Tornado watch issued until 9 p.m. for D.C. area; widespread damaging winds possible

[IronLionZion]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/08/07/dc-weather-alert-severe-thunderstorms-wind/

The National Weather Service has a declared a rare Level 4 of 5 risk for the area, the first since 2013.

What to know
Widespread storms with the potential for damaging winds, tornadoes, hail, torrential rain and frequent lightning are expected between 4 and 8 p.m. — with the Beltway area most at risk between 5 and 7:30 p.m. The National Weather Service has issued a Level 4 out of 5 risk for severe storms for the first time in about a decade.

A tornado watch is in effect until 9 p.m. A watch means ingredients are in place for severe storms with destructive winds and possibly tornadoes, but that’s not a guarantee and you should stay alert. If a warning for a tornado or a destructive thunderstorm is issued for your location, you should shelter in an interior room, away from windows, at the lowest level of a strong building.

Power outages are likely; charge devices and secure or bring inside loose outdoor items ahead of the storms. Avoid travel during the storms.

OK, first time in 10 years. Be prepared.

[elleng]

1. OYE!

This forecast for southern MD:

5:00 pm Partly CloudyPartly Cloudy 87 °F 97 °F 15 % 0 in 53 % 75 °F 66 % 12 mph S 29.74 in
6:00 pm Partly CloudyPartly Cloudy 86 °F 94 °F 17 % 0 in 51 % 74 °F 68 % 12 mph S 29.73 in
7:00 pm Isolated ThunderstormsIsolated Thunderstorms 84 °F 92 °F 31 % 0 in 60 % 74 °F 72 % 11 mph S 29.73 in
8:00 pm Strong StormsStrong Storms 82 °F 89 °F 65 % 0.01 in 70 % 74 °F 78 % 9 mph SSW 29.73 in
9:00 pm Strong StormsStrong Storms 78 °F 83 °F 61 % 0.02 in 67 % 72 °F 81 % 6 mph S 29.73 in
10:00 pm Scattered Strong StormsScattered Strong Storms 77 °F 82 °F 52 % 0.04 in 64 % 72 °F 86 % 6 mph SSW 29.73 in
11:00 pm Scattered ThunderstormsScattered Thunderstorms 76 °F 81 °F 44 % 0.01 in 62 % 72 °F 87 % 8 mph SSW 29.72 in

[IronLionZion]

2. DC area federal offices have mandatory early departure no later than 3 pm today

yikes, this is sounding serious

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. I remember they did that a few years back ahead of a big snowstorm.

It backfired.

Hmmm. Best turn on channel 5. (Don't let the other DUers know that this is F--O--X.) Sue Palka was terrific. I don't know who it is on there now, but she has big shoes to fill.

Right now (3:05) the weather map is showing lots of lightning between Cumberland and the Paw Paw Bends.

[IronLionZion]

10. I remember being stuck in traffic for 7 hours in a big evening snow storm in January 2011

it was hell and many had it worse than me.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Right into the 5:00PM Orange Tornado Bouffant Court appearance

Is a Higher Power trying to tell us something?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. I don't think anyone has to show up in person at the Prettyman Courthouse today.

Pretty much any filing can be done online.

[IronLionZion]

11. a Higher Power wants us to lock him up

but that has nothing to do with the storm. Orangeface was in court to face his charges last week.

[2naSalit]

4. A large area of the Apaplachian region! LIVE coverage...

[2naSalit]

5. LIVE Coverage - Ryan Hall Y'all...

And Andy Hill. Ryan is out chasing, Hill is coordinating and reporting.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. So what was last Saturday (i.e., July 28)? Chopped liver?

I haven't turned any of my weather radios on, but I think I know what they're going to be doing.

Rerun from a few days ago:

Fri Jul 28, 2023: The hazard alerts just went off on my Eton FR370 weather radio.

As hard of hearing as I am, I had no problem hearing them go off.

Thunderstorms are a-comin'.

It's a discontinued model.

This is a Russian link:

L.L.Bean ETON American Red Cross Radio Emergency Camping Solarlink FR370 Prepper

This is a link to a dealer in the United States:

Eton FR370 AM/FM/WX Emergency Radio

It looks like this, but it's silver-gray, and it doesn't have the American Red Cross logo:



In other words, like the one on the Russian site:

https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/OGgAAOSwLDVhP~p2/$_12.JPG

https://manualzz.com/doc/en/2441083/eton-fr370

Remember Mark Trail:



Source: Mark Trail champions the NOAA Weather Radio, at NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards

Extra super bonus: even if you don't have a weather radio or a scanner app on your phone, there was a DU post a while back that linked to this site where ...

Tue Mar 29, 2022: For Anyone Interested.

You can get into radio listening without spending a penny by taking advantage of WebSDR sites. WebSDR allows you to access public SDRs (Software-Defined Radio) from around the world. It's a smidge technical but once you get the basics down you can operate any of the radios with ease.

websdr.org

Next, if you want to get your own radio receiver on the cheap; you can purchase an SDR kit for under $50. Though $70 would be better spent. ...and the software is free. This is a fair bit more technical, mostly on initial setup, but there are guides available.

I'd post some links but I don't want to get this posted removed for commercial SPAM. Just search for "sdr dongle kit" with your favorite search engine.

Be warned, this rabbit hole is very, very, deep. You'll be looking into building your own antennas in no time.

So go to that site, and look for

NA5B WebSDR in Washington DC area USA. VHF-UHF; 6m, Air Band, 2m and 70cm
http://websdr.us:8902/
FM18KS; 8 users

who is, today, member number 107. It varies from day to day.

The audio should open up to Manassas NOAA weather station KHB36. Or you can hear it here:

https://www.weatherusa.net/radio

[IronLionZion]

9. Probably compensating today for lack of warning for that one.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. It's a beautiful day in Ashland right now.

Sun is shining; birds are singing (I suppose).

[IronLionZion]

13. Northern Maryland got the worst of it

Some of my coworkers had trees fall on their houses in the Baltimore area and further north.

It was quite mild in DC and Virginia.