ALERT Newsletter – November 2012

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 watch the Northeast recovering from the regional disaster caused by Hurricane Sandy it is to be remembered that November has arrived and with it our second tornado season. It is also to be remembered that some years the fall tornado season proves to be more active than the spring season.

With this in mind, this month’s ALERT newsletter will focus on training, with a review ALERT’s operational procedures. Please print out these instructions, keep and study them.

Also, remember that most of our “real training” is from “on the job experience”. In other words, please don’t be afraid to respond to a callout even if you feel need more training. 90 percent of our training is “learning by doing” under the supervision of seasoned mentor. That’s how I did it. My training was with David Black KB4KCH “showing me the ropes” during a callout many years ago.

ALERT CALLOUT PROCEDURES

What To Do Before The Callout

Some preparations you should think about before responding are:

1. Attend a stormspotter class. This way you will be more knowledgeable about the situations being encountered and the needs of the NWS. You will be better prepared to filter reports and eliminate the well meant, but oft times goofy “Leaf debris reports”.

2. Familiarize yourself with radar interpretation, especially the new Dual-Pol products, so you can be looking at the radar and anticipating problem areas, as this will give you a head start on seeking pertinent information. I learned radar interpretation at JSU – James Spann University. When the TV meteorologists point out the various things they are seeing on radar, pay attention, learn and remember, for this is a good source for familiarization of standard NEXRAD displays. For the new Dual-Pol products I recommend the NOAA course http://www.wdtb.noaa.gov/courses/dualpol/outreach/ and the instructional posts at http://tennesseewx.com/index.php/topic,3110.0.html

3. Gain a knowledge of the various area ARES / Skywarn frequencies and nets. A very good resource is the Alabama ARES repeater map. One is posted at the K4NWS cubical. A pdf copy may be obtained at http://www.alabama-ares.org/download.html under “downloadable files”.

4. Make a “go kit” or bag. Teresa & Mark’s go kit contains an Alabama atlas (the same one the NWS uses), a notepad, pens & a notebook with all my “NWS / ALERT guides, and junk” that I’ve gathered over the years. Other useful items would be medicines, your favorite drink (non-alcoholic, please) & a favorite snack. Also included are things to do to keep you awake, for while some callouts are intense, hectic and exciting, others, especially when the storms keep dying near Meridian, are easy cures for insomnia.

Now that we have prepared ourselves, we wait for the callouts.

ALERT Callout Process

1. We want, encourage and welcome Operational members to take active roles in callouts. To receive callouts you must be on our callout list, if you are not receiving callout notifications, contact Russell KV4S so you can be put on the list. Contact Russell at Russell@kv4s.com. Remember that you must be a “paid up” ALERT member to be allowed to respond to a callout. If you are not a member or have let your membership lapse, please join ALERT, for non-members cannot respond.

2. Monitor the weather situation and be prepared for a possible callout.

3. Don’t self activate and just show up at the NWS because you think that help is needed and ALERT hasn’t acted or hasn’t acted fast enough. Remember that ALERT is activated when the NWS request an activation. The NWS decides if and when we are needed, not ALERT. Never try to bypass the callout system. The callout system is in place for specific reasons.

The callout system allows us to:

Know who is actually there, so we can maintain accountability, security & control.

Avoid duplication of effort. When we know who is available & what times, we can schedule shifts allowing us to more efficiently utilize our available resources & avoid having a confused, chaotic response.

It helps operators choose which responses they can best give to which entity. This is especially becoming more & more important as many operators belong to more than one emergency response group

For instance, if there are multiple callouts – ALERT, ARES, CERT etc all issuing simultaneous

callouts, if one calls the ALERT Liaison & asks if ALERT needs operators or is adequately

staffed it will help you decide where you are best needed, since you can’t be everywhere at

once.

It allows you to cover more bases, as it can allow you to say, “I can be at the NWS with

ALERT from 3PM to 7PM and then at the EMA from 8PM till the duration”.

4. If a callout is issued and you are available, call the contact person listed in the callout notification so you can be scheduled. Always coordinate with the NWS liaison issuing the callout – Nathan or Russell before responding to the NWS. If it is your first callout, let the liaison know, so you may be teamed with an experienced member. We don’t want to just “thrown you to the wolves”.

5. Remember that when you respond to the callout, visitors are not allowed. NWS security restrictions and ALERT policy forbid this.

6. When you leave for the NWS, allow extra travel time, as travel conditions may be slow and dangerous.

7. If you are scheduled and will be late or unable to fill your shift, contact the Liaison you responded to & let him know.

8. When you arrive at the NWS buzz the buzzer to be let in & let them know you are with ALERT, and sign in providing a photo ID.

K4NWS Startup Procedures

1. Did You Sign In At The Front Desk?

2. Obtain a brief situational update from the meteorologist who greets you, or the person he designates.

3. Turn on the power supplies first.

4. Turn on the radios second, so you don’t damage the radios.

5. Starting with the 220 MHz radio on the far left, open the squelch and adjust the volume to a comfortable level, a level which will not distract the forecasters from doing their jobs. Verify that the radio is on 224.500 MHz.

6. Do likewise with the next radio to the right, which is 2 meters. This will be your “roaming” radio that you will use to search distant repeaters for reports. When not searching for distant reports, leave it on 146.880 MHz.

7. Next is the 440 MHz radio, which can be used for roaming UHF, but, is normally monitoring 444.100 MHz.

8. Next is the Icom 706. We currently do not operate on HF, so set this on 146.980 MHz so that if West Alabama is being affected, Shelby County can link with West Alabama and reach.

9. Lastly the D-Star radio is prepared. Test the radio on 145.410 MHz (Channel 10). It can also be used on 146.88 or 98, as needs dictate. But, usually it should remain on Channel 10.

The Radio Station is now prepared, now for the Computer Workstation

10. Verify that the computer is up and running, it should already be on. Are Severe Clear & the Chatrooms on the screen & not frozen?

11. If not, or if you cannot log into the computer or on the Spotterchats, if Jody Aaron or John DeBlock are available, seek their assistance.

One thing to remember is that as long as you can log into BMXspotterchat (the general use chatroom), this is sufficient. You don’t necessarily need to monitor the BMXEMACHAT & relay reports from BMXchat to BMXEMACHAT. After all you are sitting at the NWS – if someone has a report on BMXspotterchat, thank the operator & then simply tell the forecaster what was reported.

Remember also that ALERT members at offsite locations usually are covering the chatrooms. The focus of K4NWS is RF operations.

If you can’t log on the NWSchat system & want to monitor traffic on the BMXEMACHAT you can still do so (assuming you have an NWSchat account). This may be done by opening the Internet Explorer & going to https://nwschat.weather.gov/live/, log in & go to “Chatrooms” at the bottom left of the screen & click the link. From the list that appears find “Birmingham (BMX) EM Chat (bmxemachat)” and click on this & then click “join a chat” on the box that appears. A fully functional interactive version of the chat will then be activated.

12. If you are wanting to monitor APRS, just go to the favorites list & find the APRS links. These and

many other weather tools and resources are readily available at www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx/.

13. When the computer is ready, as best you can, balancing radio coverage with computer coverage, monitor the radar & the Chatrooms. Remember that everyone has limited multitasking capacity & that this capacity varies with each person. Our prime mission is gathering reports via RF.

to him or her. Remember you are NOT intruding. They WANT your reports. That’s why they called you in.

15. You usually will receive requests for information & be given updates by the meteorologists. Honor those requests as best you can.

16. Listen to the background chit-chat in the room and monitor the radar. When an area of concern is mentioned or a suspicious looking cell appears on radar, go to repeaters covering the area of concern & SEEK reports. Don’t just wait for a warning to be issued to react. SEARCH for reports. We are to ACT, not just REACT. If a net is in session, check in with the Net Control Station and let them know that you are available for reports. Always go through the Net Control Station. We don’t “take over” other’s nets. If no net is in session, a general call for reports is acceptable.

17. While monitoring 88 & 98 is desirable, you have to “go where the action is”, which means leaving those frequencies. If you are checked in to a local net, tell the NCS’s you are leaving. They can still reach K4NWS via 220 or 440.

18. Remember to log your reports.

19. When your relief operator arrives, leave, and go get some rest. You may be needed later again & will need to be fresh.

I’ll reemphasize the word “leave”. The guys & gals really don’t have the time to chit chat while an event is ongoing.

Shutdown Procedures

1. If possible, don’t shut down until the meteorologists say that you are no longer needed.

2. After they do, finish your paperwork & straighten up the cubical.

3. If the 88 & 98 Nets are up, let the NCS’s know you are shutting down. This also applies to any other net you are still monitoring.

4. Do likewise on the Spotterchat, as the Buddy List may say “K4NWS” even if no one is there, causing confusion.

5. Shut off the radios.

6. Shut off the power supplies.

7. DO NOT SHUT OFF THE COMPUTER!

8. Sign out and leave.

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Here are a few more words about the Spotterchats.

ALERT and the NWS cover 39 counties. Some have a low Amateur Radio population, who may not even be interested is the Skywarn program. Some counties are outside the VHF/UHF range of K4NWS, or rarely in range, such as is the cases of the Tuscaloosa & Gadsden 82 repeater’s or the Montgomery 84 repeater.

But, as long as the internet is accessible the Spotterchat system is always in range and has the potential to provide full 39 county coverage, which can be monitored remotely be ALERT members, freeing up the operators at K4NWS, and they can be monitored with or without a callout.

So here is a little brush up on the spotter chat protocols.

Operational ALERT members on the chats act as a liaison to the BMXEMACHAT and directly copies and pastes reports onto the BMXEMACHAT. They filter the information when needed, as any regular NCS should do, to insure that only necessary information is passed.

Here are some guidelines to help filter reports. Including reports from both the BMXspotterchat and the ABC33/40 chat, which James Spann has given ALERT permission to use & from which we “copy and paste” to the BMXEMACHAT when appropriate.

The first question to be asked is “is this report usable for NWS purposes? “Clear sky”, “full moon”, “it’s thundering”, “the stars are out”, “it’s getting very dark out here” (especially at sunset) aka “leaf debris reports” are complete wastes of the operators time, energy and Internet bandwidth.

If it is a suitable report, the “what, when and where rules” apply. What has or is happening, when did it happened and where? We will need a clear specific location. A location that is clearly defined with street/cross-street, mile marker, etc. If the location has a strange or unfamiliar sounding name, don’t hesitate to ask the reporting station to spell the street name. Otherwise you may have to waste time chasing down details in a fast pace, hectic, often hellacious situation. Remember that time is our greatest enemy.

We don’t need scanner reports or third hand reports. They are unverifiable and in the case of scanner reports, the EMA usually already knows about the call and will know whether it is a false alarm or not. If it’s the “real deal”, the EMA will pass the information directly to the NWS. Scanner reports are how false rumors are spread, which is something that we – ALERT, the NWS and the EMA’s all seek to avoid.

The BMXchat & BMXEMACHAT are for “weather and weather only” and not places for idle chit-chat or critiquing NWS forecast decisions. This would include the ABC3340 Chat. Publicly criticizing the NWS while flying the ALERT banner is totally unacceptable and can damage the public confidence of the NWS and damage ALERT’s relationship with the NWS.

Remember also that we don’t casually “chat with the guys at the NWS”. They are busy. If the meteorologists ask us a question, we answer, but usually not the other way around.

Information & discussions seen on the NWSchat are NOT to be discussed on the air or on the other chats. The information is confidential and is to be treated as such. The only exceptions would be in cases where you see the forecaster saying something like “rotation is really tightening up over Hueytown”. Then simply say on the other chats or on the air that the “NWS is needing reports from the Hueytown area”.

A final word on this subject is to remember that everyone has a slightly different methodology, based on knowledge, experience and personal preference. Don’t be afraid that you might mess up. It’s when you think that you never mess up that you are on the slippery edge of a problem. So hop on in there.

Know that by responding and manning K4NWS you may have saved a life. You may never know

whose family you have saved, whose child will still have a mother and father or whose life will continue because of the advanced warning you helped make possible. But, because of the service you provided, you literally saved these lives.

Which is something to be proud of.

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Mark’s Almanac

With the arrival of November we enter our second tornado season. Alabama and the Southeast is “blessed” by being the only area on Earth having two tornado seasons. And, 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 invading and trying to push the warmth of the summer back into the sea, which is the same process of springtime, just in reverse.

As mentioned earlier, the second season is often more destructive than the spring season. 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.

Hurricane season ends November 30.

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 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.

Speaking of birds, my old piano teacher, Miss Box once told me that “when the ground is covered by blackbirds, expect snow”. Over the years I watched this & refined the theory to be “when the ground is covered by blackbirds, expect a cold front”. And, more times than not it proves true.

But, how do they know? Here it is, a warm sunny day, wind calm, barometer rising and the ground and trees covered and loaded with hundreds of squealing, squawking birds & 24 hours later it’s pouring. How do they know? You tell me.

Birds are nature’s wind vanes. Those messy blackbirds and their cousins will all sit in trees and on power lines with the majority pointing towards the wind.

Did you know that we are all experts on birds?

Why I bet you deal with enough do-do birds and turkeys at work to be lifelong members of the Audubon Society.

I know I do, but that’s another story.

November’s Full Moon is “Beaver Moon” in Native American folklore, and will occur 1:09 CST November 13.

Mercury is very low in the Southwest 30 minutes after sunset.

Venus rises an hour before sunrise and by dawn is shining brightly in the East.

Mars is low in the southwest during evening twilight. He is upper left of the similar looking orange star Antares.

Jupiter rises in the east-northeast after dark with the orange star Aldebaran twinkling to his right.

The Pleiades star cluster, mentioned in Job 9:9 lies above Aldebaran, looking like a tiny Big Dipper.

Saturn is hidden in the glow of sunrise.

Uranus lies in Pisces, while Neptune is in Aquarius in the south in the evening sky.

The annual Leonid meteor shower occurs from November 10 – 21 and peaks November 17. The Leonids are well known for producing bright meteors and fireballs. 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.

If you can’t see them, you can listen to them. Try http://spaceweatherradio.com/index.php and click “listen”. You may hear them “pinging” off the US Air Force Space Surveillance radar system.

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This month’s meeting will be on November 13 at 7PM at the National Weather Service

Forecast office at the Shelby County Airport

I hope to see you there.

73 and take care.

Mark

WD4NYL

Training Officer

ALERT

www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx