X Band

This is supposed to be Thursday's post, and I've scheduled it to post at midnight Thursday a.m.  Keep in mind, though, as you read it that I'm writing at 11 p.m. Wednesday night.


The X band is a segment of the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of X band is rather indefinitely set at approximately 7.0 to 11.2 gigahertz (GHz). In radar engineering, the frequency range is specified by the IEEE at 8.0 to 12.0 GHz.


X band is used in radar applications including continuous-wave, pulsed, single-polarization, dual-polarization, synthetic aperture radar, and phased arrays. X band radar frequency sub-bands are used in civil, military, and government institutions for weather monitoring, air traffic control, maritime vessel traffic control, defense tracking, and vehicle speed detection for law enforcement.


I'm watching the weather on Fox 5 news.  The biggest system of storm cells in several years has just plowed through Alabama and is barreling through north-west Georgia.  I'm in Douglas county, about 25 miles from Atlanta.  So far it has just been windy and about 15 minutes ago, the rain started, so there is no panicking and running to the basement quite yet.  But if it comes anywhere near Atlanta, it will hit us first.

THIS IS NOT OK!!!

50 people dead in Alabama.
One of the news reports showed video footage of a tornado in Tuscaloosa that leveled the town.  The base of the thing was over a mile wide! !?!?!?  Yikes!  The news anchor said one of the government buildings is missing.


I just found a video of it:




The cell down by LaGrange is coming up towards Newnan, which is about an hour-ish south of us.

I'm grateful for X band, that makes those radar maps possible.  I'm going to bed, but keeping an ear out for the tornado sirens.  I have friends in all of the areas that are being pummeled and I'm not at all wanting it to come anywhere near my house.

Gonna be a long night.

UPDATE:
We're all fine here in West GA this morning (7 a.m. EST).  If there were any bad thunderstorms, I didn't hear them.  Alabama and part of GA have been declared disaster areas.  Please keep all of the south east in your prayers as we recover from the severe weather.