September 2008 Newsletter

Published 09/04/2008 | By WD4NYL

ALERT NEWSLETTER – September 2008 Vol. 2 No. 3 Hi Everyone, Over the past few month’s meetings we have discussed the Weather Chats & possible protocols for relaying messages. After much thought and input, here is the suggested protocol for such relays. In the event that Skywarn organizations such as Central Alabama Skywarn, Tuscaloosa Skywarn, or an individual Storm Spotter is unable to contact the NWS directly via the Spotter chat, an ALERT member will respond & let them know they are relaying their report to the NWS. The ALERT member will then copy the report, go to the IEM chat & post the report in the following manner: “Central Alabama Skywarn reports that…” (paste in their report), and, immediately post the report. Adding no commentary to the report (just as you would not add commentary to a NTS radiogram). If the NWS asks for more details, respond, keeping it businesslike & “professional”, and relay their request and the replies. Otherwise, on the IEM chat we would usually “maintain radio silence”, but, monitor the Spotter chat for more reports, until K4NWS or the NWS comes online. Now, while we want everyone to “maintain radio silence” on the IEM chat, that’s not necessarily the case with the Spotter chat. I would like to see the Spotter chat become more interactive – maybe simply by ALERT members initiating contact with the others coming online. For instance, seeing someone in Selma coming online asking him “Hi, Joe, how are your conditions down there?” Or when if you see a bad or suspicious cell on radar, ask if there are any reports or if the online members can find any reports and bring them to the chat, just as we do on the VHF / UHF radios. That way people will feel that they are actually contributing something to the effort – that they are “part of the action”. And, once the word of the activity on the chat spreads, more stormspotters will join us and we can expand our coverage. And, just by acknowledging the presence of the others it will cause it to become popular. And, if it got ever got too big & too unwieldy it could be like handled as an informal net with an ALERT NCS. When more than one ALERT member is online, they can move to the ALERT Chat and coordinate the details as to monitoring the Spotter chat room. This is a perfect opportunity for members at home, who can’t respond to callouts. And, can be just as vitally important. And, we will convert this from being a chatless chatroom & make it a vital part of the Skywarn program. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Mark’s Almanac September is the ninth month of the year and the seventh month on the Roman calendar, which is where the month gets its name. Temperatures are still hot at the beginning of the month, but, by months end, fall will definitely be felt. Noticeable in September will be the thickening of the cat’s fur, as she begins growing her winter coat & the drift of Yellow Giant Sulphur Butterflies as they migrate towards Florida. Weather starts shifting from the summer to autumn pattern and back again. Storms resemble the August pattern, but the Bermuda High will starts shifting southward and begin weakening, which will weaken the blocking effect it has had which prevented fronts from invading from the northwest. September is the peak of the hurricane season, the actual peak being on September 10. This peak coincides with the time of “syzygy”, when the combination of the sun and moon’s gravity and autumnal equinox combine to provide the highest astronomical tides of the year. Add a hurricane’s storm surge on top of this and you can have incredibly destructive flooding. Fall begins at Autumnal Equinox on September 22, 2008 at 10:44 A.M. CDT. On this date, if there is sufficient solar activity, and you are away from city lights, the aurora may possibly be seen, as the Equinox dates are the two most favored times of the year for auroral sightings. September’s Full Moon is “Harvest Moon” in Native American folklore. So called because the moon is larger and seems to rise at almost the same time every night, which allowed harvesting to continue on into the night. ……………………………………………………………………………………. This month’s meeting will be on September 9 at 7PM at the National Weather Service forecast office at the Shelby County Airport I hope to see you there Mark WD4NYL PRESIDENT

Posted in ALERT Newsletter

September 2008 Newsletter

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