Batten Down the Hatches

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Severe WX inbound for the eastern seaboard today and tonight. It's currently 76 degrees here with 40mph+ wind gusts that have already stripped to tarp off the pool once. NWS just issued a tornado watch for most of NC and it's heading north by east with T-storms galore. Looks like northern New England will be getting some snow in place of crazy wind and rain.

Fortunately the aerials are still in place, swinging in the wind. The 80m dipole has a pulley/counterweight at one end, so it should be fine. 40m and new 15m are tied off, fingers crossed nothing snaps or gets struck by lightning.

Definitely a good day to slacken the ropes if this applies to your antenna farm.


Statement as of 1:20 PM EST on February 24, 2012

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
Tornado Watch for portions of

       southern Maryland
       central and eastern North Carolina
       northeast South Carolina
       central and eastern Virginia
       coastal waters

Effective this Friday afternoon and evening from 120 PM until 800
PM EST.

Tornadoes... hail to 1 inch in diameter... thunderstorm wind gusts
to 75 mph... and dangerous lightning are possible in these areas.

The Tornado Watch area is approximately along and 95 statute
miles east and west of a line from 5 miles north northwest of
Patuxent River Maryland to 25 miles southwest of Myrtle Beach
South Carolina. For a complete depiction of the watch see the
associated watch outline update (wous64 kwns wou8).

Remember... a Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for
tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch
area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for
threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements
and possible warnings.

Other watch information... continue... ww 35... ww 36... ww 37...

Discussion... intense Bow echo system is moving rapidly enewd across
central SD and this will continue into northeast SC and southeast NC
during the next several hours. Farther north... storms are expected
to continue to develop and intensify along/ahead of the rapidly
moving cold front. Warm sector environment has warmed substantially
with surface temperatures in the 70s to low 80s... and with dew
points in the 50s... sufficient instability and very strong low- and
deep-layer shear will support potential for severe storms including
a few supercells. Primary threats are expected to be damaging wind
gusts and a few tornadoes.

[WD8BIL]

We've had high winds since @9AM. Here at work our UPS/generator fired up shortly after noon with a few lights flickering and power lost to my monitors. Just 20 minutes ago the UPS shut down indicating we're back on the grid.

So far reports from home are good. NP....... yet!

[Ralph W3GL]

Yeah, I'm hearing twister signatures on 3705 right now... QRN peaking at 30db above 9.with the blanker off...

[W1RKW]

It's pretty quiet wind wise here despite a high wind warning being in place by the national weather service. Highest wind recorded so far is 1.0mph.

Weather station is now online for anyone interested: http://tinyurl.com/7lonju6

[W1AEX]

Yup, I do hate the high winds. I feel fortunate that the tree guy came out two weeks ago and re-cabled the huge multi-trunk oak out in the front yard. The October storm actually caused the previous cables to snap under the weight of the foliage and snow. I set the ropes on each end of the wire antenna for an extra 3 feet of slack to add a bit more wiggle room when the tall trees start dancing. As you said Todd, keep your fingers crossed!

Rob W1AEX

[Steve - K4HX]

Some pretty good winds here about 1 hour ago and tons of rain but no twisters in sight.

On Sunday we had rain, snow and sleet and wound up with an accumulation of 3 inches snow (maybe twice that much not far north of hear). That night and the next night we had lows near 20 degrees. Yesterday it was about 75 degrees and it topped out today at 81! It's still 66 even after the front ripped through. Tomorrow's high is forecast to only be 55 but back to 70 by Monday.

I you don't like the WX, wait a day or two.   

[w3jn]

At least y'all don't get the mud storms sashaying in off the Sahara, like we do here.  Makes a frigging mess of everything.

[Steve - K4HX]

Or riots. 

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Yeah! Wind, snow, even rain is easier to clean up after than a Molotov cocktail or a pack of nasty protestors.

Wind died down here long enough to rain, then picked back up. Not as bad as earlier. Temps have dropped about 20 degrees from earlier. Just checked 80m and the static crashes were 20-40 over at times. Gonna head back out and see if it's worth operating. Dave W9AD was booming in on 05 from Mexico/IL along with Buzz W3-something up near Rhinebeck NY. Hopefully the wind won't peel the roof off.

[Tom W2ILA]

USAir didn't serve drinks on the Raleigh to CLT flight nor the CLT to Providence trip last night.
But, it was one of the quickest CLT to PVD trips I have ever experienced (except for sitting on the runway for an hour while the storm hammared us).

TM

[KM1H]

Some strong rain showers Friday eve and howling winds overnight and most of yesterday; stopped around dusk. Lots of spotty power outages in NH and MA reported.

# 3 son told me of one tree event up by BAE in S. Nashua that took out a transformer with a nice smoke display.

[w1vtp]

Some strong rain showers Friday eve and howling winds overnight and most of yesterday; stopped around dusk. Lots of spotty power outages in NH and MA reported.

# 3 son told me of one tree event up by BAE in S. Nashua that took out a transformer with a nice smoke display.

My only problem was the strong wind almost tore my stockade fence gate off the hinges. Had to do some quick repairs.  Other than that, no problem

Al

[AJ1G]

Parked down at Stonington Point yesterday morning - biggest angriest waves I've ever seen there short of after a hurricane, wind was comning right down out ot the west from the west end of LI Sound, made for a big fetch to run the waves up.  Must have been gusting way over 50 knots.  The Volvo was rockin! Now I have to hose all the salt spray off, its full of sediment thrown up from the waves crashing on the rocks and the bottom just off the parking lot.

This morning while driving up along the Pawcatuck River towards Westerly, the tide was out as low as I've ever seen it in over 36 years. Made me half wonder if a tsunami was a comin....

New London Ledge tides were clocking about 2 feet below normal this morning.  Must have somthing to do with all that wind...maybe it blew all the water out of the  sound to the east?

[WA3VJB]

Another nasty confluence of weather elements on the way.  Hope it doesn't hit you.

----

The areas most likely to experience tornadoes on Friday afternoon and evening include:

    * Southern Indiana,
    * Southern Ohio,
    * Most of Kentucky,
    * Central Tennessee,
    * Northeastern Mississippi, and
    * Northwestern Alabama.

[steve_qix]

I saw that on the news - wow!

We're getting dumped on with snow (about 9 inches at the moment on the ground), but that's where we live and this is quite normal.  The tornados in that part of the South seem out of the ordinary, particularly for this time of year.

[N8ETQ]

Yes,

   It was unusual to HAVE to disconnect the Antenna's this time of year
in this part of the country.

   A lot of wind, Rollinig Thunder, 1/4" inch of pea sized hail here just
south of Cleveland. Enjoyed the Temps though.

/Dan

[WA1GFZ]

I'm headed to tornado alley Sunday.
There's no place like home.
Oh wait we had one last year

[k4kyv]

Local wx forecast says we are right smack in the bulls-eye for severe weather this afternoon and evening.  So far, breezy conditions but nothing damaging. Looks like the current storm system has split in two and going to the north and south of here, but more is on the way.

[K5UJ]

Local wx forecast says we are right smack in the bulls-eye for severe weather this afternoon and evening.  

Looks like a line of storms went through your QTH earlier Don.

We have wind and wet snow here now but I think it is going to go north shortly, then just wind and another line of snow out southwest coming up.

The worst seems to have gone north and south of me.

Even if in the clear, the QRN will probably be nasty.

[k4kyv]

We got several hours high gusts of wind, but not a drop of rain nor a flash of lightning.  Nashville got pounded with hail stones the size of golf balls. But we did get a 4-hour power outage.

[WA1GFZ]

should be fun to fly Sunday afternoon. I bet our direct flight won't be so direct.

[K5UJ]

don't ya hate those power outages?  one of these days a squirrel will short a transformer when I'm transmitting with orange anodes and everything will shut down.