Image: Eumetsat (Click on image for larger view.)
Sunday, 3 June 2012
SA Weather Satellite Image: 3 June 2012 07h00 SAST
Image: Eumetsat (Click on image for larger view.)
GFS Medium Range Forecasts of Vertical Velocity and Precipitation: 3 - 4 June 2012
Image: U.S. National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Click on image for larger view.
Weather Observation Images: SAWDOS Observers
10 killed in cargo plane crash in Ghana's capital
ACCRA, Ghana (AP) – A cargo plane attempting to land at an airport in Ghana's capital crashed Saturday night, slamming into a bus loaded with passengers on a nearby street, killing all 10 people on board, emergency responders said.
The crash occurred in Accra near Kotoka International Airport, which sits near newly built high-rise buildings, hotels and the country's Defense Ministry. Witnesses said the plane first smashed through the fence that runs around the airport before hitting the bus.
Billy Anaglate, spokesman for the Ghana Fire Service, said that all 10 passengers in the bus were killed on impact. The plane's four crew members appear to have survived the crash and were rushed to a local hospital for treatment.
"What happened is that the Allied (Air) Cargo plane, actually I was told, was traveling from Nigeria to Ghana. At the landing it was short of the boundary, and it went off onto the road side. It crashed into a bus that was bound for Accra," said Anaglate, who was reached by telephone late Saturday.
"… (The plane) broke the barrier and went onto the road and hit the vehicle and unfortunately in the vehicle everyone ended up dying. The poor people were killed."
An official at the airport's control tower declined to comment when reached Saturday night, saying no one was available to discuss the crash. Police officials also refused to immediately discuss the matter, although a press conference was scheduled to take place later Saturday.
Police and soldiers quickly cordoned off the neighborhood where the plane crashed. The area is near to El-Wak Sports Stadium and Hajj Village, where Muslims in the country stay before they journey to Mecca.
Local television showed images of the plane lying across a road with its tail damaged as the flight crew jumped off and received help from emergency responders.
Witnesses said the plane was labeled as belonging to Allied Air Cargo, a fact confirmed by Anaglate. The name and symbols on the aircraft matched those of the Nigerian air freight company based out of Lagos. Telephone numbers for the company in London, Lagos and the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt rang unanswered Saturday night.
Ghana, a nation of more than 25 million in West Africa, has not had a major airplane crash in recent years. The last air emergency the country had was in June 2006, when a TAAG Linhas Aereas De Angola flight to Sao Tome hit birds during takeoff. The plane landed safely and none of the 28 people onboard were injured.
- USA TODAY/AP
NASA to Send Unmanned Aircraft Over Hurricanes This Year
NASA will be sending unmanned aircraft dubbed "severe storm sentinels" above hurricanes this season to help researchers and forecasters uncover information about hurricane formation and intensity changes. The Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1st. The mission is called the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) airborne mission.
NASA's unmanned sentinels are autonomously flown. The NASA Global Hawk is well-suited for hurricane investigations because it can over-fly hurricanes at altitudes greater than 60,000 feet with flight durations of up to 28 hours - something piloted aircraft would find nearly impossible to do. Global Hawks were used in the agency's 2010 Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) hurricane mission and the Global Hawk Pacific (GloPac) environmental science mission.
Scott Braun, HS3 mission principal investigator and research meteorologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., says, "Hurricane intensity can be very hard to predict because of an insufficient understanding of how clouds and wind patterns within a storm interact with the storm's environment. HS3 seeks to improve our understanding of these processes by taking advantage of the surveillance capabilities of the Global Hawk along with measurements from a suite of advanced instruments."
HS3 will use two Global Hawk aircraft and six different instruments this summer, flying from a base of operations at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. HS3 will examine the large-scale environment that tropical storms form in and move through and how that environment affects the inner workings of the storms. HS3 will also address the controversial role of the hot, dry, and dusty Saharan Air Layer in tropical storm formation and intensification.
Braun says, "One aircraft will sample the environment of storms while the other will measure eyewall and rainband winds and precipitation."
You can find out more about the mission here.
Image: NASA
Great Barrier Reef under clear threat: UN
ydney - Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef is under imminent threat from industrial development and may be considered for listing as a world heritage site "in danger" within the next year, a UN report said this week.
Citing the findings of a mission to the world's largest living structure in March, the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (Unesco) recommended that "in the absence of substantial progress", its World Heritage Committee would consider such a listing in February next year.
Key pressures on the reef include coastal development, ports and liquefied natural gas facilities, extreme weather, grounding of ships and poor water quality, Unesco said.
The reef's outstanding universal value "is threatened and decisive action is required to secure its long-term conservation", it said.
Continuing decline
Australian organisations managing the reef have adopted high-quality practices, Unesco said, but noted that "despite management successes there has been a continuing decline in the quality of some parts" of the reef.
Australia's northeastern state of Queensland, where the reef is located, is one of the country's fastest-developing regions.
Onshore are economically important coal mining operations, while the reef itself is a major tourist draw.
In recent years, critics have pointed to the dangers posed to the reef by industrial development, particularly since 2010 when a Chinese coal carrier rammed into part of the reef.
In its report, Unesco specifically mentioned plans for liquefied natural gas facilities at Curtis Island, and ongoing development of the key coal port of Gladstone.
Unprecedented scale of development
Future port infrastructure plans should be limited to "existing and long-established" ports in the region, it said.
Unesco called for the setting of clear, legal targets for the reef's condition, and said the high level of approvals for planned development in recent years was a concern.
"Considering the high rate of approvals over the past 12 years, this unprecedented scale of development affecting or potentially affecting the property poses serious concerns over its long-term conservation," it said.
The politically influential Greens, who support Prime Minister Julia Gillard's minority government, responded to the report by calling for Australia to reduce its dependence on coal.
Australian Environment Minister Tony Burke acknowledged that climate change and coastal development posed ongoing threats to the reef, but said the report contained no surprises.
"The Unesco mission in March acknowledged that our management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is still considered to be best practice," Burke said in a statement.
The World Heritage Committee will discuss the report when it meets in St Petersburg later this month.
- Reuters/News24
Citing the findings of a mission to the world's largest living structure in March, the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (Unesco) recommended that "in the absence of substantial progress", its World Heritage Committee would consider such a listing in February next year.
Key pressures on the reef include coastal development, ports and liquefied natural gas facilities, extreme weather, grounding of ships and poor water quality, Unesco said.
The reef's outstanding universal value "is threatened and decisive action is required to secure its long-term conservation", it said.
Continuing decline
Australian organisations managing the reef have adopted high-quality practices, Unesco said, but noted that "despite management successes there has been a continuing decline in the quality of some parts" of the reef.
Australia's northeastern state of Queensland, where the reef is located, is one of the country's fastest-developing regions.
Onshore are economically important coal mining operations, while the reef itself is a major tourist draw.
In recent years, critics have pointed to the dangers posed to the reef by industrial development, particularly since 2010 when a Chinese coal carrier rammed into part of the reef.
In its report, Unesco specifically mentioned plans for liquefied natural gas facilities at Curtis Island, and ongoing development of the key coal port of Gladstone.
Unprecedented scale of development
Future port infrastructure plans should be limited to "existing and long-established" ports in the region, it said.
Unesco called for the setting of clear, legal targets for the reef's condition, and said the high level of approvals for planned development in recent years was a concern.
"Considering the high rate of approvals over the past 12 years, this unprecedented scale of development affecting or potentially affecting the property poses serious concerns over its long-term conservation," it said.
The politically influential Greens, who support Prime Minister Julia Gillard's minority government, responded to the report by calling for Australia to reduce its dependence on coal.
Australian Environment Minister Tony Burke acknowledged that climate change and coastal development posed ongoing threats to the reef, but said the report contained no surprises.
"The Unesco mission in March acknowledged that our management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is still considered to be best practice," Burke said in a statement.
The World Heritage Committee will discuss the report when it meets in St Petersburg later this month.
- Reuters/News24
Cool ocean waters may diminish hurricane threat this year
Look for a near-normal Atlantic hurricane season this year.
That's the outlook from several groups who produce seasonal forecasts for the Atlantic hurricane season, which began Friday.
Here's a sampler:
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration anticipates a 70 percent chance that from nine to 15 storms will reach tropical-storm status and earn names. Between four and eight will become hurricanes. Of those, from one to three are expected to become major hurricanes, where maximum sustained winds top 111 miles an hour.
• At Colorado State University, where atmospheric scientist William Gray pioneered seasonal tropical cyclone forecasts, he and colleague Philip Klotzbach anticipate 13 named storms, five hurricanes, and two major hurricanes.
• Researchers at Florida State University give the season a 70 percent chance of producing 10 to 16 named storms, and from five to nine hurricanes.
• Tropical Storm Risk.com, a consortium of scientists and insurance-industry specialists based in Britain, is anticipating (in round numbers) 13 tropical storms, six hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.
The average between 1981 and 2010, the base period federal forecasters now use for determining above- or below-normal conditions, is 12 named storms a year, of which half reach hurricane status.
Several factors are contributing to the near-normal outlook. Among them, sea-surface temperatures in regions where the Atlantic's tropical cyclones form, and conditions in the tropical Pacific that have an extended influence over weather patterns elsewhere.
Tropical cyclones form over and feed off of warm surface waters. And while still warm by snow-bird standards, waters across the tropical Atlantic from Africa to Central America have posted their third-coolest May readings since 1995, when the current, relatively intense long-term period of tropical-cyclone activity began, notes Jeff Masters, a meteorologist and co-founder of the website Weather Underground. Sea surface temperatures are running only about a half a degree Fahrenheit above normal, suggesting that it may take longer for waters to warm enough to fuel tropical cyclones.
But he also points to a broad patch of unusually warm water running up the East Coast from Virginia through southern New England. There, average surface temperatures are running up to 7 degrees or more Fahrenheit above normal – perhaps setting the stage for sustaining or intensifying the strength of any hurricane that travels up the eastern seaboard.
Another key factor is the state of the tropical Pacific's El Niño-La Niña cycle.
Over the past two hurricane seasons, La Niña has held sway – characterized by cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific and warmer than normal temperatures in the western tropical Pacific. These conditions flip-flop under El Niño. Each phase of this cycle alters wind patterns in ways that inhibit tropical-cyclone formation in the Atlantic during an El Niño and favor cyclone formation during a La Niña.
La Niña fizzled in April, leaving current conditions in a neutral phase some forecasters whimsically refer to as La Nada. Some models are forecasting the development of a weak El Niño between July and August, but for now it's unclear whether it would last much beyond that.
Indeed, the season's two early storms in May, Alberto and Beryl, highlight the influence wind conditions have. Both strengthened to tropical-storm levels over warm Gulf Stream waters off the coasts of Florida and the Carolinas. But they did so because the system of cloudiness they grew from traveled into a gap between two high-altitude rivers of air flowing west to east – the polar and subtropical jet streams, Dr. Masters explains on his Weather Underground blog.
Both can meander over the area where the two storms intensified. If the storms had encountered either, the high winds would have sheared off cloud-tops and prevented intensification.
Alberto formed off the East Coast and became a tropical storm just off South Carolina. Beryl formed from a patch of storms that formed off the Yucatan Peninsula. It, too, became a tropical storm when it encountered the warm waters of the Gulf Stream off the southeast coast. With maximum sustained winds at one point reaching 70 miles an hour, Beryl briefly flirted with hurricane status, where maximum sustained winds must reach at least 74 miles an hour.
Both brought much-needed rain to the southeastern corner of the US. But the area still is in the grip of a long-term drought, which ranges from severe to exceptional throughout much of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and in significant portions of Alabama.
Although the Atlantic hurricane season officially starts June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, Alberto and Beryl highlight the climate's tendency to ignore the calendar.
Since 1865, some 23 tropical storms have formed during May, appearing as early as May 6. But only two other years have seen two tropical cyclones form ahead of the official season. Separate storms formed on May 15 and 17 in 1887. In 1908 one storm formed May 24, the other on March 6, the earliest on record.
- AlaskaDispatch
That's the outlook from several groups who produce seasonal forecasts for the Atlantic hurricane season, which began Friday.
Here's a sampler:
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration anticipates a 70 percent chance that from nine to 15 storms will reach tropical-storm status and earn names. Between four and eight will become hurricanes. Of those, from one to three are expected to become major hurricanes, where maximum sustained winds top 111 miles an hour.
• At Colorado State University, where atmospheric scientist William Gray pioneered seasonal tropical cyclone forecasts, he and colleague Philip Klotzbach anticipate 13 named storms, five hurricanes, and two major hurricanes.
• Researchers at Florida State University give the season a 70 percent chance of producing 10 to 16 named storms, and from five to nine hurricanes.
• Tropical Storm Risk.com, a consortium of scientists and insurance-industry specialists based in Britain, is anticipating (in round numbers) 13 tropical storms, six hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.
The average between 1981 and 2010, the base period federal forecasters now use for determining above- or below-normal conditions, is 12 named storms a year, of which half reach hurricane status.
Several factors are contributing to the near-normal outlook. Among them, sea-surface temperatures in regions where the Atlantic's tropical cyclones form, and conditions in the tropical Pacific that have an extended influence over weather patterns elsewhere.
Tropical cyclones form over and feed off of warm surface waters. And while still warm by snow-bird standards, waters across the tropical Atlantic from Africa to Central America have posted their third-coolest May readings since 1995, when the current, relatively intense long-term period of tropical-cyclone activity began, notes Jeff Masters, a meteorologist and co-founder of the website Weather Underground. Sea surface temperatures are running only about a half a degree Fahrenheit above normal, suggesting that it may take longer for waters to warm enough to fuel tropical cyclones.
But he also points to a broad patch of unusually warm water running up the East Coast from Virginia through southern New England. There, average surface temperatures are running up to 7 degrees or more Fahrenheit above normal – perhaps setting the stage for sustaining or intensifying the strength of any hurricane that travels up the eastern seaboard.
Another key factor is the state of the tropical Pacific's El Niño-La Niña cycle.
Over the past two hurricane seasons, La Niña has held sway – characterized by cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific and warmer than normal temperatures in the western tropical Pacific. These conditions flip-flop under El Niño. Each phase of this cycle alters wind patterns in ways that inhibit tropical-cyclone formation in the Atlantic during an El Niño and favor cyclone formation during a La Niña.
La Niña fizzled in April, leaving current conditions in a neutral phase some forecasters whimsically refer to as La Nada. Some models are forecasting the development of a weak El Niño between July and August, but for now it's unclear whether it would last much beyond that.
Indeed, the season's two early storms in May, Alberto and Beryl, highlight the influence wind conditions have. Both strengthened to tropical-storm levels over warm Gulf Stream waters off the coasts of Florida and the Carolinas. But they did so because the system of cloudiness they grew from traveled into a gap between two high-altitude rivers of air flowing west to east – the polar and subtropical jet streams, Dr. Masters explains on his Weather Underground blog.
Both can meander over the area where the two storms intensified. If the storms had encountered either, the high winds would have sheared off cloud-tops and prevented intensification.
Alberto formed off the East Coast and became a tropical storm just off South Carolina. Beryl formed from a patch of storms that formed off the Yucatan Peninsula. It, too, became a tropical storm when it encountered the warm waters of the Gulf Stream off the southeast coast. With maximum sustained winds at one point reaching 70 miles an hour, Beryl briefly flirted with hurricane status, where maximum sustained winds must reach at least 74 miles an hour.
Both brought much-needed rain to the southeastern corner of the US. But the area still is in the grip of a long-term drought, which ranges from severe to exceptional throughout much of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and in significant portions of Alabama.
Although the Atlantic hurricane season officially starts June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, Alberto and Beryl highlight the climate's tendency to ignore the calendar.
Since 1865, some 23 tropical storms have formed during May, appearing as early as May 6. But only two other years have seen two tropical cyclones form ahead of the official season. Separate storms formed on May 15 and 17 in 1887. In 1908 one storm formed May 24, the other on March 6, the earliest on record.
- AlaskaDispatch
Bejaarde egpaar sterf vlammedood
SKOKGOLWE het gister deur Bloemfontein getrek oor die vlammedood waarin die bejaarde Piet en Baby Venter in hul huis in ’n aftree-oord gesterf het.
Die Venter-egpaar, albei 77, is in die oggendure in ’n brand in hul huis in die Welgedacht-aftreeoord Fleurdal deur rook oorval en het doodgebrand.
Hul verkoolde lyke is deur brandweermanne in die sitkamer naby die deur gekry, het Braam van Zyl, afdelingsoffisier van Mangaung se brandweer-en-reddingsdiens, gesê.
Die dak het met die aankoms van die brandweer reeds ingeval.
Volgens hom het die brand in die hoofslaapkamer ontstaan.
Van Zyl sê die egpaar het voor die vlamme probeer vlug, maar kon van die deure nie oopkry om uit te kom nie.
Alles in die huis en die Venters se motor het in die slag gebly.
Hoe die brand ontstaan het, is nog nie bekend nie.
Forensiese ondersoekers van die polisie in Pretoria stel ondersoek hierna in, het kapt. Rulene Kühn, provinsiale polisiewoordvoerder, gesê.
Sandra Tukker, sekretaresse van die oord, sê veiligheidswagte het omstreeks 01:00 “’n snaakse lig” by die Venters se huis gesien en alarm gemaak.
“Die veiligheidswag het onmiddellik alarm gemaak en die ander mense gewaarsku. Ons almal is geskok. Dit is baie sleg vir iemand om so te sterf.
“Ons het dit glad nie verwag nie. Dit is hartseer en tragies.”
Jannie de Welzim, oordbestuurder, sê as dit nie vir die veiligheidswagte se vinnige optrede was nie, kon meer mense gesterf het.
“Die huis langsaan was ook vol rook. Daardie mense kon ook dood gewees het.”
Hy sê die Venter-egpaar, albei sieklik, was bekend by inwoners. Baby was bedlêend en haar man het na haar omgesien. “Dit is ’n skok vir ons almal. Ons is ’n hegte gemeenskap.”
David Haarhoff, die Venters se buurman, het gesê hulle moes vinnig speel om te keer dat die brand na sy huis versprei. Sy huis is met donker rook gevul.
Hy sê hulle was magteloos en kon niks vir die Venter-egpaar doen nie. “Ons kon nie in die huis kom nie omdat alles toegesluit was. Die vlamme was ook te erg.”
Kamie Ramapi, die Venters se huishulp, moes gisteroggend met haar aankoms by die werk hoor hulle het doodgebrand.
“Hulle was goeie mense,” het sy gesê.
’n Geregtelike doodsondersoek word gehou.
- Volksblad
Forecasters Calling for Near-Average Hurricane Season
Image: In 2005, Hurricane Katrina strengthened into a powerful Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 160 miles per hour. The boost came just hours after Katrina reached Category 4, with winds of 145 miles per hour, as it gathered energy from the warm water in the Gulf of Mexico. In this photo from NASA, Katrina is shown on its path toward the coastlines of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) are calling for a “near-normal” Atlantic hurricane season for 2012. In its initial outlook for the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season -- which began Friday, June 1 and runs through November 30 -- the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is calling for a 50 percent probability of a near-normal season, a 25 percent probability of an above-normal season and a 25 percent probability of a below-normal season. The 2012 hurricane season began early when Tropical Storm Alberto and Tropical Storm Beryl both developed several days before the official start of the season, the first time since 1908 that two tropical storms developed early; the only other year with two storms so early in the year was 1887.
According to the CPC, ongoing conditions that have been associated with increased Atlantic hurricane activity since 1995 favor a near-normal hurricane season, as do expected near-average sea surface temperatures across much of the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea (called the Main Development Region, or MDR). In addition, the possible development of El Niño during the season could make conditions less conducive for hurricane formation and intensification during the peak months of August-October, shifting the activity toward the lower end of the predicted range
CPC forecasters say that there is a 70 percent chance of having 9-15 named storms, of which four to eight could become hurricanes, including one to three major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5). These ranges do not represent the total possible ranges of activity seen in past similar years. Tropical systems acquire a name upon reaching tropical storm strength with sustained winds of at least 39 miles per hour. Tropical storms become hurricanes when winds reach 74 miles per hour and become major hurricanes when winds increase to 111 miles per hour. An average season has 12 named storms, including six hurricanes with three becoming major hurricanes.
Though this season isn’t expected to be as busy as last year’s above-average season, federal officials warned coastal residents to start stocking up on hurricane supplies and forming evacuation plans. “That’s still a lot of activity, so just because we’re predicting a near-normal season doesn’t mean anybody’s off the hook at all,” said Gerry Bell, the lead seasonal forecaster at the CPC. “Our range (of expected storms) is a bit wider this year because of this inherent uncertainty right now based on the best guidance we have as to whether El Nino will form or not.”
This year’s hurricane season got an early start when Tropical Storm Alberto formed May 19 off the coast of South Carolina, dissipating just three days later over the Atlantic. Alberto was the first named storm to form during May in the Atlantic basin since Arthur in 2008, and the earliest tropical storm since Ana in April 2003 According to NHC Director Bill Read, KB5FYA, Alberto was unusual, in that it was a small storm that formed in a small area that was favorable for storm development. On May 23, Tropical Storm Beryl formed in the Caribbean, moving into Southern Florida and making landfall with near Jacksonville Beach. Read said that tropical storms can develop when seasons transition from one to another, in this case, spring into summer. Chris is slated to be the name of the named next storm of 2012.
The atmospheric and marine conditions that began with the 1995 hurricane season still continue. The 1995 season was extremely active, largely due to favorable conditions including a La Niña and warm sea surface temperatures. Nineteen named storms formed during the season, making it the third most active on record behind the 2005 and 1933 seasons, and tied with the 1887 and 2010 seasons. There were 11 storms that reached hurricane strength that year, placing 1995 behind the 1969, 2005 and 2010 seasons as the year with the most hurricanes to form in one season.
There were a number of destructive hurricanes during the 1995 season, totaling more than $13 billion in damages and more than 100 deaths. Hurricane Erin caused substantial damage in Florida, while Felix caused heavy beach erosion in the northeast United States, producing strong waves that drowned eight. Hurricanes Luis and Marilyn caused billions of dollars in damages in the Leeward Islands and Bermuda. Hurricane Opal, the strongest storm of the season, caused very heavy damage along the US Gulf Coast. Hurricane Roxanne -- a late-season major hurricane -- caused heavy damage when it made landfall in Quintana Roo on the Yucatán Peninsula.
Amateur Radio and Hurricanes
Rick Palm, K1CE, editor of the ARRL’s ARES E-Letter, warns that now is the time for ARES® members to assess their portfolio of communications equipment and disaster response knowledge. Palm gives several tips for amateurs involved with hurricane operations:
Monitor major HF hurricane networks during events this season. The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) on 14.325 MHz is one of several key players. It serves either the Atlantic or Pacific during a watch or warning period and coordinates with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami. Frequent, detailed information is issued on nets when storms pose a threat to the US mainland. In addition to hurricane spotting, local communicators may announce that residents have evacuated from low-lying flood areas. Other amateurs across the country can help by relaying information, keeping the net frequency clear and by listening. See the HWN’s website for more information. The net works closely with WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station at the NHC.
The SATERN Net (Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network) provides emergency communication support to the Salvation Army and populations at large. They also handle health-and-welfare traffic. SATERN holds high profile nets on 20 meters (14.265 MHz) during major hurricanes and has a long history of excellence, discipline and service. Refer to the SATERN website for more information.
The Maritime Mobile Service Net (MMSN) meets on 14.300 MHz and is composed of hams who serve and assist those in need of communications on the high seas. According to its website, the primary purpose of the net is for handling traffic from maritime mobile stations. The network is recognized by the United States Coast Guard and has an excellent working relationship with that agency. The MMSN has handled hundreds of incidents involving vessels in distress and medical emergencies in remote locations, as well as passing health and welfare traffic in and out of affected areas. They also work closely with the NWS and NHC by relaying weather reports from maritime stations.
The VoIP SKYWARN and Hurricane Net operates by combining both the EchoLink and IRLP linked repeater networks, while handling critical wide area communications during major severe weather and tropical events. These operations have gained national stature in recent years and are a critical partner with WX4NHC. Whenever tropical weather is imposing a threat to the US mainland and certain other areas of interest, the VoIP WX net will be fully operational. See the VoIP SKYWARN and Hurricane Net website for more information.
Palm said that during hurricane events, there are usually two or three regional nets (usually on 40 or 20 meters) that spring to prominence as major key assets to the disaster response on an ad hoc basis. “Watch for these nets, as well as the nationally recognized networks described above, this season,” he advised. “Don’t transmit on their frequencies unless you are absolutely sure you have something substantive to add, and then only under the direction of the net control station.”
ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, added that when ARES® activates in response to any tropical event, it is crucial that information flows up through the Section and is reported to Headquarters. “These reports allow us to develop the situational awareness and disaster intelligence that is required for us as an organization to support the Sections that are impacted.” he explained. “In this way, we are able to respond to relevant requests from the media and finally to coordinate with the governmental and non-governmental organizations. This information also allows us to make the decision at Headquarters on whether to stand up the ARRL HQ Emergency Response Team to support and coordinate the operations.”
If you are interested in Emergency Communications, please be sure to check out the monthly ARES E-Letter. You can elect to receive this monthly newsletter free of charge via e-mail by clicking the “Edit Your Profile” link on the ARRL website, and then clicking “Edit E-mail Subscriptions.”
- ARRL
China may restart nuclear power programme
Beijing - Energy-hungry China could restart its nuclear projects, suspended after Japan's Fukushima disaster in March last year, while new safety standards have been adopted in active plants, the government said.
After the Fukushima accident triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami, Beijing announced a review of safety standards and emergency procedures for Chinese nuclear power plants.
The inspection involved 41 reactors either active or in construction as well as three already approved but which had been delayed after Fukushima.
On Thursday, China's cabinet approved a document on the 2020 nuclear safety strategy, a statement on the government's website said.
"The Chinese plants in activity and in construction respond fundamentally to the last nuclear safety demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," the statement said.
The document does not mention restarting the construction of new plants but could open the door for new projects being approved.
Before Fukushima, China had targetted 86 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2020 compared to just 12GW today, to drive its rapidly expanding economy. Last year Chinese media had said this objective could be reduced.
- AFP/News24
After the Fukushima accident triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami, Beijing announced a review of safety standards and emergency procedures for Chinese nuclear power plants.
The inspection involved 41 reactors either active or in construction as well as three already approved but which had been delayed after Fukushima.
On Thursday, China's cabinet approved a document on the 2020 nuclear safety strategy, a statement on the government's website said.
"The Chinese plants in activity and in construction respond fundamentally to the last nuclear safety demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," the statement said.
The document does not mention restarting the construction of new plants but could open the door for new projects being approved.
Before Fukushima, China had targetted 86 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2020 compared to just 12GW today, to drive its rapidly expanding economy. Last year Chinese media had said this objective could be reduced.
- AFP/News24
The Evolution of a Contrail
Most of the gases and particles suspended in our atmosphere are invisible to human eyes. But that's not the case with contrails. Look up on a clear day, and there's a good chance you'll see some of these pencil-straight cirrus clouds crisscrossing the sky. While naturally high levels of humidity cause cirrus clouds to form, contrails form in the wake of passing aircraft due to the extra particles and water vapor contained in their exhaust.
Contrails are visible from space as well. At 12:05 p.m. local time (14:35 UTC) on May 26, 2012, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured a view (top) of multiple contrails off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite generated an image (bottom) of the same area nearly two hours later.
The contrails are arrayed in an X-shaped pattern that was likely caused by commercial aircraft flying west. A cirrus cloud, most likely of natural origins, is visible on the left of both images. Young contrails with distinct edges are visible in the older image, but in the later view the contrails have grown wispier and spread outward as winds have blown them south and east.
The temperature and humidity of the air affects how long contrails last. When air is dry, contrails last just seconds or minutes. But when the air is humid, as was the case here, contrails can be long-lived and spread outward until they become difficult to distinguish from naturally occurring cirrus clouds. Satellites have observed clusters of contrails lasting as long as 14 hours, though most remain visible for four to six hours.
The long-lived, spreading contrails are of great interest to climate scientists because they reflect sunlight and trap infrared radiation. A contrail in an otherwise clear sky reduces the amount of solar radiation that reaches Earth’s surface, while increasing the amount of infrared radiation absorbed by the atmosphere (as do cirrus clouds).
These opposing effects make it difficult for scientists to pin down the effect contrails have on climate. “Overall, contrails create additional cirrus cloud cover,” noted Patrick Minnis, a senior scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center. “Current estimates indicate that contrails have a small warming effect, but the extent of the additional coverage and the amount of warming remain quite uncertain.”
In 2004, Minnis published a study of surface observations that found cirrus cloud cover had increased by 3 percent between 1971 and 1995 over the United States. That's the most recent estimate available, Minnis pointed out, because the network of surface instruments his research group used is no longer available.
Contrails are visible from space as well. At 12:05 p.m. local time (14:35 UTC) on May 26, 2012, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured a view (top) of multiple contrails off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite generated an image (bottom) of the same area nearly two hours later.
The contrails are arrayed in an X-shaped pattern that was likely caused by commercial aircraft flying west. A cirrus cloud, most likely of natural origins, is visible on the left of both images. Young contrails with distinct edges are visible in the older image, but in the later view the contrails have grown wispier and spread outward as winds have blown them south and east.
The temperature and humidity of the air affects how long contrails last. When air is dry, contrails last just seconds or minutes. But when the air is humid, as was the case here, contrails can be long-lived and spread outward until they become difficult to distinguish from naturally occurring cirrus clouds. Satellites have observed clusters of contrails lasting as long as 14 hours, though most remain visible for four to six hours.
The long-lived, spreading contrails are of great interest to climate scientists because they reflect sunlight and trap infrared radiation. A contrail in an otherwise clear sky reduces the amount of solar radiation that reaches Earth’s surface, while increasing the amount of infrared radiation absorbed by the atmosphere (as do cirrus clouds).
These opposing effects make it difficult for scientists to pin down the effect contrails have on climate. “Overall, contrails create additional cirrus cloud cover,” noted Patrick Minnis, a senior scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center. “Current estimates indicate that contrails have a small warming effect, but the extent of the additional coverage and the amount of warming remain quite uncertain.”
In 2004, Minnis published a study of surface observations that found cirrus cloud cover had increased by 3 percent between 1971 and 1995 over the United States. That's the most recent estimate available, Minnis pointed out, because the network of surface instruments his research group used is no longer available.
References
- King, M. (2007) Our Changing Planet: The View from Space. Cambridge University Press.
- Minnis, P. (2004, April 15). Contrails, Cirrus Trends, and Climate. Journal of Climate.
- NASA Langley. (n.d). Contrail Education. Accessed June 1, 2012.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Adam Voiland.
- Instrument:
- Aqua - MODIS - NASA
Saturday, 2 June 2012
SA National Severe Weather Warnings: 2 June 2012 16h00 SAST
All other Provinces in South Africa - No warnings nor advisories in effect
Subject: No Alerts.Detail: No Alerts.
- SAWS
SA Weather Satellite Image: 2 June 2012 16h00 SAST
Image: Eumetsat (Click on image for larger view.)
Fishermen rescued off Agulhas
Saturday 02 June 2012. Fishermen rescued:
At 09h00 on Saturday 02nd June Sea Rescue’s Agulhas volunteers were called out for an 8 meter fishing boat, Piranha, with 10 fishermen on board, reported to be sinking 12 nautical miles off Agulhas, at ’12 Mile Bank.’
According to Reinard Geldenhuys, NSRI Agulhas station commander, the sea conditions are a 2.5 to 3 meter gentle swell with little wind.
We launched Vodacom Rescuer VII and the METRO AMS helicopter from Cape Town as well as the METRO AMS helicopter from Oudtshoorn responded. METRO EMS ambulances were also dispatched and they are standing-by at Struisbaai harbour.
Hermanus NSRI were placed on alert.
While our sea rescue craft were responding to the scene we received reports that the fishing vessels Peg-Leg and Waggies had arrived, and that 5 of the fishermen from Piranha had been taken on board Waggies, while the remaining 5 fishermen stayed on board Piranha.
Peg-Leg had attempted to take Piranha under tow but the tow-line had failed and they then stood by on-scene in case they needed to take the remaining 5 fishermen off Piranha, while they waited for the arrival of Vodacom Rescuer VII.
When sea rescue arrived on-scene the casualty boat was taken under tow by Vodacom Rescuer VII and is being towed to Struis Baai harbour with the 5 fishermen still on board. The 5 fishermen on Waggies are also being taken to Struisbaai harbour.
Their estimated time of arrival in Struisbaai harbour is midday.
The Skymed helicopters have been stood down, as they are no longer required, and they are returning to base.
No injuries have been sustained to any of the 10 fishermen.
It is not yet known what may have caused the fishing vessel to take on water and SAMSA (The South African Maritime Safety Authority) will conduct an investigation to determine what caused this incident.
- NSRI
At 09h00 on Saturday 02nd June Sea Rescue’s Agulhas volunteers were called out for an 8 meter fishing boat, Piranha, with 10 fishermen on board, reported to be sinking 12 nautical miles off Agulhas, at ’12 Mile Bank.’
According to Reinard Geldenhuys, NSRI Agulhas station commander, the sea conditions are a 2.5 to 3 meter gentle swell with little wind.
We launched Vodacom Rescuer VII and the METRO AMS helicopter from Cape Town as well as the METRO AMS helicopter from Oudtshoorn responded. METRO EMS ambulances were also dispatched and they are standing-by at Struisbaai harbour.
Hermanus NSRI were placed on alert.
While our sea rescue craft were responding to the scene we received reports that the fishing vessels Peg-Leg and Waggies had arrived, and that 5 of the fishermen from Piranha had been taken on board Waggies, while the remaining 5 fishermen stayed on board Piranha.
Peg-Leg had attempted to take Piranha under tow but the tow-line had failed and they then stood by on-scene in case they needed to take the remaining 5 fishermen off Piranha, while they waited for the arrival of Vodacom Rescuer VII.
When sea rescue arrived on-scene the casualty boat was taken under tow by Vodacom Rescuer VII and is being towed to Struis Baai harbour with the 5 fishermen still on board. The 5 fishermen on Waggies are also being taken to Struisbaai harbour.
Their estimated time of arrival in Struisbaai harbour is midday.
The Skymed helicopters have been stood down, as they are no longer required, and they are returning to base.
No injuries have been sustained to any of the 10 fishermen.
It is not yet known what may have caused the fishing vessel to take on water and SAMSA (The South African Maritime Safety Authority) will conduct an investigation to determine what caused this incident.
- NSRI
More meningitis outbreak fears
Johannesburg - Pupils and teachers at three North West schools have been treated for possible meningitis, the provincial health department said on Friday.
Spokesperson Tebogo Lekgethwane said in a statement: "Outbreak response teams have been dispatched to curb the possible outbreak."
He said 1 200 pupils, 36 teachers and 10 catering staff members had been treated following a confirmed meningitis death at a local school.
"Twenty family members of the child who had died had also been treated."
Two other children with suspected meningitis had died in the village in the past month.
"Six more learners were referred to hospital with signs of meningitis."
Lekgethwane said the response team would work throughout the weekend.
"Meningitis is a disease caused by the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord," he said.
Lekgethwane said the inflammation was usually caused by an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
Meningitis could develop in response to a number of causes, usually bacteria, viruses and fungal infections.
The severity of the illness and the treatment for meningitis differed, depending on the cause.
"Symptoms can appear in any order, but the first symptoms are usually fever, vomiting, sensitivity to light, a stiff neck, headaches and feeling unwell - just like many mild illnesses," said Lekgethwane.
- SAPA/News24
Spokesperson Tebogo Lekgethwane said in a statement: "Outbreak response teams have been dispatched to curb the possible outbreak."
He said 1 200 pupils, 36 teachers and 10 catering staff members had been treated following a confirmed meningitis death at a local school.
"Twenty family members of the child who had died had also been treated."
Two other children with suspected meningitis had died in the village in the past month.
"Six more learners were referred to hospital with signs of meningitis."
Lekgethwane said the response team would work throughout the weekend.
"Meningitis is a disease caused by the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord," he said.
Lekgethwane said the inflammation was usually caused by an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
Meningitis could develop in response to a number of causes, usually bacteria, viruses and fungal infections.
The severity of the illness and the treatment for meningitis differed, depending on the cause.
"Symptoms can appear in any order, but the first symptoms are usually fever, vomiting, sensitivity to light, a stiff neck, headaches and feeling unwell - just like many mild illnesses," said Lekgethwane.
- SAPA/News24
Epidemic Hazard in Kenya on Saturday, 02 June, 2012 at 16:59 (04:59 PM) UTC.
A measles outbreak has killed three children in Olokurto division of Narok North district. Area medical officer of health Dr David Kuria said the deaths were confirmed when a medical team visited the affected areas. Speaking to the press in his office yesterday, Kuria said that the worst affected primary schools are Ilmolelian, Entiani and Purko. He said they started emergency vaccination to fight the disease. “The department of health has initiated a mobile vaccination campaign jointly with health workers and the team has been dispatched to the affected areas," he said. Kuria blamed the parents for failing to report the disease to relevant authorities so that they could contain the situation. “The measles virus is highly contagious and can be fatal, but can easily be prevented by proper immunisation,” he said. He appealed to the parents to take their children aged five years and below to the nearest health centre for vaccination. “The remote places which are inaccessible because of poor road network will now be reached through mobile vaccination,” he said. The medical officer urged the local residents to embrace modern medicine at health facilities instead of using traditional herbs that are ineffective.
- RSOE Edis
- RSOE Edis
Burma 'has given up nuclear power research' - minister
Burma has abandoned research into nuclear power generation, its defence minister says.
The new government had "already given up all activities on nuclear issues", Lt Gen Hla Min told the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore.
In 2010, a defecting Burmese soldier and mechanical engineer accused his country of starting work on a nuclear-weapons programme.
But Hla Min insisted that the country had never pursued nuclear weapons.
Delegates said his remarks - spoken through a translator - were remarkably frank and an illustration of the reforms sweeping Burma, reported Reuters news agency.
Hla Min acknowledged that Burma's previous government had begun "academic studies" on nuclear technology.
But he insisted that "it was not for defence, it was not for weapons", and said the research had "not progressed much due to our constraints".
North Korea ties
The new government had given up such activities, he said, and "we have no further plans to extend on this".
In the past, there have been repeated allegations that Burma was being helped in its nuclear research by North Korea - suggestions that re-emerged with the publication of diplomatic cables by Wikileaks in late 2010.
Burma had maintained political and military ties with North Korea in the past, Hla Min admitted, but "because of our opening and our new efforts, we have stopped such relationships with North Korea", Reuters reported.
He said current ties amounted to "just a regular relationship".
Hla Min dismissed a suggestion from the audience that the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), be allowed to inspect the country.
"We have nothing to check and nothing to see so it is irrelevant," he said.
- BBC
The new government had "already given up all activities on nuclear issues", Lt Gen Hla Min told the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore.
In 2010, a defecting Burmese soldier and mechanical engineer accused his country of starting work on a nuclear-weapons programme.
But Hla Min insisted that the country had never pursued nuclear weapons.
Delegates said his remarks - spoken through a translator - were remarkably frank and an illustration of the reforms sweeping Burma, reported Reuters news agency.
Hla Min acknowledged that Burma's previous government had begun "academic studies" on nuclear technology.
But he insisted that "it was not for defence, it was not for weapons", and said the research had "not progressed much due to our constraints".
North Korea ties
The new government had given up such activities, he said, and "we have no further plans to extend on this".
In the past, there have been repeated allegations that Burma was being helped in its nuclear research by North Korea - suggestions that re-emerged with the publication of diplomatic cables by Wikileaks in late 2010.
Burma had maintained political and military ties with North Korea in the past, Hla Min admitted, but "because of our opening and our new efforts, we have stopped such relationships with North Korea", Reuters reported.
He said current ties amounted to "just a regular relationship".
Hla Min dismissed a suggestion from the audience that the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), be allowed to inspect the country.
"We have nothing to check and nothing to see so it is irrelevant," he said.
- BBC
SAWDOS Solar/Wind Charge Controller Project
I am currently busy to test a prototype solar/wind panel controller which I constructed in the past week. The original design is by Joel Donaldson. I began to search for a good solar/wind controller to compliment my DIY Wind Turbine Project. I looked at both the commercial and DIY types. Most controllers don't exactly conform what I needed, although it will do for most other users out there.
More information on this project available at MOSSEL BAY MAD SCIENTIST PROJECTS (Click HERE)
Important Notice: SAWDOS
IMPORTANT: The S.A. Weather and Disaster Observation Service provides a weather and disaster observation (Weather and Disaster Watching/Spotting) service in South Africa and not a weather prediction or disaster management service. Do not use the information on this web-page to predict weather or disasters.
The SAWDOS is not responsible for, nor do we endorse the opinions, accuracy, or comments of re-posted articles from other sites, unless specifically so indicated in our post. Often we may refer to articles which are diametrically opposed to our vision and mission, in order to provoke additional thought and further education.
Johan Terblanche
Founder: SA Weather and Disaster Observation Service
Mossel Bay
"A SERVICE BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE"
SA National Severe Weather Warnings: 2 June 2012 04h00 SAST
All provinces in South Africa - No warnings nor advisories in effect
Subject: No Alerts.Detail: No Alerts.
- SAWS
SA Weather Satellite Image: 2 June 2012 06h00 SAST
Image: Eumetsat (Click on image for larger view.)
GFS Medium Range Forecasts of Vertical Velocity and Precipitation: 1 - 2 June 2012
Image: U.S. National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Click on images for larger view.
Tropical Storm Mawar
Initially a tropical depression, Mawar formed over the western Pacific Ocean on May 31, 2012, and strengthened to a tropical storm the following day. On June 1, 2012, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Mawar was located approximately 245 nautical miles (455 kilometers) east-northeast of Manila, Philippines. The storm had maximum sustained winds of just 35 knots (65 kilometers per hour), but over the next 48 hours, Mawar’s wind speeds were forecast to increase to 80 knots (150 kilometers per hour) with gusts up to 100 knots (185 kilometers per hour).
On June 1, 2012, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of Tropical Storm Mawar over the Philippine Sea. The storm did not yet look well organized, instead appearing as a mass of clouds east of Manila. The projected storm track, however, showed the strengthening storm turning toward the northeast and moving in the general direction of southern Japan.
On June 1, 2012, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of Tropical Storm Mawar over the Philippine Sea. The storm did not yet look well organized, instead appearing as a mass of clouds east of Manila. The projected storm track, however, showed the strengthening storm turning toward the northeast and moving in the general direction of southern Japan.
References
- Joint Typhoon Warning Center. (2012, June 1) Tropical Storm 04W (Mawar) Warning. Accessed June 1, 2012.
- Unisys Weather. (2012, June 1) Mawar Tracking Information. Accessed June 1, 2012.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.
- Instrument:
- Terra - MODIS - NASA
ISS Transit of Venus
May 31, 2012: In 1768, when James Cook sailed out of Plymouth harbor to observe the Transit of Venus in Tahiti, the trip was tantamount to a voyage through space. The remote island had just been "discovered" a year earlier, and by all accounts it was as strange and alien to Europeans as the stars themselves. Cook's pinpoint navigation to Tahiti and his subsequent observations of Venus crossing the South Pacific sun in 1769 have inspired explorers for centuries.
One of those explorers is about to beat Cook at his own game.
High above Earth, astronaut Don Pettit is preparing to photograph the June 5th Transit of Venus from space itself.
"I've been planning this for a while," says Pettit, who serves as Flight Engineer onboard the International Space Station. "I knew the Transit of Venus would occur during my rotation, so I brought a solar filter with me when my expedition left for the ISS in December 2011."
Because transits of Venus come in pairs that occur once every 100 years or so, humans have rarely had the chance to photograph the apparition from Earth, much less from Earth orbit.
"The Expedition 31 crew will be the first people in history to see a Venus transit from space, and Pettit will be the first to photograph one," says Mario Runco, Jr. of the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Runco, an astronaut himself who flew aboard three shuttle missions, is an expert in the optics of spacecraft windows. Along with his wife Susan Runco, who is the coordinator for astronaut photography at JSC, Mario is helping Pettit gather the best possible images of the transit.
Pettit will be pointing his camera through the side windows of the space station's cupola, an ESA-built observatory module that provides a wide-angle view of Earth and the cosmos. Its seven windows are used by the crew to operate the station's robotic arm, coordinate space dockings, and take science-grade photos of the Earth and sky. It's also a favorite "hangout" for off-duty astronauts who find the view exhilarating.
"For this transit, Don will be removing the non-optical quality, internal protective window panes known as 'scratch panes,' which really make crisp, sharp, and clear images impossible," says Runco. "Removing those panes is a huge plus when it comes to details that will be seen in the imagery of the sun."
Pettit describes the camera system: "I'll be using a high-end Nikon D2Xs camera and an 800mm lens with a full-aperture white light solar filter."
"Even with this great camera system, the images would be quite soft if the scratch panes were not removed," notes Runco. "This is only the third time that we'll be [shooting through] the Cupola's optical quality windows. I'm hoping this becomes routine in the future."
This month's transit is the bookend of a 2004-2012 pair. Astronauts were onboard the ISS in 2004, but they did not see the transit, mainly because they had no solar filters onboard. Tiny Venus covers a small fraction of the solar disk, so the sun is still painfully bright to the human eye even at mid-transit. Pettit's foresight to bring a solar filter with him makes all the difference.
How would Cook feel about all this?
"I don't think James Cook should be too envious," says Runco. "After all, he did get an all-expense paid trip to Tahiti out of the deal."
Don's photos will be rapidly posted to the web during the transit. The historic webcast begins on June 5th at approximately 3 pm PDT.
Author:Dr. Tony Phillips| Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
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