One Weather Satellite Less

GOES 13 NOAA's Geostationary Operations Environmental Satellite 


An important weather satellite that helps us to watch the US east coast was down recently.  With swift action the GOES  14 satellite took the place of the much needed GOES 13

Here is a great animated image of GOES 13 in action last year that followed Hurricane Irene.

Current status information for GOES 13 

http://www.oso.noaa.gov/goesstatus/spacecraftStatusSummary.asp?spacecraft=13

Here is some background information on  GOES13

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOES_13

A Weather Ready Nation, the next Steps

WRN

Back in December I wrote about a large national project called a "Weather Ready Nation".
This is a project where several organizations have joined forces to inform public to being prepared for weather emergencies due to storms.  Before this project the information we received was really only to alert of weather events and emergencies, however educating the public was difficult because there were too many fragmented national organizations that were trying to communicate public safety  awareness.  Internet technology had to be utilized effectively and messages from the scattered organizations were not being made mainstream into public media enough.   Newspapers, Television networks and other media sources unfortunately depend on what readers and watchers want to see and they are controlled by its paid advertising campaigns.  Public safety messages rarely are noticed because we have to admit some of the messages have been a bit boring or thought to be unnecessary because some areas of the country only see a strong storm every 50 years.   Being a storm spotter I listen to co-workers and friends and they state the same thing.  Meteorologists like to scare the public to think that a storm is coming and then it does not happen.  2011 was a busy year for weather events, records were broken in snowfall, temperature extremes and drought.  These changes to our landscape has cost our county billions of dollars.

NOAA, The National Weather Service and several other national organizations started this project to help the public to be prepared and to do so they will need to use the internet and smartphone technology which has become very popular and a logical choice to communicate quickly and to many people at a time.  Other communication tools are considered because if there is a power failure, some methods of communication would not be reliable.  The video at the bottom mentions the need to improve forecasts, alerts and the need to improve the way we are educated by using new media.

The Next Steps

  Communication was only one part of the advances made by this project, here is a list of new or upgraded tools to keep our nation informed and to be prepared.

• Suomi NPP Satellite - A relatively new advanced satellite to measure weather readings and study our climate - more here : NPP overview

• NOAA's Dual Pole Weather Radar upgrades - Here is my write up; Fort Dix upgrade - what is dual Pole video

• Updating communication via Cell Phones, Google Maps and Social Media -  My first report about WRN

• Testing the system via Pilot Project in different cities -Six locations one of them in Silver Spring MD,   to bring life saving information to make a life saving decision. from the source

Being prepared does not mean that you have to rely on others to make a decision, you can find the way to learn how to be prepared.  "Be a Force of Nature" is the slogan from NOAA's National Weather service.   This blog has made the commitment to being prepared and to pass this message along as well. You can find information here but even better go to the source; www.ready.gov

Here is a video from The National Weather Service about WRN and the National Dialog event they had last December. 

Original source- WRN Advancing toward a Weather-Ready Nation

Fire Tornado

Witness a rare phenomenon where a brush fire meets a twister in Australia

You must see this video

The_Weather_Vane's Anniversary

September 15th I wrote and posted the 1st story...

The very first blog post I wrote last year was about myself and why I started this blog. I did not want to repeat what was already written however I want to write about my experience while working on this blog throughout the year.

To start the blog I had to think about what to write and to keep a regular theme which has changed a little bit over time. I started to report local weather observations here but I quickly noticed that the blog was not read by just local readers.  A simple weather report was not enough to inform and to entertain weather fans.  I left the forecast posts for my social media sites and then only reported storm events and had the idea to try to travel around the area to report storms and take pictures. Tropical Storm Irene really had an important impact for me, I started to realize that a blog like this should not be just about weather reporting but should also involve communicating the need to be prepared for severe weather, other natural and man made disasters.   Along with doing research for storm events around the world, and weather science stories, I have met many online contacts and groups through social media.  I started to be  much more active online and found more ideas for stories, great sources of information by many weather experts, scientists and journalists. I have posted a few stories in the local Patch newspaper  and the blog is linked to the Time Herald paper.  I have been more active on Twitter as @enso1998 and post daily on The_Weather_Vane Media page on Facebook.  I had also connected with educational organizations, FEMA, The National Weather Service and with a local traffic blog writer @PaDriverWatch, where we exchange updates via twitter and on each others blog home pages with the idea that weather and traffic safety should be reported to the public especially now that most people carry smartphones and have the ability to access this information quickly.

Weather topics is what this blog is mainly about, but public safety, emergency communication, and space weather technology are now new topics.  As the year progresses into the Winter season, I will take more pictures to report how our area looks like again with a fresh coating of snow and ice as I have been doing from the start.  I also have been making progress becoming a better writer, reporter and photographer.

For 2013 I want the blog to have a more interactive experience, I want to conduct polls and  ask questions to get readers more involved. The internet is a powerful tool and we should not take this for granted. 

   And finally I want to thank all my readers and followers, I hope the blog helps you to be informed and to be prepared.

Build a Kit to be Ready

Being informed is very important so that you and your family will be able to take action in advance for a natural disaster.  Today on the news we are hearing of a tornado watch issued for NY and CT, what better time to take a look of what you would need in case our area has a severe storm watch issued.

Build a Kit

A disaster supplies kit is simply a collection of basic items your houshold may need in the event of an emergency.

Try to assemble your kit well in advance of an emergency.  You may have to evacuate at a moment's notice and take essentials with you.  You will probably not have time to search for the suuplies you need or shop for them.

You may need to survive on you own after an emergency.  This mean having your own food, water and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least 72 hours.  Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster but they cannot reach everyone immediately.  You could get help in hours or it might take days.

Additonally, basic sevices such as electicity, gas, water, sewage treatment and telephones may be cut off for days or even a week or longer.  (depending on how strong the storm or event is)  Your supply kit should contain items to help you manage during these outages.

Family Supply List 

Emergency Supplies:
Water, food, and clean air are important things to have if an emergency happens. Each family or individual's kit should be customized to meet specific needs, such as medications and infant formula. It should also be customized to include important family documents.

Recommended Supplies to Include in a Basic Kit:
- Water, one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation
- Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
- Battery-powered radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert, and extra batteries for both
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- First Aid kit
- Whistle to signal for help
- Infant formula and diapers, if you have an infant
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
- Dust mask or cotton t-shirt, to help filter the air
- Plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
- Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
- Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)

Clothing and Bedding:
If you live in a cold weather climate, you must think about warmth. It is possible that the power will be out and you will not have heat. Rethink your clothing and bedding supplies to account for growing children and other family changes. One complete change of warm clothing and shoes per person, including:
- A jacket or coat
- Long pants
- A long sleeve shirt
- Sturdy shoes
- A hat and gloves
- A sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person
Family Supply List (continued)
Below are some other items for your family to consider adding to its supply kit. Some of these items, especially those marked with a * can be dangerous, so please have an adult collect these supplies.
- Emergency reference materials such as a first aid book or a print out of the information on www.ready.gov
- Rain gear
- Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils
- Cash or traveler's checks, change
- Paper towels
- Fire Extinguisher
- Tent
- Compass
- Matches in a waterproof container*
- Signal flare*
- Paper, pencil
- Personal hygiene items including feminine supplies
- Disinfectant*
- Household chlorine bleach* - You can use bleach as a disinfectant (diluted nine parts water to one part bleach), or in an emergency you can also use it to treat water. Use 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
- Medicine dropper
- Important Family Documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container