ALERT Newsletter – October 2012

Volunteers are needed to man K4NWS.

If you are available to volunteer one or both of the SET days, please contact our President, Steven Moss, who is coordinating the ALERT response at kb4fkn@hiwaay.net.

These are worthwhile efforts and good training exercises.

I hope to hear you on the air!

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Tornado Related Deaths and Injuries

An interesting study was released by the Oklahoma State Department of Health concerning the casualties resulting from the EF5 tornado, which struck Oklahoma City, and it’s suburbs on May 3, 1999.

FATALITIES

Of the 45 persons who died, 3 were cardiac related, 1 died preparing for the tornado, 1 after the tornado and 40 directly from the tornado.

PROBABLE CAUSE OF DEATH:

Multiple injuries (50%)

Head injuries (23%)

Chest trauma (18%)

Traumatic asphyxia (10%)

INJURIES

Of the 577 injuries, 26 occurred while preparing for the tornado, 39 after the tornado and 512 directly from the tornado.

PROBABLE CAUSE OF INJURIES

Unspecified flying/falling debris (36%)

Picked up/blown by tornado (16%)

Collapse of walls, ceiling, roof (13%)

Flying/falling wood or boards (11%)

Hit by objects (11%)

Glass (6%)

Motor vehicle accident (5%)

Other (10%)

It will be noted that the percentages are greater than 100%; this is due to victims with multiple injuries or injuries from multiple causes.

http://www.pitt.edu/~super7/13011-14001/13531.ppt

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the F4 tornado, which struck Marion Illinois on May 29, 1982, found that injury may result from the direct impact of a tornado or it may occur afterward as people walk among debris and enter damaged buildings. 50 percent of the tornado-related injuries were suffered during rescue attempts, cleanup and other post-tornado activities. Nearly a third of the injuries resulted from stepping on nails. Because tornadoes often damage power lines, gas lines or electrical systems, there is a risk of fire, electrocution or an explosion.

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/tornadoes/after.asp

Both studies give the same safety recommendations:

Go to a pre-designated shelter area such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar, or the lowest building level. If there is no basement, go to the center of an interior room on the lowest level (closet, interior hallway or bathroom) away from corners, windows, doors, and outside walls. Put as many walls as possible between you and the outside.

Don’t bother opening the windows, as the storm will gladly do this for you.

In a high-rise building, go to a small interior room or hallway on the lowest floor possible.

Get under a sturdy table and use your arms to protect your head and neck.

Cover your body with thick blankets or clothing to protect you from flying debris.

Protect the head from brain injury by wearing a motorcycle, bicycle or football helmet or a hard hat.

Put on sturdy shoes, so you don’t injure your feet on broken glass and nails.

As a side note, I’ll add make sure your “place of safety” is really safe.

Once I worked at a major department store and their “safe place” was the center of the building, where the roof was the weakest and most prone for collapse, in the kitchenware department where the knives, forks, and meat cleavers could cut you to ribbons. A bad idea I thought and pointed out, to no avail. As was my suggestion their rule of counting down the registers and THEN taking cover probably wasn’t the wisest of policies.

Make sure potentially dangerous objects do not surround your shelter, and that is far enough away from the water heater that you won’t be scalded if it became overturned or was punctured and the hot water was released.

Finally, the National Severe Storms Laboratory recommends you keep a disaster supply kit, including:

A 3-day supply of water (one gallon per person per day) and food that won’t spoil

One change of clothing and footwear per person

One blanket or sleeping bag per person

A first-aid kit, including prescription medicines

Emergency tools, including a battery-powered NOAA Weather Radio and a portable radio

A flashlight, and plenty of extra batteries

An extra set of car keys and a credit card or cash

Special items for infant, elderly, or disabled family members.

Which is basically the same list recommended by FEMA, the Canadian, Japanese and Israeli governments.

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Mark’s Almanac

The tenth Month, October is so named because it is the eighth month on the Roman calendar. To the Slavs of Eastern Europe it is called “yellow month,” from the fading of the leaf, while to the Anglo-Saxons it was known as Winterfylleth, because at this full moon (fylleth) winter was supposed to begin.

By whichever name you call it, October 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.

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 been know to occur 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”.

The Yellow Giant Sulphur Butterflies are very noticeable as they continue to drift South-Southeast on their migration towards Florida. They prefer red things & if you have red flowers they will zero in on them.

The Monarchs also will be seen gliding by in their migration towards Central America.

Fall colors will become prominent & by late October & Early November the leaves will be reaching their peak fall colors.

October’s Full Moon is “Hunters Moon” in Native American folklore.

Mercury is hidden deep in the sunset.

Venus rises in deep darkness around 4 A.M emerging above the east-northeast horizon two hours before the first glimmer of dawn. By dawn it’s blazing high in the east.

Mars is low in the southwest during evening twilight. He is slowly approaching the orange star Antares. The name “Antares” is an ancient Greek name meaning “Anti-Ares” or “Anti-Mars”, Ares being the Greek name for Mars. The star received this name because Antares and Mars look very similar. The only visual difference between the two are that Antares will be twinkling, while Mars won’t.

Jupiter rises in the east-northeast around 10 P.M. near the orange star Aldebaran, which will be twinkling to the lower right.

Saturn is disappearing into the sunset.

Uranus remains at the Pisces-Cetus border and Neptune is in Aquarius in the southeast evening sky.

The Draconid meteor shower peaks around the evening of October 7. This shower’s intensity is unpredictable. Usually it is a poor producer. However in 1933 and 1946 it produced major displays with thousands of meteors per hour. So it’s worth taking a peak.

Just in case.

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This month’s meeting will be on October 9 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

Training Officer

ALERT

www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx