User:Bowser423/Sandbox

TC!

A Tropical Cyclone is some things, but there are many things it is not.

General

A tropical cyclone is not your girlfriend

You do not need to defend a storm's strength, status, or severity from scrutiny by wikipedians or meteorologists. If you are a hurricaniphile, exercise restraint in referring to a system as having become a tropical cyclone and/or referring to a strength increase or track towards landfall. Your desire for a TC to be present and/or strong does not cause it to be such. Likewise, if you are a hurricaniphobe, your dislike of TCs will not make them go away.

Hazards

A tropical cyclone is not a point

A tropical cyclone is tracked based on its center of circulation or eye, however, hazards are not limited to to this area (and an eye may in fact be the only non-hazardous location in a storm). This is important because the places where a TC does not "go" often experience very severe conditions.

A tropical cyclone is not (always) tropical

A tropical cyclone may strike Hilton Head, SC; Miami, FL; Galveston, TX; or New York, NY. That's right! NYC and absolutely ANY U.S. coastal location can be affected by direct TC strike (often called a "direct hit").

A tropical cyclone is not a nor'easter

A tropical cyclone which skirts the eastern seaboard without making landfall is not a nor'easter. They have entirely different characteristics, and often TCs make far closer approaches to the coast, lacking the exclusively northeast winds of a nor'easter.

A tropical cyclone is not a coastal storm

Despite popular misconceptions, a tropical cyclone may in fact have its most severe effects inland, such as with TS Allison or TS Erin.

A tropical cyclone is not a tornado

Though they have comparable winds. The damaging effects of a TC extend for hundreds of miles, versus a 1-to-2-mile-wide damage path from a tornado. TCs also pose the risks of areal flooding, storm surge, and high surf.

A tropical cyclone is not a tsunami

Likewise to the previous, hazards from a TC are not limited to storm surge and surf, but also include wind, tornadoes, and areal flooding.

A tropical cyclone is not the Apocalypse

Nor is it armageddon, doomsday, or by any other means the end of the world. Do not write overly dramatic articles about the potential devastation of ongoing tropical cyclones, especially if you do not have reliable sources that identify this danger.

A tropical cyclone is not (usually) Hurricane Katrina

This is mostly covered by the previous. There will never be another TD, TS, or Hurricane named Katrina due to name retirement. Do not write articles which are overly dramatic about potential damage from ongoing TCs.

A tropical cyclone is not a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado

A hurricane landfall, with the exception of an extreme wind warning, does not warrant "TAKE COVER NOW!. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOUSE!." Also, In general, wikipedia is not a severe weather alerting service. Don't write weather alerts to the readers.

A tropical cyclone is not hype

Blowing off the dangers of a TC is, well, dangerous. Do not tell the readers not to be concerned about an approaching storm. This does not mean that no hype surrounds TCs, only that ongoing TCs are not to be taken as hype and nothing more.

A tropical cyclone does not turn this, that, or the other way

Perhaps this is a "does not" rather than an "is not" statement, but that is unimportant. Do not write into an article that tropical cyclones aiming for a location usually/always/generally make a path change and "miss" said location. This reinforces or incites dangerous complacency which most likely already exists in that community. It is far better to not in the article that that area is likely to be hit, or at least has a significant chance of being hit, by a tropical cyclone. Discrediting "always turns" myths is constructive in preventing TC deaths.

Definition/Characteristics

A tropical cyclone is not an MCV

Or perhaps the other way around is more important. Tropical cyclones can form from MCVs, but an MCV is not automatically a tropical cyclone. Be careful what you call a tropical cyclone.

A tropical cyclone is not an extratropical cyclone

Perhaps you are new to tropical cyclones. If you are not, this is no news to you, but a TC is not an ETC, and an ETC is not a TC. They form under completely different conditions.

A tropical cyclone is not a blizzard

A TC and a Blizzard often receive the same TWC coverage and media hype, but the similarities end there.

TC

• Precip: Rain
• Wind: 25-200 MPH
• Threats: Coastal/lakeshore flooding, tornadoes, areal flooding, river flooding, wind.
• Timespan: Days to weeks.

Blizzard

• Precip: Snow, sometimes including Sleet
• Wind: 35-100 MPH
• Threats: Road hazard, heavy snow, low visibility, (occasionally) coastal/lakeshore flooding, thundersnow, wind.
• Timespan: Hours to days.

A tropical cyclone is not the only kind of cyclone

Though the word is often associated with indian ocean and southern hemisphere TCs, a TC is not the only kind of cyclone. Any closed low pressure circulation is a cyclone. Even a tornado is a kind of cyclone.

WAME

Wikipedia Alert Message Encoding (WAME) is a standard used to reference warnings on Wikipedia. Warnings, when used, should be given 12-24 hours in advance. Watches should be used 24-48 hours in advance. For example, if consensus on a WP:AfD is to delete and debate ends within 24 hours, it would be proper to post a Deletion Warning on their talk page. This does not apply to Speedy deletion, because a separate warning exists for that. A alert can be issued in an essay or any talk page.

Event codes

Event Code	Event Description	Event Level
BKW	Block Warning (warns that a block is imminent if actions continue)	WRN
BKA	Block Watch (block is possible if actions continue)	WAT
CBW	Cabal Warning (cabal formation strongly suspected OR cabal presence likely on wiki)	WRN
CBA	Cabal Watch (cabal formation suspected OR caba presence possible on wiki)	WAT
CNW	Conspiracy Warning (a conspiracy to vandalize a particular article or group of articles is likely occurring)	WRN
CNA	Conspiracy Watch (a conspiracy to vandalize a particular article or group of articles may be occurring)	WAT
DLW	Deletion Warning (An article is on deletion row within the next 12-24 hours)	WRN
DLA	Deletion Watch (An article may be on deletion row within the next 24-48 hours)	WAT
MGW	Merge Warning (An article is expected to be merged within 24 hours)	WRN
MGA	Merge Watch (an article may be merged within 48 hours)	WAT
ORW	Orc Warning (a user is strongly suspected of being an orc OR the presence of orcs is likely on the wiki)	WRN
ORA	Orc Watch (a user is suspected of being an orc OR the presence of orcs is possible on the wiki)	WAT
PAW	Personal Attack Warning (a post is strongly suspected of being a personal attack)	WRN
PAA	Personal Attack Watch (a post is strongly suspected of being a personal attack OR a user is suspected of being likely to commit personal attacks)	WAT
SDW	Speedy Deletion Warning	WRN
SDA	Speedy Deletion Watch	WAT
SPW	Spam Warning	WRN
SPA	Spam Watch	WAT
TRW	Troll Warning (trolls are a current problem)	WRN
TRA	Troll Watch (trolls are becoming a problem)	WAT
UMW	Userbox Misuse Warning (use of a userbox is strongly suspected/confirmed of being fraudulent)	WRN
UMA	Userbox Misuse Watch (use of a userbox is suspected of being fraudulent)	WAT
VAW	Vandalism Warning (an article is subject to frequent vandalism)	WRN
VAA	Vandalism Watch (an article is developing a trend of being frequently vandalized)	WAT

VAW test

{{VAW}}

DCWS

Template:Infobox Government agency The Dublin Coffman Weather Service (DCWS), once known as the ShadowClan Weather Service, is one of the services that make up Dublin Coffman Weather (DCWX). It is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.

The DCWS is tasked with providing "Weather information and warnings, including meteorological, hydrological, seismological, vulcanological, and UV radiadion" for Ohio, with a special focus on Central Ohio. This is done through a collection of specialized, however currently colocated centers, and 1 local weather forecast office (LFO). The Specialized Centers, currently, are the DCWS Winter Storm Center, Hurricane Center, Storm Forecasting Center, and Solar Radiation Center. the DCWS may also do forecasts for other areas, when resources are available to do so or especially during major events. Since the DCWS was founded as a service to anyone and everyone it could help, it permits anyone to redistribute, disseminate, copy, paste, view, share, or post most of its forecast products and warnings, provided that the product header header, the Dublin Coffman Individual Alert Code (DCIAC - pronounced dee-see-ack) if one is present, and issuer name remain present. The DCWS does not consider itself to be in competition with the National Weather Service, and supports them fully. In many Severe Weather Watches (-WA), They even note to not wait for their warnings if warnings have already been issued by the national weather service.

History

In June of 2010 the ShadowClan Weather Service was formed with the purpose of attempting to forecast hurricanes. With the declining popularity of the ShadowClan name, and a strong sense of school spirit felt within the agency, it was renamed the Dublin Coffman Weather Service in late 2010, named after Dublin Coffman High School.

Forecasting

The DCWS issues as many forecasts as possible to a large variety of people. Severe weather products are top priority, followed by requested forecasts from organizations, requested forecasts from individuals, and finally general forecasts for large areas.

Dublin

A significant portion of DCWS forecasting is directed toward the public of the City of Dublin, Ohio. Most commonly, these are severe weather outlooks and general forecasts.

DCWS forecasts are available on request. Severe weather alerts are issued for Dublin, Chicago, IL, and any large-area severe storms such as hurricanes and blizzards. Here is one example of a Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued by the Dublin Coffman Weather Service:

BULLETIN - DCAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
DUBLIN COFFMAN WEATHER SERVICE IN DUBLIN OHIO
145 PM EDT 11 JULY 2011

THE DUBLIN COFFMAN WEATHER SERIVCE IN DUBLIN OHIO HAS ISSUED A...

*SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR THE DUBLIN AREA IN CENTRAL OHIO

*UNTIL 300 PM.

*AT 140 PM... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE STORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING QUARTER
SIZE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS TO 70 MPH. THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR
BELLEFONTAINE... MOVING SOUTHEAST AT AROUND 50 MPH.

*LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO DUBLIN... HILLIARD... COLUMBUS...
POLARIS... WESTERVILLE... AND EASTON.

*PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING WIND DAMAGE... AND IS STRENGTHENING!. TAKE
COVER NOW!. GO TO A STURDY STRUCTURE FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY... AND STAY AWAY FROM
WINDOWS!.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING MEANS THAT THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED WITH
SUSTAINED WINDS OR GUSTS OF 58 MPH OR HIGHER... 3/4 IN. (PENNY SIZE) OR LARGER HAIL...
AND/OR TORNADOES. DRIVING RAIN IS ALSO LIKELY... WHICH CAN LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING.
DO NOT DRIVE INTO A FLASH FLOOD.

&&

/O.KDUB.ALT.TS.W.201107111345.201107111500.O/

$$

STAR

Radiation

The DCWS's mission includes protecting the public from harmful UV radiation. This is accomplished at the DCWS Solar Radiation Center with the Excessive UV Warning, Excessive UV Watch, and High UV Advisory.

Tropical

The DCWS Hurricane Center (DCHC) is responsible for monitoring tropical weather in the Atlantic, and central and eastern Pacific Ocean, analogous to the National Weather Service's [[National Hurricane Center}. In addition to routine outlooks and discussions, they initiate advisories and discussions on individual tropical cyclones, as needed. If a tropical cyclone threatens the United States or its territories, individual WFOs begin issuing statements detailing the expected local effects. The following tropical weather products are issued by the NWS:

• Routine Products
  • Tropical Weather Outlook (a.k.a. Tropical Update) (TRP-OU)
• Active Tropical Cyclone Products
  • Tropical/Subtropical Cyclone Public Advisory
  • Tropical Storm/Hurricane Watches or Warnings (HUR-W, HUR-WA, TRS-W, TRS-WA)
  • Inland Tropical Storm/Hurricane Watches or Warnings (IHU-W, IHU-WA, ITR-W, ITR-WA)
• Local Forecast Office (LFO) Products
  • Hurricane Local Statement (HUR-LS) or Tropical Storm Local Statement (TRS-LS)

Event-driven products

The DCWS has adopted the multi-tier concept that was created by the National Weather Service for forecasting or alerting the public to all types of hazardous weather. These are:

Outlook - A Weather Outlook is issued regularly addressing potentially hazardous weather or hydrologic events that may occur in the next several days. The outlook will include information about potential severe thunderstorms, heavy rain or flooding, winter weather, extremes of heat or cold, etc. It is intended to provide information to those who need considerable lead time to prepare for the event. Other outlooks are issued on an event-driven basis.

Watch - A watch is used when the risk of a hazardous weather or hydrologic event has increased significantly, but its occurrence, location or timing is still uncertain. It is intended to provide enough lead time so those who need to set their plans in motion can do so. A watch means that hazardous weather is possible, but not imminent. People should have a plan of action in case a storm threatens and they should listen for later information and possible warnings especially when planning travel or outdoor activities.

Warning - A warning is issued when a hazardous weather or hydrologic event is occurring, imminent or expected. A warning means weather conditions pose a threat to life or property. People in the path of the storm need to take protective action.

Advisory - An advisory is issued when a hazardous weather or hydrologic event is occurring, imminent, expected, or likely. Advisories are for less serious conditions than warnings, that cause significant inconvenience and if caution is not exercised, could lead to situations that may threaten life or property.

Special Weather Statement (SWX-S) - A special weather statement is issued when something rare or unusual is occurring. These are usually triggered by sudden changes in meteorological conditions. The statements are to be taken as warnings for residents of a specific area. The warning generally states that an area might be at risk for a slight weather danger. Not all weather statements are warnings, though. Other times, statements describe informative facts about a weather system; such as local snowfall. Usually a SWX-S means that the condition is not one which could favor a new alert type.

Dublin Coffman Alert System

The Dublin Coffman Alert System (or DCAS) is an alerting system designed to disseminate serious information rapidly. Implementation of the DCAS is area-based right now, and the only TV broadcast who works with the DCAS is Dublin Coffman High School's DCTV program. Software continues in development for future implementation of DCAS functions.

Technology

Siren

The StormWARN Warning Siren is currently in development by Coffman Warning Signal, a division of the DCWS. This would be an advanced system for using the Dublin Coffman Alert System on an outdoor warning scale. Completion is not slated for any particular date.

Organization

The following forecast offices are official parts of the Dublin Coffman Weather Service

• Dublin Coffman Weather Service
  • Local Forecast Offices
    • DCWS Forecast Office in Dublin, Ohio (KDUB) - standard forecasts and warnings on a basic storm- and event- scale level. Larger events are handled by the Specialized Forecast Centers.
  • Specialized Forecast Centers
    • DCWS Hurricane Center (KHUR) - tropical weather, including hurricanes (HUR-W), typhoons (TYP-W), tropical storms (TS-W), and tropical depressions (SC-A)
    • DCWS Winter Storm Center (KWSC) - winter weather, including freezes (FRZ-W), winter storms (WS-W), blizzards (BL-W), ice storms (ICE-W), snow (SNO-W or WW-A) and freezing rain (FZR-A) events, wind chill (WCH-W), extreme cold (XCD-W), and early starts/late continuations of wintry conditions (WSE-W) beyond the meteorological winter (December 1 - March 1)
    • DCWS Storm Forecasting Center (KSFC) - tornado (TOW-WA)/severe thunderstorm (TS-WA) risks and watches
    • DCWS Solar Radiation Center (KSRC) - High UV Advisories (HUV-A)/Excessive UV Warnings (XUV-W)

Fanbase

The DCWS is recognized highly in the City of Dublin and particularly at the location for which it is named, Dublin Coffman High School. In these locations and a few others, forecasters for the DCWS are regularly approached for forecasts or to compliment their forecasting.

New Alert Types

The DCWS has gone beyond conventional alert types in the event where their would not adequately warn of the situation. The best example of this is the development of the Severe Thundersnow Warning (TSN-W). This alert type was developed in response to an event from January 31-February 2, 2011, which caused extreme Blizzard conditions in the Chicago area. During a particularly extreme portion of the storm, 70 MPH winds developed along with thunder and lightning, creating a Thundersnow. A Blizzard Warning (BL-W) was already in effect, so the only answer was to issue a Severe Thunderstorm Warning (TS-W). The criteria for a TS-W were technically met, and a "thunderstorm with winds 58 MPH or higher, hail 3/4" or larger, tornadoes, or flash floods" did occur (particularly the thunderstorm part and the wind part), however, confusion resulted from the TS-W, as Severe Thunderstorms are associated with heavy rain which was not present. In response, the DCWS went back later and added a new alert type, using a fictitious prototype based on the Chicago event. This is the prototype:

BULLETIN - DCAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

SEVERE THUNDERSNOW WARNING
DUBLIN COFFMAN WEATHER SERVICE DUBLIN OH
712 PM EDT 1 FEBRUARY 2011

THE DUBLIN COFFMAN WEATHER SERVICE IN DUBLIN OHIO HAS ISSUED A…

*SEVERE THUNDERSNOW WARNING FOR BLIZZARD THUNDERSNOW FOR THE ENTIRE CHICAGO AREA INCLUDING
THE COUNTIES OF COOK… DEKALB… DUPAGE… GRUNDY… KANE… KENDALL… MCHENRY… LAKE… LASALLE…
KANKAKEE… AND WILL IN NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AS WELL AS JASPER… LAKE… NEWTON… LAPORTE… AND PORTER
COUNTIES IN NORTHWEST INDIANA… KENOSHA AND RACINE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN… AND ALL
CITIES INCLUDED IN THEM.

*UNTIL 915 PM.

*AT 710 PM… DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A BLIZZARD CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SNOWFALL RATES TO 2 INCHES
PER HOUR… THUNDER AND LIGHTNING… AND DAMAGING WINDS TO 70 MPH. THIS DANGEROUS BLIZZARD WAS
WIDESPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE CHICAGO AREA AND ONGOING. WIND DAMAGE FROM THIS STORM WILL BE
SIMILAR TO THAT PRODUCED BY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS… WINDCHILLS WILL REMAIN DANGEROUSLY LOW…
AND SNOW WILL RAPIDLY BURY ANY OBJECT LEFT OUTDOORS.

*PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
TAKE COVER INDOORS AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS!. THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF BLOWING OUT WINDOWS AND
VENTURING OUTDOORS MAY RESULT IN RAPID FROSTBITE!. DRIVING IN THIS STORM IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS
DUE TO HIGH WINDS AND EXTREME SNOWFALL RATES.

&&

/O.ALT.KDUB.TSN.W.201102011912.201102012115.O/

$$

STAR

See also

• National Weather Service

External links

• Dublin Coffman Weather Channel

TSN-W

In Dublin Coffman Weather Service (DCWS) terminology, a Severe Thundersnow Warning (DCATE Code: TSN-W) is a warning issued when a dangerous Winter Storm is expected to bring winds of 58 MPH or higher or hail at least as large as quarters, in addition to thunder and lightning, to a specific location. The warning is issued as soon as thunder, as well as the severe criteria, become imminent or occurring in an area.

The warning is to be issued for the smallest area possible. It was developed in response to confusion resulting from the severe conditions of the January 31 – February 2, 2011 North American winter storm. The DCWS office in Dublin issued 15 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for areas that would not experience a rain-producing Thunderstorm, but would experience wind speeds and precipitation rates commonly associated with severe thunderstorms, as well as thunder and lightning. The Severe Thundersnow Warning is now expected to be used in these situations.

Example Severe Thundersnow Warning

This is an example Severe Thundersnow warning based on the January 31 – February 2, 2011 North American winter storm.

BULLETIN - DCAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

SEVERE THUNDERSNOW WARNING
DUBLIN COFFMAN WEATHER SERVICE DUBLIN OH
712 PM EDT 1 FEBRUARY 2011

THE DUBLIN COFFMAN WEATHER SERVICE IN DUBLIN OHIO HAS ISSUED A…

*SEVERE THUNDERSNOW WARNING FOR BLIZZARD THUNDERSNOW FOR THE ENTIRE CHICAGO AREA
INCLUDING THE COUNTIES OF COOK… DEKALB… DUPAGE… GRUNDY… KANE… KENDALL… MCHENRY…
LAKE… LASALLE… KANKAKEE… AND WILL IN NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AS WELL AS JASPER… LAKE…
NEWTON… LAPORTE… AND PORTER COUNTIES IN NORTHWEST INDIANA… KENOSHA AND RACINE
COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN… AND ALL CITIES INCLUDED IN THEM.

*UNTIL 915 PM.

*AT 710 PM… DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A BLIZZARD CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SNOWFALL RATES TO
2 INCHES PER HOUR… THUNDER AND LIGHTNING… AND DAMAGING WINDS TO 70 MPH. THIS DANGEROUS
BLIZZARD WAS WIDESPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE CHICAGO AREA AND ONGOING. WIND DAMAGE FROM
THIS STORM WILL BE SIMILAR TO THAT PRODUCED BY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS… WINDCHILLS WILL
REMAIN DANGEROUSLY LOW… AND SNOW WILL RAPIDLY BURY ANY OBJECT LEFT OUTDOORS.

*PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
TAKE COVER INDOORS AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS!. THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF BLOWING OUT WINDOWS
AND VENTURING OUTDOORS MAY RESLT IN RAPID FROSTBITE!. DRIVING IN THIS STORM IS EXTREMELY
DANGEROUS DUE TO HIGH WINDS AND EXTREME SNOWFALL RATES.

&&

/O.KDUB.ALT.TSN.W.201102011912.201102012115.O/

$$

STAR

See also

Severe weather terminology (United States)
Blizzard warning
Severe thunderstorm warning