irM unit gives tornado alerts
THURSDAY. APRIL 13. 1978
By FRANK K. VASOVSKI
May 11, 1970, the National
ther Service (NWS) in Kansas
Mo., alerted its Lubbock of-
to the “unusual instability of
spheric conditions over the
West Texas plains.”
Jiis condition deteriorated fur-
during the afternoon hours, the
period for tornado formation.
t\l 9:35 p.m., a tornado struck
ock, killing 27 persons, injur-
|l,500, destroying 1,040 homes
damaging 8,876. The low
, ,gber of casualties in Lubbock, a
orde is|of 150,000, was credited to the
^rly warning which allowed the
I™™ 1 nidation to seek the safety of a
he a^ter,
pring the period of 1953-1973,
led the nation in the inci-
Ile of tornadoes with 2,364 con-
Bed cases. Oklahoma was second
■ 1,219 cases. Texas also led the
j' J Bm in number of deaths from
Kidoes during the same period
n 301 casualties, barely edging
‘Ntajabaina with 293 deaths. These
m willBes were provided by the Na-
Hous |nal Oceanic and Atmospheric
"iesa dministration (NOAA).
Hous The high incidence of tornadoes
dmin |Texas and adjoining states is at-
oiiltci lilted to the notorious “Tornado
eject l*” stretching along a line run-
TictedBnortheast from Hobbs, N.M. to
Bas City, Mo. and points be-
md.
Bcause of the high nnpredicta-
of tornadoes all states in or
their path use available re-
fces to track their course and to
ce the loss in human lives and
erty, especially during the high
^ Jado incidence months of April,
rteea h and J une '
j “ gexas A&M University s radar
her station located on the 12th
of the Oceanography and
bteorology Building provides se
re weather advisories and warn-
; service to the entire Brazos
liinty.
We have one of the finest, if not
finest facility of this type in the
try,” said Dr. Vance E. Moyer,
;orology professor and Brazos
lunty Civil Defense warning offi-
r.
Moyer made his observation in
ie late afternoon of March 23,
'8, during an emergency opera-
Iconducted by the station in con-
Jction with an unstable weather
stem reported in the general di
ction of “Tornado Alley. Prior
Bysis of that system revealed a
;ential severe weather threat to
,os County.
hades L. Brenton Jr.,
leorological engineer of the sta-
explained that his faeilty re-
eives two worldwide weather
Binaries''each day •and hourly, na-
j§ weather forecasts through the
S terminals at the station. Bren-
and his staff evaluate these re-
and prepare 24-hour routine
casts for Brazos County.
{'Even 72-hour forecasts are made
«s with a fair degree of confi-
ce on the basis of national and
r-county NWS forecasts,” Bren-
said.
• •
Severe weather warnings are fur
nished to the station directly by the
inter-county NOAA office in Waco,
responsible for dissemination of
such warnings to Brazos, Leon,
Madison and Robertson counties.
On the basis of Brenton’s analysis
of March 22, 1978, weather reports,
the station began monitoring the
movement of a squall line approach
ing the central part of Texas from
the northwest along the line extend
ing from Abilene, Texas to
Ardmore, Okla.
At 1 a.m. March 23, Brenton’s
staff agreed that all conditions of the
squall line indicated a strong possi
bility of a severe storm threatening
Brazos County even though a warn
ing was not issued by the Stephen-
ville or Fort Worth NWS radar sta
tions.
All radar stations located along
the estimated path of the approach
ing squall line, including Fort
Worth, Stephenville, Hondo, Aus
tin and Waco NWS stations kept
close watch on the storm, reporting
its movement and changes in its be
havior. Because of the overlap in
their radar reach, information on
the squall line is passed from one
station to another like a football.
The radar weather station on the
university began operating March
23, 1978. Although the range of its
10-cm radar is designed to detect a
target as far as 300 miles away, the
curvature of the earth and distortion
factors reduce the range of the set to
approximately 150 miles. The sta
tion also has a 3-cm radar set for
detailed analysis of cloud formations.
Upon entering an operating radar
facility, one experiences a sensation
like that of a vistor to a movie thea
ter when all lights are extinguished
and the first frames of the feature
are about to appear on the screen.
At first, he is unable to notice other
persons around him and to com
prehend what is going on. It’s like
being involved in a strange ritual
because of tbe subdued lights and
hushed conversation. Strange ter
minology' used by the operating per
sonnel to translate radar screen
images into numerically coded mes
sages adds to the sense of being far
out of an ordinary place.
A steady stream of messages can
be observed being exchanged be
tween the radar station and the ad
jacent control room of the weather
station. Verbal and written reports
are discussed and plotted on the
situation chart or “the box” as it is
called by the operating personnel.
The box represents an approximate
area affected by the storm under
surveillance. It is frequently up
dated to show any change in the
movement and configuration of the
storm.
In the case of the squall line on
March 23, the box had a form of a
huge quadrangle with San Antonio,
Junction, Fort Worth and Lufkin
representing its four corners.
At approximately 5:05 p.m. that
day, the NWS radar station in Fort
Worth began to disseminate severe
weather watch instructions through
the Texas State Network and
cooperating commercial radio and
TV stations. Similar messages began
to appear on TV screens of Brazos
County residents.
At about 9 p.m. it became obvi
ous that the weather system no
longer posed any threat to Brazos
County. Upon reaching the area of
Bryan, the system split into tw'o dis
tinct fragments, one of them skirting
the city to the north and the other
sliding to the south. Both fragments
showed signs of a progressive dissi
pation.
Considerably more exciting was
the experience of the members of
two special Server Storm Intercept
Project (SSIP) teams, which were
dispatched to the area of the distur
bance.
Project SSIP is composed of 30
undergraduate students supervised
by two graudate students. John
Marrs and Judd Ladd, assisted by
Greg Bostwick, a meteorology
senior. The project mission is to
conduct field and laboratory re
search and investigation of all factors
related to the severe weather
phenomena through collection of
samples, observation and reporting
of the behavior of storm systems di
rectly from the area affected by the
disturbance.
Two cars, manned by the SSIP
personnel, left the university about
12:30 p.m. on March 23, for the area
of Stephenville, Texas. After a pre
liminary contact with Waco and
Fort Worth NWS stations, both
teams had collected samples of hail
in the vicinity of Meridian, Hico and
Stephenville. They reported the
movement of the storm system to
the neighboring NWS stations,
HI
ities
Hinds
... That Fri. April 14,
is Clothes Day.
Sponsored by the TAMU Anti-Gay
Task Force (TAMUAGTF), Clothes
Day is a campus effort to show our
opposition of Gays on Campus.
TAMUAGTF members along with
their supporters are urging everyone
to join them in wearing clothes. Friday
April 14 to show our opposition. So
C’Mon — get your clothes out of the
closet & join us Friday.
parts
,geor
said,
hit a
;t city
laska.
lesto
ighis
slept
;ery,"
tr-old
in an
com-
al by
■ived
said
r the
erry
and
iring
n on
:trict
enie
lear-
■and
her
that
Radio Jhaely
CASH FOR BOOKS!
We buy all used books.
Jniversity Bookstore
At.the Northgate”
The Realistic hi-fi receiver
Shootout. You’re lucky if you’ve
waited until now.
HOSPITALITY
COMMITTEE
INTERVIEWS
Being held in MSC
Rm 216 L&M
Tues. AND Wed.
There will be a general information
(fleeting in Room 350 MSC. April 17
at 7:30 p.m.
April 18,
8:00-11:00 a.m.
2:00-5:00 p.m.
'Juptnamba
The benefits of owning Realistic stereo compo
nents (as against Pioneer, Marantz and other
front-runners) should be obvious- But they aren't.
So we explain them every so often, particularly at
model-change-time, which is a happening that
begins today. We agree Realistic and other
famous national brands are in some ways
lookalikes in power, beauty and suggested retail
price. That's where the similarity ends. Realistic is
available only where there's a big Radio Shack
sign out front. Realistic is designed by and
custom-crafted by (or for) Radio Shack. No one
else. That means we sell direct. Direct in every
state, in more than 9 countries (including Holland
and Australia, for example). We service what we
sell. And since we sell more receivers, probably,
than any other chain of audio shops in the world,
that means The Shack® has more buying power
and dedicated salespeople than anybody- One
thing we don't have many of is rugs on the floor.
Millionaires may not like our low-key, low-cost
environment but music lovers do- Like Peter Nero,
who knows how to pinch a penny. Like Arthur
Fiedler, our friend and customer since about
1948. One more thing: this sale is not on at
Pacific, Atlantis, Tech, Custom or Federated.
Only at Radio Shack.
STA-64
reduced 40 dollars
Realistic STA-16. 3V2 watts per
channel, minimum RMS at 8 ohms
from 30-20.000 Hz with no more than
0.9%THD. Anything lessthanthisisn't
a hi-fi component. #31-2070. Catalog
price $1 29.95. Shootout price
$89.95.
Eddie Dominguez ’66
Joe Arciniega ’74
reduced 50 dollars
Realistic STA-21. 7 watts per
channel, minimum RMS at 8 ohms
from 20-20,000 Hz, with no more than
0.9% THD. Priced like a radio,
engineered like a receiver. #31-2071.
Catalog price $1 59 95. Shootout
price $109.95.
each reduced 100 dollars
Realistic STA-64. 16 watts per channel, rninimum RMS at 8
ohms from 20-20,000 Hz, with no more than 0 8% THD
#31-2073. Catalog price $249 95 Shootout price SI49.95.
Realistic STA-84. 25 watts per channel, rninimum RMS at 8
ohms from 20-20.000 Hz. with no more than 0.7% T HD
#31 -2062. Catalog price $299 95 Shootout price $199.95.
Realistic STA-235- 55 Watts per channel, minimum RMS
at 8 ohms from 20-20.000 Hz, with no more than 0.3% THD
#31-2065. Audio Catalog price S429.95. Shootout price
$329.95.
reduced 70 dollars
Realistic STA-52. 12 watts per
channel, minimum RMS at 8 ohms
from 20-20,000 Hz, with no more than
0.9% THD. The case is walnut veneer,
not an imitation. #31-2072 Catalog
price $1 99.95. Shootout price
$129.95.
While Supplies Last
1125 VILLA MARIA
846-7384
Open 1CM> Mon.-Sat.
police and motorists, requesting as
sistance in dissemination of the up
dated information on the storm to
the residents in the area.
Late in the evening hours the
storm began moving toward Fort
Worth and Dallas. At 8:25 p.m.
SSIP learned that a tornado funnel
touched down in Plano, north of
Dallas, destroying one mobile home
and damaging five others. No
casualties were reported. Both
teams returned home late that
night.
A person even vaguely familiar
with the destructive force of a tor
nado or storm may be surprised by
the absence of panic or confusion at
the station during its operation.
Jack Canglose, who is responsible
for alerting the county population in
case of real emergency explains
why.
“Approximately 2,000 storms of
various size are in progress at any
moment worldwide, ’ he said. Un
less a clear danger exists which
could result in loss of life or serious
damage to property, Canglose is re
luctant to activate warning sirens.
He is certain the public will be
adequately informed what to do in
case of real emergency.
Canglose urges that the public
stay tuned to local radio and TV sta
tions during actual emergencies and
follow the instructions while he and
his colleagues follow the storm.
The Curiosity Shop presents a new arrival
of Victoria Bags in new spring pastel
j \ V f’rM-||J , £ ** j
v \ */ / ** , j
* .k, ** *4- 1 iWj tVj,* m** . t
; ***. V VAy *** J
| ********** \ kMmSrkj ********* |
J *** presents **** J
l Vince, Vance, & The Valiants l
* April 17th *
} "hjsASO's Rock 'n Roll Revival’' |j
KNIT SHIRTS
Solid comfort with style and taste. Coordinating or
contrasting collars on easy-care bodies. Come see
the finest selection of stripes and solids. From $15.00.
Student accounts are available.
david
shellenberger's
men's wear
Townshire Center • 1919 Texas Ave. • Bryan
Register for week-long Caribbean Cruise from Townshire
Merchants. Drawing April 29.