5:57 pm - Fri 4 Jul 2008 
Archive for the '72 Hour Kit' Category
Ok…this is getting fun. I was asked Francis “Frank” Steffan to appear on The Frank Show, on American Voice Radio. This makes the second time in less than a week to be on that network.
This being my second “real” radio interview on big time radio, I felt a lot better and was much happier with how the show went, including topics covered, and some darn good questions.
So, please give it a listen, by clicking the Play button below, or download the mp3 and add it to your Ipod to listen to later.
Comments are most welcome…
Rich
I had my first live radio interview tonight, and was on the American Voice Radio network for 2 hours this evening. I was interviewed by Michael Lehman, and the topic of the day was family preparedness.
I’ve got the show right here. Just click the player button below and listen to the entire show…
Rich Fleetwood on Civil Defense, Nuclear Preparedness and Fallout Shelter: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadRich
Being one of those kind of people who tries to ready for any little thing, I usually have on my belt a Gerber multitool (which I use at least a dozen times a day), and a MiniMag double A flashlight in its own little holster. This is great for college, when you’re digging under desks trying to fix other people’s computers, traipsing across campus after dark after closing the lab, or fixing the car in the parking lot at Walmart after the rear bearing goes out on the ALTERNATOR, of all things.
Well, the cool tool above is an UPGRADE kit to any AA minimag flashlight, that allows you to LED based light, with a greatly increased lifespan of your batteries.
Takes only minutes to change out a couple of parts, with NO tools needed, and the light seems to be ever so much brighter, at least what I’ve seen under the desks I’ve worked on lately. Give it a try!
Look out…2006 is going to be another banner year for Hurricanes…better batten down the hatches NOW!
Rich
Storm ‘hindcast’ sketches hurricane picture for 2006
By Patrick O’Driscoll, USA TODAY
Don’t expect much of a breather from this year’s record-setting onslaught of hurricanes. A leading tropical forecast team predicted Tuesday that next year’s season will be “very active,” with a well-above-average number of major storms.
Dr. Gray predicted an 81% chance that at least one major hurricane would make U.S. landfall in 2006.
The Weather ChannelUnlike this year’s record assault on U.S. shores, there is a “very low” probability that so many intense hurricanes will strike the USA, according to the Tropical Meteorology Project at Colorado State University.
In its first outlook for 2006, the project team expects 17 named tropical storms in the June-through-November season. In a normal year, the Atlantic produces about 10 storms. This year, it had its most on record with 26, including four hurricanes that blasted U.S. shores: Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. The 26th storm, Hurricane Epsilon, was still churning in the Atlantic as the new forecast was announced.
The team, led by scientist Philip Klotzbach and professor William Gray, predicts nine storms next year will become hurricanes, five of them major, with at least Category 3 intensity (winds 111 mph or more). On average, the Atlantic basin gets six hurricanes a year, two to three of them major.
Coastal regions of the USA were battered by four hurricanes both this year and last, with Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne hitting Florida in 2004. Gray says it is too early to say how many might reach land in 2006. The number will depend on short-term weather patterns and ocean wind currents.
The new forecast does predict an 81% probability that at least one major hurricane will strike the USA in 2006. Gray says the prediction is based on two factors: how many reached land in similarly active years in the past century, and water temperatures in the north Atlantic. The warmer the water, the more storms are likely to hit — and the ocean now is warm, he says.
This month’s forecast will be updated five times from April through October. Never before has the December outlook called for so many storms.
Gray says that’s because the December prediction is a “hindcast,” based mainly on statistics of past seasons. He says certain global patterns at this time of year help predict how active next season will be. This year they include winds in the stratosphere, ocean currents, and warm sea temperatures.
“We’ve never had one year that has as many favorable signals at this stage for the next year’s season,” Gray adds. His December calculations have correctly predicted either an above-average or below-average season in five of seven years since 1999.
The names for the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season are Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sandy, Tony, Valerie and William.
TORNADO TIME!
As spring as sprung, so has the spring time seasonal outbreak of tornadoes, including some killer storms. On January 13th, the first killer twister killed a 59 year old woman in Bellevue, Alabama.
On March 11th, a tornado hit south of St. Louis, Missouri, and killed a couple who drove a pickup directly into the funnel late at night. The next day, in a wave of severe storms that spread across the nation, over 100 tornadoes were reported, and at least 7 deaths occurred.
Tornadoes occur in all months of the year, mostly in mid afternoon around 5pm…but they also happen in the middle of the night. Be aware of your surroundings, know what kind of weather threats may occur near you, and find a source, such as weather radio, weather.gov, or local TV. Play it safe when severe weather is on the horizon… don’t take chances.
As the above events remind us, it also reminded me. I took a look at my years-old webpage about the F-5 twister that hit Jefferson County, Alabama, between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, on the evening of April 8th, 1998…only a couple of miles from my home at the time, in Abernant, Alabama. I made some updates, tweaking, and additions to the page, to bring it up to date.
I cleaned up the code, updated several links, added an entire additional section on Storm Preparedness, and even edited a couple of the images for faster loading. It’s a big page, with lots of content, but it is well worth a visit NOW, before you’re standing in the path of a twister, big or small.
I’d appreciate your comments as well. Use the link above.
