As the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) builds the next Mars rover -- this one is named Curiosity -- to deploy to the red planet in the fall of 2011, they’re having a little fun with it. Back in 2007 when the Curiosity team was putting together the rover, its wheel cleats had a raised pattern with the letters “JPL,” leaving a little stamp of the rover’s birthplace everywhere it rolled. “At the time, I asked whether the real rover would have those wheels, and they said, no, they weren’t going to get to advertise JPL with each turn of each of the rover’s six wheels; the real rover would have some other pattern,” said Emily Lakdawalla of The Planetary Society in her blog. Lakdawalla is the organization’s Science and Technology Coordinator.
Lakdawalla said that there is nothing special about the shapes of the markers in Opportunity’s wheels; they are just square holes through the wheels through which the wheels were bolted to the lander during cruise and landing.” Opportunity is the name of the rover that went to Mars back in 2003. “But Curiosity didn’t need holes in its wheels for attaching to any lander -- there isn’t one. So the engineers got to make the markers in any shape they wanted to.”
But in March 2011, she saw a video of the rover as it is today: “I had to chuckle at those ‘visual odometry markers’ [on its tires]. Before I explain why, I’ll point out that they really are useful things to have in rover wheels. The repeating pattern of the ‘visual odometry markers’...makes it fairly easy for both the rover and human operators to determine visually how far the rover has roved using rear-view imagery.”
So what pattern did JPL choose to put on Curiosity’s wheels? One that Lakdawalla called “very amusing. The holes are in a pattern of short squares and longer rectangles -- almost like dots and dashes. Morse code.” And what does it spell out in Morse code? JPL.
J . - - -
P . - - .
L . - . .
According to JPL, Curiosity is about the size of a small SUV -- 10 feet long (not including the arm), 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall -- or about the height of a basketball player -- and weighs 200 pounds. It features a geology lab, rocker-bogie suspension, a rock-vaporizing laser and lots of cameras. Curiosity will search areas of Mars for past or present conditions favorable for life and for conditions capable of preserving a record of life. It is set to launch between November 25-December 18, 2011 from Cape Canaveral, Florida and will arrive on Mars between August 6-20, 2012. The prime mission will last one Mars year, or about 23 Earth months.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Hams Help When Phones Fail at Southern California Hospital
When nurses and other caregivers picked up their phones at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in California in the early morning on March 21, there was no dial tone. A power surge caused the central processor in the hospital’s phone switch to fail. Following established procedures, the Lead Operator at the CHOC switchboard immediately activated the Hospital Disaster Support Communications System (HDSCS), using an off-switch tie-line to reach April Moell, WA6OPS, head of this ARES® group that specializes in helping hospitals when their communications fail.
Moell established a 2 meter net and initiated a call-out of HDSCS members via telephone and pager. Ken Simpson, W6KOS, and Clay Stearns, KE6TZR, soon arrived at the hospital to help establish a link with the outside world. Soon, more operators were at the hospital to communicate for its most important units, including the emergency department, neonatal intensive care, pediatric intensive care and the pharmacy.
She then contacted the supervisor at Orange County Communications to report the outage and to provide her telephone number for incoming calls to CHOC. This resulted in Moell receiving several urgent messages for the hospital, including one regarding the transport of a young patient coming in for an appendectomy. Message handling continued through the morning, with some of the first-to-arrive operators being relieved by other HDSCS members when they had to leave for work or other commitments.
By 10:45 AM, some phones were working, but spare parts were on their way from a supplier. HDSCS continued to provide unit-to-unit and hospital-to-community messaging as needed, including coordination of patient treatments and a request for blood. At 1:02 PM, the repair crew announced that the phone system was back to normal, except for some voicemail functions. HDSCS members remained on station for 30 more minutes, as they always do to insure that phone systems are stable before securing.
This is the 31st year of HDSCS service to medical facilities in Orange County and the 114th activation to provide communications support when telephones have failed or overloaded. The reasons for HDSCS involvement have ranged from equipment failure, to cut cables, to natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and wildfires. Each member has their own go-kit that is ready to take to any of the 36 supported hospitals to establish communications. The HDSCS is familiar with CHOC because the group has participated in drills and communications emergencies there before, including a external phone outage that lasted 22 hours in August 2006 when a construction accident severed fiber optic cables.
The following HDSCS members also participated in this activation: Paul Broden, K6MHD; Tom Hall, N6DGK; Bill Hegardt, K6WIL; Rebecca Katzen, KI6OEM; Joe Moell, K0OV; Dale Petes, KI6ANS; Sam Stratton, W5AGX, and Fred Wagner, KQ6Q.
Moell established a 2 meter net and initiated a call-out of HDSCS members via telephone and pager. Ken Simpson, W6KOS, and Clay Stearns, KE6TZR, soon arrived at the hospital to help establish a link with the outside world. Soon, more operators were at the hospital to communicate for its most important units, including the emergency department, neonatal intensive care, pediatric intensive care and the pharmacy.
She then contacted the supervisor at Orange County Communications to report the outage and to provide her telephone number for incoming calls to CHOC. This resulted in Moell receiving several urgent messages for the hospital, including one regarding the transport of a young patient coming in for an appendectomy. Message handling continued through the morning, with some of the first-to-arrive operators being relieved by other HDSCS members when they had to leave for work or other commitments.
By 10:45 AM, some phones were working, but spare parts were on their way from a supplier. HDSCS continued to provide unit-to-unit and hospital-to-community messaging as needed, including coordination of patient treatments and a request for blood. At 1:02 PM, the repair crew announced that the phone system was back to normal, except for some voicemail functions. HDSCS members remained on station for 30 more minutes, as they always do to insure that phone systems are stable before securing.
This is the 31st year of HDSCS service to medical facilities in Orange County and the 114th activation to provide communications support when telephones have failed or overloaded. The reasons for HDSCS involvement have ranged from equipment failure, to cut cables, to natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and wildfires. Each member has their own go-kit that is ready to take to any of the 36 supported hospitals to establish communications. The HDSCS is familiar with CHOC because the group has participated in drills and communications emergencies there before, including a external phone outage that lasted 22 hours in August 2006 when a construction accident severed fiber optic cables.
The following HDSCS members also participated in this activation: Paul Broden, K6MHD; Tom Hall, N6DGK; Bill Hegardt, K6WIL; Rebecca Katzen, KI6OEM; Joe Moell, K0OV; Dale Petes, KI6ANS; Sam Stratton, W5AGX, and Fred Wagner, KQ6Q.
Friday, March 25, 2011
MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0271
MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0271
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0343 PM CDT FRI MAR 25 2011
AREAS AFFECTED...NCNTRL/NERN TX...SCNTRL/SERN OK...SWRN AR AND
EXTREME NRN LA
CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH POSSIBLE
VALID 252043Z - 252315Z
LATEST VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY DEPICTS A DEEPENING CUMULUS FIELD
ACROSS THE WARM SECTOR OVER SCNTRL/SERN OK AND NCNTRL TX.
HOWEVER...RIDGE/ANTICYCLONIC CHARACTER TO HIGH-LEVEL CLOUDS MOVING
OVER THE REGION AND LACK OF SUBSTANTIAL LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE WILL
PROBABLY BE DETRIMENTAL TO SURFACE-BASED CONVECTIVE INITIATION UNTIL
AFTER 23Z OR SO. THEREAFTER...WEAK HEIGHT FALLS ASSOCIATED WITH AN
UPSTREAM TROUGH AND THE PRE-EXISTING WARM BOUNDARY LAYER MAY BECOME
SLIGHTLY MORE FAVORABLE FOR INITIATION. THERE APPEARS TO BE ENOUGH
EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT LATEST RUC/GFS/NAM SOLUTIONS FOR AT LEAST
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS NEAR THE TRIPLE POINT AND SWD ALONG THE
DRYLINE FROM SCNTRL OK INTO NCNTRL TX NEAR SUNSET WHERE NRN-EXTENT
OF 1000-1500 J/KG MLCAPES WILL EXIST.
SHOULD A STORM FORM...ROUGHLY 45-50 KTS OF LARGELY UNIDIRECTIONAL
DEEP-LAYER SHEAR AND MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES IN EXCESS OF 7 DEG C PER
KM WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR SPLITTING SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF LARGE HAIL.
A SUSTAINED SURFACE-BASED STORM EVOLVING ALONG/N OF THE RED RIVER
NEAR A WARM FRONT COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO OR TWO...BUT THE HAIL RISK
WILL DOMINATE.
OTHERWISE...ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO EVOLVE AND/OR DEVELOP
ALONG/N OF THE WARM FRONT AS ELEVATED ENTITIES OVER ERN OK AND CNTRL
AR LATER THIS EVENING WITH POSSIBLE LARGE HAIL.
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0343 PM CDT FRI MAR 25 2011
AREAS AFFECTED...NCNTRL/NERN TX...SCNTRL/SERN OK...SWRN AR AND
EXTREME NRN LA
CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH POSSIBLE
VALID 252043Z - 252315Z
LATEST VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY DEPICTS A DEEPENING CUMULUS FIELD
ACROSS THE WARM SECTOR OVER SCNTRL/SERN OK AND NCNTRL TX.
HOWEVER...RIDGE/ANTICYCLONIC CHARACTER TO HIGH-LEVEL CLOUDS MOVING
OVER THE REGION AND LACK OF SUBSTANTIAL LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE WILL
PROBABLY BE DETRIMENTAL TO SURFACE-BASED CONVECTIVE INITIATION UNTIL
AFTER 23Z OR SO. THEREAFTER...WEAK HEIGHT FALLS ASSOCIATED WITH AN
UPSTREAM TROUGH AND THE PRE-EXISTING WARM BOUNDARY LAYER MAY BECOME
SLIGHTLY MORE FAVORABLE FOR INITIATION. THERE APPEARS TO BE ENOUGH
EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT LATEST RUC/GFS/NAM SOLUTIONS FOR AT LEAST
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS NEAR THE TRIPLE POINT AND SWD ALONG THE
DRYLINE FROM SCNTRL OK INTO NCNTRL TX NEAR SUNSET WHERE NRN-EXTENT
OF 1000-1500 J/KG MLCAPES WILL EXIST.
SHOULD A STORM FORM...ROUGHLY 45-50 KTS OF LARGELY UNIDIRECTIONAL
DEEP-LAYER SHEAR AND MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES IN EXCESS OF 7 DEG C PER
KM WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR SPLITTING SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF LARGE HAIL.
A SUSTAINED SURFACE-BASED STORM EVOLVING ALONG/N OF THE RED RIVER
NEAR A WARM FRONT COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO OR TWO...BUT THE HAIL RISK
WILL DOMINATE.
OTHERWISE...ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO EVOLVE AND/OR DEVELOP
ALONG/N OF THE WARM FRONT AS ELEVATED ENTITIES OVER ERN OK AND CNTRL
AR LATER THIS EVENING WITH POSSIBLE LARGE HAIL.
Hazardous Weather Outlook
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
617 AM CDT FRI MAR 25 2011
ARZ050-051-059>061-070>073-LAZ001>006-014-OKZ077-TXZ096-097-
108>112-251700-
SEVIER-HOWARD-LITTLE RIVER-HEMPSTEAD-NEVADA-MILLER-LAFAYETTE-
COLUMBIA-UNION AR-CADDO-BOSSIER-WEBSTER-CLAIBORNE-LINCOLN-
UNION LA-OUACHITA-MCCURTAIN-RED RIVER-BOWIE-FRANKLIN-TITUS-CAMP-
MORRIS-CASS-
617 AM CDT FRI MAR 25 2011
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
ARKANSAS...SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...NORTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA...
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHEAST TEXAS.
.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT...
ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT ALONG AND
NORTH OF A LINE FROM WINNSBORO TEXAS TO MONROE LOUISIANA. LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL BE THE
PRIMARY THREATS.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...
ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EARLY SATURDAY
MORNING. LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREATS.
ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL REMAIN IN THE FORECAST FOR
THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEKEND AND MUCH OF NEXT WEEK...BUT ORGANIZED
SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BECOME NECESSARY TONIGHT.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
617 AM CDT FRI MAR 25 2011
ARZ050-051-059>061-070>073-LAZ001>006-014-OKZ077-TXZ096-097-
108>112-251700-
SEVIER-HOWARD-LITTLE RIVER-HEMPSTEAD-NEVADA-MILLER-LAFAYETTE-
COLUMBIA-UNION AR-CADDO-BOSSIER-WEBSTER-CLAIBORNE-LINCOLN-
UNION LA-OUACHITA-MCCURTAIN-RED RIVER-BOWIE-FRANKLIN-TITUS-CAMP-
MORRIS-CASS-
617 AM CDT FRI MAR 25 2011
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
ARKANSAS...SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...NORTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA...
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHEAST TEXAS.
.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT...
ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT ALONG AND
NORTH OF A LINE FROM WINNSBORO TEXAS TO MONROE LOUISIANA. LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL BE THE
PRIMARY THREATS.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...
ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EARLY SATURDAY
MORNING. LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREATS.
ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL REMAIN IN THE FORECAST FOR
THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEKEND AND MUCH OF NEXT WEEK...BUT ORGANIZED
SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BECOME NECESSARY TONIGHT.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Radio Amateurs in Japan Still Providing Communications Support
Amateur Radio operators became involved in the rescue effort soon after the March 11 8.9 earthquake and devastating tsunami that hit northern Japan, and that effort continues nearly two weeks later. “In the early stage following the earthquake and tsunami, several radio amateurs were able to activate their stations with car batteries or small engine generators, despite the electric power outages,” IARU
Region 3 Secretary Ken Yamamoto, JA1CJP, told the ARRL. “They transmitted rescue requests and information on the disaster situation -- including refugee centers and their needs -- and the availability of basic infrastructures, such as electricity, water and gas supplies.” After the earthquake and tsunami, there was no electricity, water or gas service in many of the affected areas.
In his report to the ARRL, Yamamoto said that the Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) quickly activated JA1RL, its headquarters station in Tokyo, to assist in the rescue effort. With the help of many other amateurs, it also activated its regional headquarters station JA3RL in Osaka to communicate with amateurs in the areas devastated by the tsunami, including its Tohoku headquarters station JA7RL in Sendai. “The communications were mostly on the 7 MHz band in daytime and the 3.5 MHz band at night,” Yamamoto explained. “Short range communications were also made on the 144 and 430 MHz bands. The information gathered through Amateur Radio communications was reported to the rescue and disaster relief organizations for their appropriate deployment. Some other amateurs accepted health-and-welfare inquiries from the [impacted] areas and then posted the information on the Internet.”
Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications -- that country’s equivalent of the FCC -- approved the use of an additional 300 UHF/VHF transceivers in the affected areas.
With gasoline and natural gas in short supply, Yamamoto said that the fuel shortage was “a very serious problem in the cold climate. Calls for fuel were received over radio from many disaster areas, but delivery remained very difficult at least for the first week as the access roads were hacked up everywhere. Several days later, some Amateur Radio clubs reached the affected areas with their radio equipment and established communications for supporting disaster relief.”
Yamamoto told the ARRL that several radio equipment manufacturers offered “hundreds of VHF/UHF transceivers to JARL for the use at refugee centers and local disaster relief centers. These transceivers should help to establish mutual communications between refugee and disaster relief centers, and to facilitate smooth and appropriate delivery of disaster relief goods.”
As of noon JST on March 23 (0300 UTC), Japanese authorities announced that 9408 people have been killed and another 14,716 people have been reported missing in the earthquake and tsunami.
Region 3 Secretary Ken Yamamoto, JA1CJP, told the ARRL. “They transmitted rescue requests and information on the disaster situation -- including refugee centers and their needs -- and the availability of basic infrastructures, such as electricity, water and gas supplies.” After the earthquake and tsunami, there was no electricity, water or gas service in many of the affected areas.
In his report to the ARRL, Yamamoto said that the Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) quickly activated JA1RL, its headquarters station in Tokyo, to assist in the rescue effort. With the help of many other amateurs, it also activated its regional headquarters station JA3RL in Osaka to communicate with amateurs in the areas devastated by the tsunami, including its Tohoku headquarters station JA7RL in Sendai. “The communications were mostly on the 7 MHz band in daytime and the 3.5 MHz band at night,” Yamamoto explained. “Short range communications were also made on the 144 and 430 MHz bands. The information gathered through Amateur Radio communications was reported to the rescue and disaster relief organizations for their appropriate deployment. Some other amateurs accepted health-and-welfare inquiries from the [impacted] areas and then posted the information on the Internet.”
Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications -- that country’s equivalent of the FCC -- approved the use of an additional 300 UHF/VHF transceivers in the affected areas.
With gasoline and natural gas in short supply, Yamamoto said that the fuel shortage was “a very serious problem in the cold climate. Calls for fuel were received over radio from many disaster areas, but delivery remained very difficult at least for the first week as the access roads were hacked up everywhere. Several days later, some Amateur Radio clubs reached the affected areas with their radio equipment and established communications for supporting disaster relief.”
Yamamoto told the ARRL that several radio equipment manufacturers offered “hundreds of VHF/UHF transceivers to JARL for the use at refugee centers and local disaster relief centers. These transceivers should help to establish mutual communications between refugee and disaster relief centers, and to facilitate smooth and appropriate delivery of disaster relief goods.”
As of noon JST on March 23 (0300 UTC), Japanese authorities announced that 9408 people have been killed and another 14,716 people have been reported missing in the earthquake and tsunami.
Monday, March 21, 2011
First week of Japan disaster
The Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) HQ station JA1RL and other amateur radio stations are maintaining the effort to support disaster relief operation which is being captured by audio and vision.
IARU Region 3 Secretary, Ken Yamamoto JA1CJP said in less damaged areas, the power supply is being restored gradually and local amateur radio club members have started to establish stations at shelters either on HF, VHF or UHF bands.
Ken Yamamoto said, “The radio amateurs in the affected areas are also making use of UHF repeaters for communications between shelters and local disaster relief centres.
“According to reports from the shelters, they are generally shortages of food, drinking water, fuel and medical goods. This is mainly due to difficulty of transportation because of road situation and staff shortage.”
He said JA1RL continues to operate under instruction to be an emergency traffic centre. Using the 7 MHz, 144 MHz and 430 MHz bands it is receiving help from JARL members in the affected areas.
Field stations are using various frequencies, including some battery powered and others using small generators. Each is exchanging rescue and disaster relief operation information with JA1RL and others.
While 3525, 7030, 7043 and 7075 have been mentioned as in use, it's wise to keep those, and all of the Centre of Emergency frequencies clear of normal and non-urgent traffic. There is no call for additional foreign radio amateurs.
Ken JA1CJP notes that JARL has received many e-mail messages from radio amateur radio societies and individual hams of many nations and territories in all six continents.
“These messages convey their condolences, sympathies and prayers for the people in Japan. JARL appreciates them very much and is encouraged by them,” he said.
“I have also picked up some update information from news sources. The situation is getting worse. On March 17, police announced 5,178 people have been killed and 8,913 are missing. The numbers are sharply rising as most affected areas become accessible by search and rescue teams,” he said.
The teams are from Australia, China, Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, USA, Germany, Switzerland and Russia.
The status of Fukushima nuclear plant is still serious and local residents within 20km radius have been evacuated.
It has been a week since the 8.9 on the Richter scale quake, the worst in 140 years, hit off Sendai triggering a ten-metre tsunami.
Statements issued by Vertex Standard Yaesu said its centre at Fukushima was currently out of action, while Icom and Kenwood are located elsewhere and not suffered the same outage. No reports have been received from other manufacturers at this time.
Jim Linton, VK3PC
Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee
IARU Region 3 Secretary, Ken Yamamoto JA1CJP said in less damaged areas, the power supply is being restored gradually and local amateur radio club members have started to establish stations at shelters either on HF, VHF or UHF bands.
Ken Yamamoto said, “The radio amateurs in the affected areas are also making use of UHF repeaters for communications between shelters and local disaster relief centres.
“According to reports from the shelters, they are generally shortages of food, drinking water, fuel and medical goods. This is mainly due to difficulty of transportation because of road situation and staff shortage.”
He said JA1RL continues to operate under instruction to be an emergency traffic centre. Using the 7 MHz, 144 MHz and 430 MHz bands it is receiving help from JARL members in the affected areas.
Field stations are using various frequencies, including some battery powered and others using small generators. Each is exchanging rescue and disaster relief operation information with JA1RL and others.
While 3525, 7030, 7043 and 7075 have been mentioned as in use, it's wise to keep those, and all of the Centre of Emergency frequencies clear of normal and non-urgent traffic. There is no call for additional foreign radio amateurs.
Ken JA1CJP notes that JARL has received many e-mail messages from radio amateur radio societies and individual hams of many nations and territories in all six continents.
“These messages convey their condolences, sympathies and prayers for the people in Japan. JARL appreciates them very much and is encouraged by them,” he said.
“I have also picked up some update information from news sources. The situation is getting worse. On March 17, police announced 5,178 people have been killed and 8,913 are missing. The numbers are sharply rising as most affected areas become accessible by search and rescue teams,” he said.
The teams are from Australia, China, Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, USA, Germany, Switzerland and Russia.
The status of Fukushima nuclear plant is still serious and local residents within 20km radius have been evacuated.
It has been a week since the 8.9 on the Richter scale quake, the worst in 140 years, hit off Sendai triggering a ten-metre tsunami.
Statements issued by Vertex Standard Yaesu said its centre at Fukushima was currently out of action, while Icom and Kenwood are located elsewhere and not suffered the same outage. No reports have been received from other manufacturers at this time.
Jim Linton, VK3PC
Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee
Monday, March 7, 2011
Hazardous Weather Outlook
A STRONG UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL EMERGE OUT INTO THE
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS TUESDAY...WITH GULF MOISTURE QUICKLY
RETURNING NORTHWARD INTO THE REGION TUESDAY. SCATTERED SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP TUESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON OVER
EAST TEXAS...NORTH LOUISIANA AND SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS NORTH OF AN
ADVANCING WARM FRONT...AND AHEAD OF AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE
THAT WILL EJECT NORTHEAST AHEAD OF THE TROUGH. WHILE ORGANIZED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TUESDAY MORNING OR AFTERNOON
ACROSS THE REGION...SOME OF THE STRONGER STORMS MAY STILL PRODUCE
SMALL HAIL AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL. BY TUESDAY NIGHT...A COLD
FRONT WILL MOVE EAST INTO SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS AND EXTREME EASTERN
TEXAS...WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG
AND AHEAD OF THIS FRONT AS THE VIGOROUS UPPER LEVEL TROUGH EJECTS
NORTHEAST ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN ARKANSAS. SOME OF
THESE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE OVER SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS AND TO THE
INTERSTATE 20 CORRIDOR OF EAST TEXAS...WITH LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING
WINDS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES POSSIBLE.
LOW LEVEL INSTABILITY AND FORCING REMAINS QUESTIONABLE ACROSS
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA...ALTHOUGH AN ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER THREAT
REMAINS POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO CONTINUE FARTHER EAST ACROSS THE EASTERN
SECTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA...WITH AN ISOLATED SEVERE
WEATHER THREAT POSSIBLE AS WELL...IN THE FORM OF DAMAGING
WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. THE SEVERE
WEATHER THREAT WILL DIMINISH FROM WEST TO EAST BY EARLY
WEDNESDAY MORNING WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE COLD FRONT.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TONIGHT...BUT WILL LIKELY BE
NEEDED TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS TUESDAY...WITH GULF MOISTURE QUICKLY
RETURNING NORTHWARD INTO THE REGION TUESDAY. SCATTERED SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP TUESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON OVER
EAST TEXAS...NORTH LOUISIANA AND SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS NORTH OF AN
ADVANCING WARM FRONT...AND AHEAD OF AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE
THAT WILL EJECT NORTHEAST AHEAD OF THE TROUGH. WHILE ORGANIZED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TUESDAY MORNING OR AFTERNOON
ACROSS THE REGION...SOME OF THE STRONGER STORMS MAY STILL PRODUCE
SMALL HAIL AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL. BY TUESDAY NIGHT...A COLD
FRONT WILL MOVE EAST INTO SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS AND EXTREME EASTERN
TEXAS...WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG
AND AHEAD OF THIS FRONT AS THE VIGOROUS UPPER LEVEL TROUGH EJECTS
NORTHEAST ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WESTERN ARKANSAS. SOME OF
THESE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE OVER SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS AND TO THE
INTERSTATE 20 CORRIDOR OF EAST TEXAS...WITH LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING
WINDS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES POSSIBLE.
LOW LEVEL INSTABILITY AND FORCING REMAINS QUESTIONABLE ACROSS
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA...ALTHOUGH AN ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER THREAT
REMAINS POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO CONTINUE FARTHER EAST ACROSS THE EASTERN
SECTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA...WITH AN ISOLATED SEVERE
WEATHER THREAT POSSIBLE AS WELL...IN THE FORM OF DAMAGING
WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. THE SEVERE
WEATHER THREAT WILL DIMINISH FROM WEST TO EAST BY EARLY
WEDNESDAY MORNING WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE COLD FRONT.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TONIGHT...BUT WILL LIKELY BE
NEEDED TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.
Day 2 Convective Outlook
SPC AC 071735DAY 2 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1135 AM CST MON MAR 07 2011
VALID 081200Z - 091200Z
...THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS FOR ERN PARTS OF THE SRN PLAINS
TO THE LOWER/MID MS VALLEY...
...SYNOPSIS...
PROGRESSIVE UPPER-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH DIGGING SEWD OVER THE SWRN
CONUS MONDAY MORNING WILL MOVE DOWNSTREAM ACROSS THE SRN PLAINS
DURING TUE AFTERNOON...ACCOMPANIED BY STRONG 70 KT MIDLEVEL
JET...AND THEN EJECT NEWD INTO THE MID MS VALLEY BY 09/12Z. AS THIS
OCCURS...SURFACE LOW IS FORECAST TO PROGRESS ACROSS OK THROUGH TUE
AFTERNOON...AND THEN MOVE NEWD ACROSS MO DURING THE OVERNIGHT HRS. A
MODIFIED CP AIRMASS WILL BE DRAWN NWD IN RESPONSE TO THE SURFACE
CYCLONE...BOUNDED BY A DRYLINE TRAILING SWD ACROSS TX...AND A
RETREATING WARM FRONT...WHICH IS FORECAST TO RAPIDLY LIFT NWD INTO
SRN AR BY 09/00Z.
...AR DURING THE MORNING AND AFTERNOON...
AS THE LOW-LEVEL CYCLONE ATTENDANT TO THE UPPER TROUGH EMERGES OVER
THE SRN PLAINS...40-50 KT SLY 850 MB JET WILL DEVELOP OVER THE LWR
MS VALLEY BY LATE MORNING. THIS WILL RESULT IN ROBUST LOW-LEVEL
WAA/MOISTURE ADVECTION ABOVE A STABLE BOUNDARY LAYER
AIRMASS...AIDING IN DESTABILIZATION AND MUCAPE VALUES NEAR 500 J/KG
ACROSS AR AS MIDLEVEL LAPSE RATES STEEPEN TO 7.0-7.5 C/KM. GIVEN
SWLY 500 MB FLOW INCREASING TO 60 KT COMBINED WITH DEEPENING FREE
CONVECTIVE LAYER...EFFECTIVE BULK SHEAR VALUES NEAR 40 KT APPEAR
PROBABLE...WHICH MAY SUPPORT MARGINALLY SVR HAIL ACROSS AR THROUGH
MID AFTERNOON.
...ERN OK/NERN TX EWD TO OZARKS/MID SOUTH...
FARTHER W...NARROW WEDGE OF MID TO UPR 50S DEWPOINTS ARE FORECAST TO
ADVECT NWD BENEATH A PLUME OF STEEP MIDLEVEL LAPSE RATES OVER
CNTRL/ERN OK BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. MEANWHILE...A ZONE OF STEEP
LOW-LEVEL LAPSE RATES WILL DEVELOP NEWD ACROSS SWRN OK BEHIND THE
DRYLINE AND AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT OVER W-CNTRL AND N-CNTRL OK. THIS
SHOULD PROVE SUFFICIENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CORRIDOR OF MLCAPE
VALUES FROM 500-1000 J/KG. STRONGEST LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE IS
EXPECTED FROM THE TRIPLE POINT N-NEWD ALONG THE COLD FRONT OVER
N-CNTRL/NERN OK...WHICH WILL AID IN THUNDERSTORM INITIATION DURING
THE AFTERNOON. DUE TO AN INCREASINGLY NARROW ZONE OF INSTABILITY
WITH NWD EXTENT...STORMS MAY STRUGGLE TO PERSIST N OF I-40.
HOWEVER...A STRONGLY SHEARED ENVIRONMENT JUXTAPOSED WITH STEEP
MIDLEVEL LAPSE RATES MAY FAVOR A FEW SVR STORMS PRODUCING LARGE HAIL
AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.
FARTHER S ALONG THE DRYLINE OVER SERN OK/NERN TX...FORCING FOR
ASCENT WILL BE WEAKER...WHICH MAY DELAY INITIATION UNTIL LATE
AFTERNOON. THE POTENTIAL FOR AN INITIALLY DISCRETE CONVECTIVE
MODE...COMBINED WITH INCREASING DOWNSTREAM DESTABILIZATION...WILL
FAVOR LONGER-LIVED STORMS...LIKELY SUPERCELLS GIVEN STRONG DEEP
LAYER SHEAR /0-6 KM BULK SHEAR AOA 60 KT/ SPREADING ACROSS THE
DRYLINE. THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD MOVE QUICKLY E-NEWD INTO AN EXPANDING
WARM SECTOR OVER NRN LA AND SRN AR...AND WILL POSE A THREAT FOR
LARGE HAIL/DAMAGING WINDS AND TORNADOES.
THE FORECAST POSITION OF THE WARM FRONT IS NOT CERTAIN ATTM DUE TO
THE POTENTIAL FOR PERSISTENT CONVECTION AND SUBSEQUENT COLD POOL
REINFORCEMENT. HOWEVER...ADDITIONAL STORM DEVELOPMENT WILL BE
POSSIBLE ALONG THE BOUNDARY OVER AR GIVEN A FAVORABLE ORIENTATION OF
THE LLJ ACROSS THE FRONT...AIDING IN MESOSCALE ASCENT. LOW-LEVEL
VERTICAL WIND SHEAR WILL BE QUITE STRONG /EFFECTIVE SRH VALUES IN
EXCESS OF 300 M2 S-2/ OVER SRN AR/NRN LA...AND WILL FAVOR A FEW
TORNADIC STORMS /POSSIBLY PRODUCING STRONG TORNADOES/ ASSOCIATED
WITH EITHER THE ACTIVITY MOVING OUT OF SERN OK/NERN TX...OR NEW
DEVELOPMENT INVOF THE WARM FRONT. OVERNIGHT...THE UPPER TROUGH AND
SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL PROGRESS ACROSS AR AND SRN MO. INCREASING
LINEAR FORCING FOR ASCENT WILL FAVOR A TRANSITION TO A QUASI-LINEAR
CONVECTIVE MODE...POSING A CONTINUED THREAT FOR DAMAGING WINDS AND
TORNADOES.
...E TX AND LOWER MS VALLEY...
FARTHER S OVER ERN TX...THUNDERSTORM INITIATION IS SOMEWHAT IN
QUESTION GIVEN A PERSISTENT CAP NOTED IN MODEL FORECAST SOUNDINGS.
HOWEVER...IF A FEW STORMS MANAGE TO DEVELOP...THE POTENTIAL WILL
EXIST FOR DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. OVER LA/MS...STRONG UPPER
DIVERGENCE/LARGE-SCALE ASCENT IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP FROM SRN LA
ACROSS SWRN MS. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO FORM WITHIN THIS
REGIME BY LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH THE NIGHT...FOCUSED ALONG AND AHEAD
OF A SW-NE ORIENTED LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE ZONE...AS WELL AS ALONG
THE SRN EXTENSION OF THE WARM FRONT. A VERY MOIST BOUNDARY LAYER
/SURFACE DEWPOINTS IN THE MID 60S/ AND MODERATELY STEEP MIDLEVEL
LAPSE RATES WILL SUPPORT MLCAPE VALUES AROUND 1000 J/KG. IN
ADDITION...STRONG VERTICAL WIND SHEAR PROFILES WILL BE IN
PLACE...WITH EFFECTIVE SRH NEAR 400 M2 S-2 /PARTICULARLY NEAR THE
WARM FRONT/. THE STRONGLY SHEARED AND MOIST ENVIRONMENT WILL FAVOR
SUPERCELLS POSING A THREAT FOR TORNADOES /POSSIBLY SIGNIFICANT/ AND
DAMAGING WINDS.
..GARNER/EDWARDS.. 03/07/2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Tornado slams La. town, killing woman, injuring 11
RAYNE, La. – A tornado slammed a southwestern Louisiana town Saturday, killing a woman and injuring 11 other people. More than 100 homes were damaged, many of them destroyed, authorities said, and about 1,500 people were evacuated because of natural gas leaks.
The 21-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell on her house, said Maxine Trahan, a spokeswoman for the Acadia Parish sheriff. Debris was littered throughout Rayne, a town of about 8,500 people, after a line of violent thunderstorms moved through the area and left behind a swath of damage about a quarter of a mile wide to three miles long. Pieces of homes were strewn about the tops of trees, and power lines were down. A U.S. Postal Service truck was flipped on to its side.
Trahan said the natural gas leaks, which were later fixed, delayed authorities trying to count how many homes and businesses were damaged. About 1,500 people were ordered out of the area for the night, she said, because officials feared more gas leaks could occur. A temporary shelter was set up at a fire station and officials were working to find other shelters.
"There are houses off their foundations," said State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons. "There are houses that have been destroyed."
The National Weather Service sent a team to investigate and confirmed a tornado had struck the area.
The system that hit Rayne quickly moved east and drenched New Orleans, where several Mardi Gras parades either were delayed, started earlier or canceled because of the severe weather.
The 21-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell on her house, said Maxine Trahan, a spokeswoman for the Acadia Parish sheriff. Debris was littered throughout Rayne, a town of about 8,500 people, after a line of violent thunderstorms moved through the area and left behind a swath of damage about a quarter of a mile wide to three miles long. Pieces of homes were strewn about the tops of trees, and power lines were down. A U.S. Postal Service truck was flipped on to its side.
Trahan said the natural gas leaks, which were later fixed, delayed authorities trying to count how many homes and businesses were damaged. About 1,500 people were ordered out of the area for the night, she said, because officials feared more gas leaks could occur. A temporary shelter was set up at a fire station and officials were working to find other shelters.
"There are houses off their foundations," said State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons. "There are houses that have been destroyed."
The National Weather Service sent a team to investigate and confirmed a tornado had struck the area.
The system that hit Rayne quickly moved east and drenched New Orleans, where several Mardi Gras parades either were delayed, started earlier or canceled because of the severe weather.
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