StormBuster OnLine

STORMBUSTER
A Newsletter for Emergency
Managers & Storm Spotters
Winter Edition, 1996-1997
Vol 2, ed 4.

In this Issue....
We Need Your Help !
Construction Continues on Our New Home
Are You Ready for Old Man Winter?
In Defense of Winter
WCM Notes

We Need Your Help !

Spotters are asked to report any occurrence of severe weather to your Skywarn EC, Skywarn Net Controller or directly to us at the National Weather Service. These reports are of tremendous importance to us since they firmly tell us what the weather is like at the ground and aid us in understanding what we are seeing on our radar and satellite images. If you see any of the following eight types of events, please call us! These events are considered emergency traffic on the Ham network, please relay them to the NWS immediately.

1. Tornadoes, Water Spouts, Funnel Clouds and Wall Clouds (either rotating or not).
2. Damaging Winds that down trees, large limbs and power lines or any wind producing property damage.
3. Hail of any size
4. Lightning that produces damage, injury or death.
5. Flooding, Ice Jams, Bankfull Rivers or Streams.
6. Measured Rainfall that exceeds 1.0 to 1.5 inches in a 4 hour period.
7. Freezing Rain...all occurrences.
8. Snowfall that exceeds 4 inches in a 24 hour period.
9. Any other event that you feel may help us determine the severity of storms.

Construction Continues on Our New Home

by Jonathan Blaes

Construction Continues on Our New Home

Construction on NWSFO Albany's new home is entering the final phases. The major construction is over and workers are now working on interior details and installation issues. The Forecast Office will move to the Center for Environmental Sciences and Technology Management (CESTM) facility on the campus of SUNY Albany in early April. The new research center is located at the corner of Fuller Road and the Washington Avenue Extension at the edge of the SUNY campus.

The facility is expected to be completed by mid March with a month or so necessary to install equipment and communication lines before we can move in. The research facility will not only house the Weather Service but also the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center and the New York State Center for Advanced Technology. The move provides a great opportunity for the Forecast Office and the University community to work together and further the science of meteorology. There will be nearly daily collaboration on research projects and other studies between forecasters and researchers.

Below is a picture of the CESTM facility taken during the late phases of construction this past November.

Are You Ready for Old Man Winter?

by Hugh Johnson IV

At 9:06 am Est on December 21, the sun will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn and officially begin the astronomical season of winter. Old man winter has already blasted parts of the nation with cold winds and deep snows. Winter is the time to wax those skies, or take those walks in fresh fallen snow. However, the season can turn deadly. The vast majority of winter deaths take place on the highways. Other deaths result from hypothermia.

Now is the time to prepare a winter survival kit for your car. It would be a good idea to include the following items in your vehicle. A blanket, shovel, sand, blankets and flares. Remember, if you get stuck in your vehicle, it is generally best to stay there, unless you can clearly see the shelter you plan to go to. Have your car tuned up and use snow tires or all-season radials. Keep your gas tank full. Make sure you have good wiper blades and ample windshield cleaner.

At home, keep a supply of canned and non perishable foods on hand, especially if you live in a rural area. If you have an auxiliary heating system, make sure you have the proper amount of fuel for it. Keep flashlights and candles handy in case of power outages.

The National Weather Service uses several terms to define potential winter hazards.

An Advisory is issued when we determine that a certain condition, though not life threatening, can impact our daily routines. Some examples include four inch snowfalls expected within a twenty-four hour period, a combination of light icing due to freezing rain, or wind producing a wind chill equivalent temperatures between -25 to -39 degrees fahrenheit.

If the situation is considered life threatening, a Winter Storm Warning will be issued. Examples include expected snowfall accumulation of 7 inches or greater in a twenty-four period, an accumulation of a half an inch or more of ice in the same time frame, or a combination of significant snow and ice.

In Defense of Winter

by by Kirsten Westergard

As the cold winter season begins, more and more people start whining. They say "I don't like it when it's cold. There isn't any sun!" I say be quiet!

Too many people in this world like summer. Ah yes, summer. It's the season of warmth and fun in the sun. Forgotten are the endless hours of boredom, the sunburn, the oppressive heat. The only reason I even remotely like the season is that it signifies a much needed school vacation.

Now take a closer look at winter. At first the grey days come. The tree branches are bare and they scratch the sky for snow.... The whole earth is waiting. Animals disappear slowly into their warm holes. Finally, it snows.

The first snow brings a sense of elation. As the big wet flakes flutter to the ground, you realize how close winter is. Yet these snowflakes are sucked up by the snow starved earth. Oh well, you think. It will snow again. For a while, the grey days continue. It snows, off and on, but always the flakes are eaten up. Finally, it's the day you have been waiting for.

The sky is a deep color of grey and the flakes start coming down. As with the first, you hope that it will stick. You peer anxiously out the window, thinking to yourself, see, there, it is sticking, there is a little pile right there...and eventually it won't just be in your head. A dusting of snow coats the earth, the more snow, the more awesome the scene.

The bare tree branches are suddenly made beautiful in veils of winter white. The ground, no longer grey, is clean and fresh. The anticipation of the earth has ceased and the snow starts to pile up. The whole point of describing this breathtaking scene is to increase the winter ratings. So many more things look beautiful in winter. Take a birch tree for example. If you look at a birch tree in the summer, it's a tree. Wow. Then think of a birch in the winter. A light snow has just fallen, and the lines of black on the white bark are accented by the whiteness of the world.

I hope you think of this as the snow falls. As you are forced to shovel sidewalks and driveways, and as you struggle to drive on slippery roads, look around you. When you realize the beauty of your surroundings, you won't mind shoveling anymore. It's worth it.

WCM Notes

by Dick Westergard

Our new office is shaping up, but there s still plenty of work to be done. Our new address will be:

National Weather Service Forecast Office, NOAA
Center for Environmental Sciences and
Technology Management (CESTM)
251 Fuller Road
Albany, NY 12213

We expect our 800 numbers to remain unchanged when we move to our new office, but we will get any changes out to the people affected before the move.

If you have an E-Mail address, please send it to me at richard.westergard@noaa.gov. I m compiling a list of people who can be contacted by e-mail.

From November 21 into early December our New York 800 number was out of service. NYNEX was changing some phone numbers as part of a construction project at the airport, and didn t transfer the 800 numbers correctly to the new base numbers. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Call US !

Spotters are asked to report any occurrence of severe weather to your Skywarn EC, Skywarn Net Controller or directly to us at the National Weather Service. These reports are of tremendous importance to us since they firmly tell us what the weather is like at the ground and aid us in understanding what we are seeing on our radar and satellite images.

If you see any of the following types of events, please call us! These events are considered emergency traffic on the Ham network, please relay them to the NWS immediately.

Damaging Winds that down trees, large limbs and power lines or any wind producing property damage.
Flooding, Ice Jams, Bankfull Rivers or Streams.
Measured Rainfall that exceeds 1.0 to 1.5 inches in a 4 hour period.
Freezing Rain...all occurrences.
Snowfall that exceeds 4 inches in a 24 hour period.
Any other event that you feel may help us determine the severity of storms.

StormBuster is a quarterly publication for Emergency Management Officials and Skywarn Spotters in the National Weather Service Forecast Office Albany's County Warning Area.

StormBuster staff...
Jonathan Blaes...
Editor
Dick Westergard...
Warning Coordination Meteorologist

Contributing Authors...
They Make StormBuster Happen!

Jonathan Blaes
Tom Janus
Hugh W. Johnson IV.
Kirsten Westergard
Dick Westergard

Address comments to:
StormBuster
NWSFO Albany
Albany County Airport
ARFF Building
Albany, NY 12211
(518) 869-6347
blaes@nwsfo.atmos.albany.edu