March 2008 Newsletter

Published 03/02/2008 | By WD4NYL

ALERT NEWSLETTER — March 2008 Vol. 1 No. 9http://www.alert-alabama.orgHi everyone,March has arrived, and with its arrival we enter into the peak of the spring tornado season. Are you ready? Can you receive weather warnings? At home? At work? On the road? Even with a power outage? Where can you hide? Again at home, at work or on the road. And, if a tornado strikes near you, do you know what to do? These are questions that need to be asked and resolved. You and your family’s life depend on it. At ALERT we respond to the NWS to take storm reports. But, our primary responsibility is to take care of ourselves, our families and then our community. Take time to learn about disaster preparedness. Think about what you will do if “it” happens to you. And, educate your family, friends, coworkers and neighbors as to what to do and why they should prepare also. Even if they might not want to listen. Littleseeds of knowledge can grow into large trees. And, knowledge saves lives. And, saving lives is what we are in “the business” for. ………………………………………………………………………………………. “Hints and kinks” for Net Control Stations Oftimes we as ALERT operators or as Net Control Stations have to filter out reports that are well meaning but useless, or in some cases just plain nutty. “We have leafdebris”, “We have severe wind gusts up to 30 MPH”, “We have no rain in Hoover”, “It’s lightning”, etc. We get use to (hopefully) politely saying thanks and skipping to the next report. But, for every rule there are exceptions and here are some of these we should keep in mind as ALERT operators. “Leaf debris” — Usually ignore it. Exception being if they see a pillar of them swirling & a few roofs and Volkswagens following them skyward — then report it. “High Winds” — How are they measuring the wind? If it’s not a measured wind speed or perhaps estimated with the Beaufort Wind Scale – http://www.cs.rice.edu/~jnavarro/windsurfing/beaufort.html Ignore it — as winds always seem higher than they really are. That’s unless cows or Tumble Trailers are sailing by, then report it. “It’s Lightning” — Yep, that’s why they call it a “thunderstorm”. But, wait a minute; there may be more than meets the eye. If the lightning suddenly surges like the flashing of a bad fluorescent bulb — report it. Recent studies show that lightning activity often increases dramatically just storms intensify and become severe. Is the lightning Green? Green lightning isn’t lightning at all, but “power flashes” caused by power lines coming down and transformers blowing. Random power flashes are not overly important. But, if the flashes are concentrated in one area and seem to be moving along the horizon — report it! As, this indicates a circulation of some kind is on the ground and ripping up the power grid. “We have BB size hail” — Hail of significance with a storm is “dime size” or greater. So let this fish swim away. EXCEPT if a tornado warning is associated with the storm. Hail is a highly localized event. It can hail where you are and not across the street. When you hear the term “hail shaft” it is an accurate description of the phenomena. Also, hail can be a pinpoint indicator of the tornado’s location, as more times than not a tornado will follow in the wake of the hail shaft at a range of 1 to 4 miles. So, in this case Report It. Those are a few tricks of the trade. Another couple of hints are learn the basics of meteorology ( http://www.theweatherprediction.com/ ) and storm spotting ( http://spotterguides.us/index.htm ) and read a storm spotter glossary such as http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/severewx/glossary.php so one you understand what someone is trying to describe. Then a report that sounds goofier than a road lizard may turn out to make sense and give information the forecasters actually need. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Mark’s Almanac March, the third month & first month of the Roman calendar is named for Mars, the god of war. March is a wet month and there are 2.2 times the number of tornadoes over the February amount. The focal point for tornadic activity is the Gulf States. March is also 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 near surface level temperatures are higher and melts the hail into liquid before impact. Incidentally, rain and hail are also known as “hydrometeors”. So there’s you a fancy word you can use to dazzle folk with and score decently in Scrabble too. Most floods occur in March and rainfall averages around 6 inches. Killing frosts are gone and the last average frost is on March 16. But, don’t count snow out just yet, as March is a snow month for Alabama. Statistically speaking, there is a 45% chance of snow up to one inch, and an 8% chance of one inch or more. The last major winter storm to hit Alabama began March 12, 1993, when some areas of Central Alabama got up to 16 inches of snow and left thousands without power. But, soon spring will spring upon us, as the Vernal Equinox arrives March 20 at 05:57 UTC. It is said that you can stand eggs on their ends at the hour of equinox. Others say you can do this at any time of the year if you are patient and don’t have an egg with a nubby end. Also, the time around Vernal Equinox is a favored time for spotting the Aurora Borealis. And, since Aurora’s can be used for VHF radio work, maybe you might try 52 direct & see what station you can dredge up. March can be a noisy month as many of Alabama’s 29 species of frogs become vocal, croaking the night away looking for a Lady Frog. March’s Full Moon is “Worm Moon” in Native American folklore. So called because the rains disturb the earthworms & they are seen wiggling around after the rains. ………………………………………………………………………………………. This month’s meeting will be on March 11 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/

Posted in ALERT Newsletter, Amateur Radio

March 2008 Newsletter

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