc. Rita’s feeder band being a good example, which dropped 20

tornadoes over west Alabama in a 4 hour period. I was NCS on 88 as Tuscaloosa County was hit by 10 tornadoes. Some on the ground simultaneously, north and south in the county, during this – the second largest one day tornado outbreak on record.

Distant Impact – A storm is not even near Alabama, but, affecting our weather. Such as with Olivia, a Pacific Hurricane which was off Western Mexico. Her moisture was captured by the jet stream, crossed the Sonora desert, the Arklatex region & dumped monsoon type rains on Alabama & Mississippi, causing flooding.

ALERT typically will activate during scenarios 1 & 2. Most of our activity when the storm is near the coast normally has been on HF at 3.965 or the backup 40 meter frequency of 7.225. However, since we currently are without HF capability and with the ever improving coverage on D-Star, ALERT’s coverage would concentrate on monitoring D-Star directly and HF using a liaison station monitoring HF offsite. Then as the storm moves northward into the BMX County Warning Area the focus would then shift to the individual county Skywarn Nets, as we would do during a “normal” callout. HF Gulf Coast Nets to monitor are: Primary State ARES Frequencies & Nets for Gulf of Mexico & regular meeting times. 3.965 MHz Alabama Emergency Net Mike 4:00 PM Sunday 3.940 MHz Florida Amateur Single Sideband Net 6:00 PM 3.975 MHz Georgia Single Sideband Net 7:30 PM 3.910 MHz Louisiana Traffic Net 6:30 PM 3.862 MHz Mississippi Section Phone Net 6:00 PM 3.873 MHz Texas Traffic Net 6:30 PM Wide Coverage Nets 14.235 MHz Hurricane Watch Net As Needed 3.935 MHz Central Gulf Coast Hurricane Net 1:00 UTC The Hurricane Watch Net is only activated when a storm is within 300 miles of a populated land mass. This net is one where you don’t check in to, only listen. Only if you have a legitimate need to check in do you do so – emergency/priority traffic or if the NCS specifically calls for a station in Central Alabama, only then should you pick the microphone up. Or, if they do actually give a call for general checkins. Some Internet resources you should have in your armory include: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ – The National Hurricane Center out of Coral Gables, FL http://www.hurricane.alabama.gov/ – The Alabama Hurricane Center has loads of links for when a storm visits our well oiled beaches. http://euler.atmos.colostate.edu/~vigh/guidance/ Hurricane Forecast Models http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html Satellite imagery and data – worldwide http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-atl.html Storm centered satellite imagery Many other resources, including coastal radar picket, Caribbean & Mexican radar, charts and satellite imagery can be found at www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx/ and clicking on “Tropics, Charts & Satellites”. This is my own website, which I am shamelessly hawking. I created it so I could access weather resources at K4NWS and offsite. At 4600 plus hits (4550 of which are mine) it can’t be too wrong. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Mark’s Almanac
Originally the fourth Roman Month, June at one time had 29 days, until Julius Caesar in a glow of inspiration added the 30^th day. What June was named for is uncertain. Some say it was named for Juno, wife & sister of Jupiter. Storm activity retains many of the characteristics of spring, but more and more the pattern takes on the summer pattern of pop-up thunderstorms. Hurricane season begins, however June hurricanes are usually small and of minor intensity, occurring roughly once every two years. The centers for June Tropical Cyclone activity are the extreme Western Caribbean, with the storm tracks striking the Yucatan or veering toward Western Florida & the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico, with the storm tracks aiming toward the Mexican mainland. The center of maximum tornadic activity shifts northward over Kansas and Iowa. Activity in Texas and Oklahoma dies down. There is a 5% decrease in tornadic activity over the May average & by June fourth 50% of the years tornadoes have occurred. So far, as of June 2, 544 tornadoes have been reported, 24 of which occurred in Alabama. Summer Solstice will occur at 11:28 UTC on June 21. June’s Full Moon is “Strawberry Moon” in Native American folklore. Remember June 25^th and mark it on your calendar & on that date remember Christmas, for this is what Christmas day feels like in Northern Australia. Now for the most important Nugget O’ Knowledge that you will get from this newsletter. In June ducks loose all their flight feathers at once and are incapable of flying. Now aren’t you glad to know that? ………………………………………………………………………………………. This month’s meeting will be on June 8 at 7PM at the National Weather Service Forecast office at the Shelby County Airport. Hope to see you there! Mark / WD4NYL President ALERT www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx/
Share this:
X
Facebook
Telegram
WhatsApp
Pocket
Pinterest
Reddit
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Email
Print
More
Twitter
Like this:
Like Loading...

Posted in ALERT Newsletter