Hello to all..

Subtropical storm Alex has unexpectedly and remarkably intensified into Hurricane Alex. While this remains “unusual”, it is again not unprecedented. The last time a hurricane formed in January was in 1938 and the first hurricane to occur in the month of January since Hurricane Alice in 1955 per the Thursday 1/14/16 1000 AM EST/1500 UTC National Hurricane Center Forecast Discussion on Hurricane Alex.

A Hurricane Warning has been issued for the Central Azore Islands and a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Eastern Azore Islands. Alex now has maximum sustained winds of 85 MPH. Hurricane Alex is expected to impact the Azore Islands later tonight and Friday Morning.

A quick status check on IRLP and Echolink show no clear paths to the Azore islands. There will be no “formal” VoIP Hurricane Net Activation here, however, some of the net management team may monitor the *WX_TALK* Echolink conference node: 7203/IRLP 9219 system later tonight and Friday Morning. It is noted that where I live in South Coastal Massachusetts that there is a large amount of Portuguese people living in the area with roots to the Azore Islands and that may allow us to get reports and other data from the Azore Islands in an informal fashion.

Advisories on Hurricane Alex can be seen off the Main Menu of the voipwx.net web site, via the voipwxnet social media Facebook and Twitter feeds or via the National Hurricane Center web site which also has the National Hurricane Center Social Media feed information at the following link:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will closely monitor the progress of Alex. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net

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Hello to all..

Subtropical Storm Alex has formed in the Atlantic in January. While an “unusual” event, it is not unprecedented and Alex is the fourth known system to have formed in January since hurricane historical records have been kept and that goes back to 1851. The last time this occurred was when an unnamed system formed in 1978. This information was obtained from the first National Hurricane Center Forecast Discussion issued on this system at 400 PM EST/2100 UTC Wednesday 1/13/16.

Alex has maximum sustained winds of 60 MPH and is located 665 miles south-southwest of the Azores as of the Wednesday 1/13/16 1000 PM EST Advisory. Alex could pose a potential threat to the Azores Islands as a strong tropical/sub-tropical or strong post tropical system. Alex is not expected to achieve hurricane strength at this time but still could be a powerful storm to affect the Azores islands of Portugal. No VoIP Hurricane Net Activation is planned for Alex at this time.

Advisories on Alex can be seen off the Main Menu of the voipwx.net web site, via the voipwxnet social media Facebook and Twitter feeds or via the National Hurricane Center web site which also has the National Hurricane Center Social Media feed information at the following link:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

The VoIP Hurricane Net Management Team will closely monitor the progress of Alex. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!

73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net

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The following stations checked into the Skywarn Hurricane Prep Net on Jan. 9, 2016. Station locations are from the hamdata.com website, unless otherwise noted. Due to hyperlink issues with Facebook, the Skywarn Hurricane Prep Net website is listed first in the links section, below the checkins.

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Question of the Week from KC5FM:
How is your preparedness action for 2016 changing?

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Voice Checkins:
K2DCD, Dennis, Ewing, New Jersey (Net Control)
WB8YYS, Greg, Kent, Ohio (Backup Net Control)
KD1CY, Rob, New Bedford, Massachusetts (Net Management and TPC Outlook)
KC5FM, Lloyd, Altus, Oklahoma (Net Management)
WX1DER, Daryl, Little Rock, Arkansas (SPC Advisories)
W3TDH, Tom, Takoma Park, Maryland (Skywarn Coordinator)
N2JWX, Marshall, Parlin, New Jersey (Skywarn Coordinator)
VA3WXA, Gord, Toronto, Canada (Weather Radio Listeners Net)
VE9MTB, Rick, New Brunswick, Canada (CanWarn)
WA2AQQ, Bob, East Meadow, New York
N1VXP, Rick, Chilicothe, Ohio
WA3TOY, Kurt, Pasadena, Maryland (Skywarn Coordinator)
K3NFU, Roy, Slidell, Louisiana
KC4HAY, Ron, Baytown, Texas
KC5CTG, Paul, Metarie, Louisiana
N5OZG, Joe, Metarie, Louisiana
WW4RX, Steve, Stuart, Florida
KA5EZQ, Richard, Belle Chasse, Louisiana
KF5TER, Steven, Covington, Louisiana
KC8FQV, Mark, Aurora, Ohio
WX9VOR, Debby, Aurora, Illinois
WB8REI, Jeff, Tiffin, Ohio
N7BMH, Brian, McCall, Idaho
K8ARL, Karl, Tiffin, Ohio
N5OST, Turley, Oklahoma

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Textbox Checkins:
K1NEW, Chokaloskee, Florida
W4CFH, Chuck, Edgewater, Florida
KD2GWY, Brick, New Jersey
VE1AKT, Al, New Brunswick, Canada (CanWarn)
KG5ETF, John, Denton, Texas
KG5IRQ, Guthrie, Oklahoma

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Voice Checkins:  25
Textbox Checkins: 6
Total Checkins:  31

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“Winter storms are always one of the toughest weather features to forecast. Our weather models try their best to pin point what area will be hit the hardest and which areas that could see no affect at all.

The National Weather Service in Sterling, VA is the test bed for a new Winter Storm Threat Graphic. The Storm Prediction Center issues severe weather outlooks, now winter weather is going to be treated the same way. Will these be helpful? Will they confuse people?

Warning Coordinator Meteorologist Christopher Strong from The National Weather Service in Sterling, VA will join us to talk about how his forecast office will be the first to use the new method.” http://on.fb.me/1Rg9zWk #Skywarn #WRN

Click the link for more information about the event set for 8 pm Eastern Time.  The event is hosted by the Carolina Weather Group.

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Lloyd Colston   director
Altus Emergency Management
Altus, OK      http://www.altusok.gov
Phone:  580.481.2260
Fax:  580.482.4738

Præparate Ante malum.
http://twitter.com/altusready
http://altusem.blogspot.com
calendly.com/kc5fm

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