Emergency Alert - WV Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management

This Message is regarding all West Virginia CAP

This Message has been posted just in case you have not received an email from the DOS of WV Wing.

To All:
 
The WV DHSES  (West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management) has issued an Emergency Alert to all agencies for the possibility of action during the coming weekend due to an expected heavy snow storm that is expected to impact the eastern panhandle and the mountains of eastern WV.  Also for possible flooding in some of the southern rivers, such as the Big Sandy, Tug and Upper New River.
 
All WV Squadrons should prepare to respond to any call for help.
 
Watch your e-mail for possible alerts or calls to action.
 
Gene
 
Lt Col. Eugene Thorn, CAP
Director of Emergency Services (DOS)
WV Wing, Civil Air Patrol

To all on the Eastern Panhandle... be safe and be ready to get the Call.

Weeeeeeellllll, shoooooooooot!

Has the local weatherman cleared OPSEC? If not, we shouldn't disseminate this Homeland Security bulletin.

Ed, I hope you're kidding....

The last huge flood in West Virginia was in 1985, and it was absolutely horrendous. Thousands of acres of fertile farmland in the eastern panhandle became strewn with rocks; the poultry industry over there suffered for a while, too. Millions of dollars in damage was reported to structures of all shapes and sizes; among other notables, the visitors center at Seneca Rocks was destroyed. There were some deaths, and even a cow stuck (somehow) in the understructure of a bridge, its legs hanging down over a river.

That flood hit the eastern panhandle as well as the north-central counties, though from my vantage point at the time (in Buckhannon, squadron 47081, now since deactivated), it was mostly to our east, from Elkins and Phillipi on.

Better have your hipwaders and a pack ready, Cadet Lunsford. You might wind up in Grant, Hardy or Pocahontas counties before it's over. Stay warm and dry.

Well here comes that snow... I'll post a picture sometime around.

BuckeyeDEJ;
Regarding my previous post, of course I was kidding. Frankly we in snow territory think most of you Atlantic Seaboarder guys are a little too serious about some snow. As an example, The Cheyenne River Indian reservation has no power heat and water for several weeks due to a chain of blizzards and it hasn't even made the national news once.
http://yankton.net/articles/2010/02/04/news/doc4b6a574c47f19850681887.txt
Proving the closer you are to a media center the more coverage you will get and frightened you will become.

BuckeyeDEJ;
Frankly we in snow territory think most of you Atlantic Seaboarder guys are a little too serious about some snow...

"Atlantic seaboarder types?" 'Scuse me — I'm in Florida. More like Gulf of Mexico surfboarder type! No snow here, not since a couple of weeks ago (for an hour or so)... and before that, 1978.

I believe we are up to 20 inches.

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

It doesn't show signs of stopping
And I've brought some corn for popping
The lights are turned way down low
Let is snow, let it snow, let it snow

When we finally kiss goodnight
How I hate going out in the storm
But if you really hold me tight
All the way home I'll be warm

The fire is slowly dying
And my dear we're still goodbye-ing
As long as you love me so
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow



All the way home I'll be warm
All the way home I'll be warm

The fire is slowly dying
And my dear I'm still goodbye-ing
As long you love me so

Let it snow, Let it Snow, Let it snow
Let it snow, Let is snow, Let is snow
Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow

I promised Pictures, so here you go.



Images provided by NASA

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Heh, wow ... that's, um, some pretty good lake effect.

Heh, wow ... that's, um, some pretty good lake effect.

It was almost blizzard like. 

Heh, wow ... that's, um, some pretty good lake effect.

Not really. The lake effect storms go north across the top of the Appalachians and whack New York and New England, and spill down from there. There's rarely any big snow south of central NJ.

This storm came around the lower end of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and headed north. This is a typical weather pattern that I've watched since I moved to NJ in '59.

Heh, wow ... that's, um, some pretty good lake effect.

Not really. The lake effect storms go north across the top of the Appalachians and whack New York and New England, and spill down from there. There's rarely any big snow south of central NJ.

This storm came around the lower end of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and headed north. This is a typical weather pattern that I've watched since I moved to NJ in '59.

Funny, I always thought the lake-effect snows were the ones that skipped Cleveland and dumped on Akron, Canton and Youngstown. Or skipped Detroit and slammed Lansing and Grand Rapids.

Map showing some of the lake-effect snow areas of the United States.

More here.

Map showing some of the lake-effect snow areas of the United States.

More here.

That map sucks. Totally misses our area which is the NW corner of IN.

It says "some". Got a better one available?

It says "some". Got a better one available?

Wikipedia = FAIL

Pretty harsh there, aren't you? Not all articles are great, nor are all as bad as you make them out to be. The one I linked has a lot of good references behind it. I have a couple of weather guesser friends who happen to agree with what's in the article. One of them may have even contributed.

Wikipedia info is good as the sources that provide it, some of which are great. The C/SrA will learn about it in school someday.