Friday, May 24, 2013

Episode 163 (5-27-13): Get Ready for the Atlantic Tropical Storm Season

Click to listen to episode (3:34).

TRANSCRIPT


From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of Memorial Day.



This week, we feature sounds for storm preparedness.  To start, have a listen for about 35 seconds and see if you can guess which natural disaster prompted this recording.



MUSIC.



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.  On average, 12 named storms and six hurricanes occurred each year between 1980 and 2010 in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, or Caribbean Sea, according to the National Hurricane Center.



What can you do to prepare for tropical storm events?  Here’s some advice from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.



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, Virginia’s annual Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday takes place during the last week of May.  A variety of storm-preparation items are exempt from the Commonwealth’s sales tax during this period. 



Thanks to Heather Vereb for helping develop this week’s episode, and to Jake Wildwood for permission to use this week’s music.



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

Hurricane Sandy, 12:15 p.m. EDT, 10/29/12; Photo from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Web site, http://www.goes.noaa.gov/browsh.html, accessed 10/29/12, 1:20 p.m.

Acknowledgments:
“Goodnight Irene” is an American folk song of unknown origins.  Jake Wildwood performed this version, accessed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QLz2tntDQg in May 2012 and used with permission.  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 5/23/13).



This episode of Virginia Water Radio was used previously for Episode 112 (week of 5/28/12), which has been archived.



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.  The annual Atlantic hurricane outlook, issued each May, is available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric  Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center, online at http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane.shtml.  Reports on tropical storms as they occur are available from the National Hurricane Center at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/.


Recent Virginia Water News and Other Information
            For news, events, and resources relevant to Virginia's water resources, grouped into categories, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/

Monday, May 13, 2013

Episode 161 (5-13-13): Virginia State Parks and National Kids to Parks Day

Click to listen to episode (2:33).

TRANSCRIPT

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 13, 2013.

This week, we feature another series of mysterious names.  Have a listen for about 30 seconds, and see if you can guess what group of Virginia places includes these names being called out by young Blacksburg residents.  And here’s a hint: they’re all public, popular, and particularly natural, scenic, or historic.


VOICES.

If you guessed Virginia state parks, you’re right!  Colorful and interesting names hint at the varied natural and historic resources—not to mention programs and activities—offered by Virginia’s state-parks system.  Since the June 15, 1936, ceremony at Hungry Mother State Park in Smyth County that marked the opening of Virginia’s first six parks, the Commonwealth’s system has grown to 36 parks covering over 60,000 acres, along with several dozen other natural area preserves and historic sites.  This system will be on special display on May 18, 2013, when Virginia’s parks will be participating in the third annual National Kids to Parks Day, coordinated by the National Park Trust.  Our children and our parks are indeed part of our public trust and our common wealth, so this week or whenever you can, take a kid to a park!


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 

[All Internet addresses mentioned were functional as of 5/13/13]

Location of 35 Virginia state parks (not including Tabb Monument, a one-acre property in Amelia County), as of May 2013.  The parks, with the map abbreviations shown in parentheses, are as follows: Bear Creek Lake (BC), Belle Isle (BI), Breaks Interstate (BK), Caledon (CA), Chippokes Plantation (CP), Claytor Lake (CL), Douthat (DO), Fairy Stone (FS), False Cape (FC), First Landing (FL), Grayson Highlands (GH), High Bridge Trail (HB), Holliday Lake (HL), Hungry Mother (HM), James River (JR), Kiptopeke (KP), Lake Anna (LA), Leesylvania (LE), Mason Neck (MN), Natural Tunnel (NT), New River Trail (NR), Occoneechee (OC), Pocahontas (PO), Sailor's Creek Battlefield Historic (SC), Shenandoah River Raymond R. "Andy" Guest Jr. (SH), Shot Tower (ST), Sky Meadows (SK), Smith Mountain Lake (SM), Southwest Virginia Museum Historical (HM), Staunton River (SR), Staunton River Battlefield (SB), Tabb Monument (not shown on map; this), Twin Lakes (TL), Westmoreland (WE), Wilderness Road (WR), and York River (YR).  Map and list from Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation We site, http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/index.shtml, accessed, 5/13/13.


Acknowledgments:
Thanks to neighbors in Blacksburg for recording Virginia state park names on May 12, 2013, and for participating in the group recording of “Take a kid to a park!”.

Sources and More Information:
Information on “National Kids to Parks Day 2013” was taken from the National Park Trust Web site at http://www.kidstoparks.org/.  Information on Kids to Parks Day activities at Virginia state parks was taken from a May 2, 2013, news release from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), online at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/pr_relz_detail.shtml?id=2013-05-02-15-05-24-32239.  Other information was taken from the DCR’s “Virginia State Parks” Web sites at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/index.shtml and http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/his_parx.shtml.

Recent Virginia Water News and Other Information

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