Episode 112 (Week of May 28, 2012): Tropical Storm Season and Preparedness

Audio archived 5-27-13.  This episode's sounds and information were redone in Episode 163, 5-27-13.

Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.

TRANSCRIPT

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 28, 2012.

This week we feature sounds for storm preparedness.  To start, have a listen for about 25 seconds and see if you can guess which natural disaster prompted this recording.

PAUSE FOR SOUND.  “Goodnight Irene” start at 0:20; end at 0:45. 

If you guessed Hurricane Irene, you’re right!  Rain from that storm in August 2011 is the background of this recording by Jake Wildwood.  The Atlantic tropical storm season officially runs from June 1 through November 30.  But nature doesn’t always follow the official season—2012’s first two named storms, Alberto and Beryl, arrived in May.

The National Hurricane Center has forecasted that the 2012 season will be “near normal,” with nine to 15 named storms expected.  So, what can you do to prepare?  Here’s some advice from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

PAUSE FOR SOUND.  VDEM Public Service Announcement: 30 seconds.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency offers some additional tips to prepare for tropical storms.  First, have an evacuation plan.  As a storm approaches, listen for National Weather Service updates.  If you shelter in your house, stay in an interior, windowless room on the lowest level.  Once a storm has passed, seek out disaster relief instructions, continue to watch for flooding, and be alert for downed power lines, gas leaks, and other hazards.

Finally, if you need to stock up on emergency supplies, the end of May is a particularly good time in Virginia, because the Commonwealth’s annual Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday runs May 25 to May 31. 

Thanks to Jake Wildwood for permission to use this week’s music, and to Heather Vereb for writing this week’s script.

BRIEF PAUSE – SHIP’S BELL - BRING IN CLOSING MUSIC AS BACKGROUND.

For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

SHOW NOTES 

Acknowledgments: “Goodnight Irene” is an American folk song of unknown origins.  Jake Wildwood performed this version, used with permission, which is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QLz2tntDQg.  The Virginia Department of Emergency Management public service announcement used in this episode can be found at http://www.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia/stayinformed/hurricanes (as of 5/29/12).

Sources: Information for this episode, and many other tips on hurricane preparedness, can be accessed from the following sources: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (http://www.ready.gov/hurricanes) and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (http://www.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia/stay-informed/hurricane/preparingforhurricanes).  Details regarding the hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday can be found at http://www.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia/stay-informed/hurricanes/sales-tax-holiday and http://www.governor.virginia.gov/News/viewRelease.cfm?id=1266.  Information on the 2012 Atlantic hurricane outlook is available in “NOAA predicts a near-normal 2012 Atlantic hurricane season,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) News Release, 5/24/12.  Reports on storms are available at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/.

Recent Virginia Water News

            For news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.

Water Meetings and Other Events

            For events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/.  The site includes a list of Virginia government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.

Episode 111 (Week of May 21, 2012): Safe Boating Week

Click to listen to episode (3:12).

Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.

TRANSCRIPT

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 21, 2012.

This week, we feature another series of mystery sounds.  Have a listen for about 15 seconds, and see if you can guess what kind of water activity, where those sounds are heard, is the goal of a special week in late May.

SOUND.

If you guessed safe boating, you’re right!  Those were boats on Virginia’s New River on May 19, the first day of National Safe Boating Week for 2012.  As part of the activities for the week, the National Safe Boating Council and the National Weather Service have produced a series of public service messages on recreational boating safety.  Let’s have a listen for about 30 seconds to the message on one of the most important boater-safety topics—life jackets.

SOUND: SAFE BOATING COUNCIL/NWS PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT.

Besides this and other  information from the National Safe Boating Council, plenty of information on what you should do—and what you are required to do—to stay safe on the water is available from the U.S. Coast Guard and from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.  According to the Coast Guard, over 240,000 motor boats were registered in Virginia in 2011, and of course thousands of canoes, sailboats, and other non-motorized boats also use Virginia waters.  If you plan to be in one of these vessels, please make sure that you know how to have a safe voyage.

For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

SHOW NOTES 

Acknowledgments and Sources: The public service announcement audio on life jackets was taken from the National Weather Service’s Web site http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/marine/safeboating/, 5/21/12.  Information on boat registrations in Virginia was taken from the U.S. Coast Guard report, “Recreational Boat Statistics 2011,” available online (as PDF) at http://www.uscgboating.org/assets/1/workflow_staging/Publications/557.PDF, 5/21/12.  More information on recreational boating safety is available from the National Safe Boating Council’s Web site at http://www.safeboatingcouncil.org/, from the U.S. Coast Guard’s “Boating Safety Resource Center” Web site at http://www.uscgboating.org/, and from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ “Boating” Web site and the “Virginia Watercraft Owner’s Guide” at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/boating/.

Recent Virginia Water News

            For news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.

Water Meetings and Other Events

            For events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/.  The site includes a list of Virginia government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.

Episode 110 (Week of May 14, 2012): A Walk Across Virginia

Click to listen to episode (4:37).

Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.

TRANSCRIPT

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 14, 2012.

This week, we feature the May 9, 2012, start of a 42-day, 400-mile walk across Virginia to explore the Commonwealth’s water resources and meet people working to protect them.  Have a listen for about three minutes.

MUSIC AND SOUNDS  - ABOUT 3:22.

Laurel plans to reach Northampton County’s Hog Island and the Atlantic Ocean on June 19.  You can follow her walk across Virginia at http://walkacrossvirginia.blogspot.com/.  Thanks to Whitetop Mountain Band and Arhoolie Records for permission to use excerpts from the song, “Banks of New River,” and good luck, Laurel!

For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

SHOW NOTES 

Acknowledgments and Sources: “Banks of New River,” from the 2008 album “Bull Plus 10%,” is copyright Whitetop Mountain Band and Arhoolie Records, used with permission.  This music was used previously by Virginia Water Radio in Episode 109, 5-7-12.  More information about the Whitetop Mountain Band is available from their website: http://whitetopmountainband.tripod.com/index.html.  Information about the Center for Watershed Protection, where Laurel is a stormwater and watershed planner (in the Charlottesville, Va., office), is available online at http://www.cwp.org/.

Recent Virginia Water News

            For news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.

Water Meetings and Other Events

            For events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/.  The site includes a list of Virginia government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.

Episode 109 (Week of May 7, 2012): "Banks of New River" by Whitetop Mountain Band

Click to listen to episode (2:47).

Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.

TRANSCRIPT

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 7, 2012.  Our guest host this week is Emily Whitesell, who wrote and recorded this episode in 2011 as a Virginia Tech English Department intern for the Virginia Water Resources Research Center.

This week we feature a selection from a Virginia-based band that takes its name from the 3^rd-highest mountain in the Commonwealth.  Have a listen for about a minute.

MUSIC.

You’ve been listening to part of “Banks of New River,” performed by the Whitetop Mountain Band on their 2008 album, “Bull Plus 10%,” from Arhoolie Records.  The melancholy lover in this song sits beside the New River, a well-known landmark of Southwest Virginia.  Situated near the Eastern Continental Divide, the northward-flowing New distinguishes itself from many other Virginia rivers that flow south toward the Atlantic Coast.  The 320-mile-long river starts as two streams in North Carolina and continues its journey through Virginia.  After joining the Kanawha River in West Virginia, water from the New River continues northward and westward to empty into the Ohio River, then the Mississippi, and finally the Gulf of Mexico.

For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

SHOW NOTES 

Acknowledgments: “Banks of New River” and “Bull Plus 10%” are copyright Whitetop Mountain Band and Arhoolie Records, used with permission.  More information about the Whitetop Mountain Band is available from their website: http://whitetopmountainband.tripod.com/index.html.

This episode replaces the "Water Sounds and Music" segment of Episode 55, 2-28-11.  Patrick Fay helped produce parts of this episode that were recorded in 2011.

Sources: Information on the New River and Whitetop Mountain was taken from the following sources:  Frits Van der Leeden, The Environmental Almanac of Virginia (1998), Tennyson Press, Lexington, Virginia; Virginia Explorer (Winter 2000), Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville; and Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “New River,” accessed at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=163, 5/7/12.  Information about the watersheds into which the New River flows is available from the U.S. EPA’s Surf Your Watershed Web site at http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm.

Recent Virginia Water News

            For news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.

Water Meetings and Other Events

            For events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/.  The site includes a list of Virginia government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.