CSU FORECAST TEAM SEES BELOW AVERAGE
OCTOBER
Following one of the most active August storm seasons on record and an above
average September, William Gray and Philip Klotzbach of the Colorado State
University (CSU) hurricane forecast team in an early September seasonal
update indicated the worst might be over for this year.
The team’s October-only forecast predicts three named storms, one hurricane
and no major hurricanes—slightly below the long-term average for October.
The lower October forecast is due in large part to very warm equatorial
sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific. The team expects no significant
storm activity in November.
The long-term average number of named storms through August is 4.2, the
average number of hurricanes is 2.4 and the average number of major hurricanes
is 0.7. According to Gray, August alone witnessed 86 percent of the average
season’s entire tropical storm activity.
Gray and his team had called for four named storms, three hurricanes and
one intense hurricane in their early August forecast. “Although we
expected above-average activity in August, we greatly underestimated the
amount of activity that actually occurred,” he said. “There is
no way we could have anticipated the unusually high amount of the August
activity. This will be a topic for future research.”
“Many people are asking why we are seeing such an increased amount
of landfalling hurricanes this season. A better question is why it has been
so long since we have seen this amount of landfalling storms,” said
Gray. “In terms of long-term averages, we have been quite lucky for
the past decade. However, we knew climatology would correct itself and this
luck would eventually run out. It looks like this is the year.”
Since August 1995, the Atlantic basin has experienced 35 intense or major
hurricanes, of which only five have made or will soon make U.S. landfall,
including this year’s Charley and Frances. However, the long-term average
is about one in three major storms making landfall.
“The unfortunate landfalling hurricanes of Charley and Frances should
not be taken as indicating that Florida is experiencing something new. The
real surprise is that Peninsula Florida has experienced so few major hurricane
strikes during the past 38 years,” said Gray.
IMPACT RESISTANT WINDOW LINE RECEIVES
DADE COUNTY APPROVAL
StormBreaker™ Plus, the line of impact resistant windows from Simonton®
Windows, Parkersburg, WV, has received Dade County (FL) building code approval,
the company announces.
“Everyone knows that Dade County, FL, has the strictest building codes
in the country,” said Bill Lazor, senior product manager for Simonton
Windows. “The fact that our vinyl-framed impact resistant products
have achieved the Dade County requirements signals to every building industry
professional that these are incredibly durable, storm-resistant windows.”
Receiving Dade County approval are the company’s single- and double-hung,
picture, slider, geometric, casement, no hinge casement and awning style
windows. The widows also have received ASTM, AAMA and TDI approvals. The
double-hung units are believed to be the first vinyl double-hung tilt units
to receive Dade County approval, the company says.
IPP UPDATES SPLATS WEB SITE
Innovative Protective Products, LLC (IPP), Jensen Beach, FL, announces a
major upgrade to its Splats™ Web site: www.splatslats.com.
The new site features advertising flyers to help build your rolling shutter
business with Splats; a listing of company names for project leads; the
latest code approvals and prints for Splats; new technical literature for
downloading and printing; and new warranty information on Splats.
SIMONTON MARKS FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
AS ENERGY STAR PARTNER
Simonton® Windows, Parkersburg, WV, marks its fifth year as an Energy
Star® partner. The company offers Energy Star options for products in
all of its new construction and replacement product lines.
The Energy Star program estimates that an average household spends more
than 40 percent of its annual energy budget on heating and cooling the home.
Up to 15 percent of this amount can be saved by installing Energy Star qualified
windows, the company says.
HENDEE GRANTED MANA MEMBERSHIP
Hendee Enterprises, Inc., Houston, TX, has been named to membership in
the Manufacturers’ Agents National Association (MANA).
MANA is the largest organization of manufacturers’ agencies with
nearly 7,000 members. Founded in 1947, MANA sponsors educational programs
for agents and manufacturers stressing the practical aspects of building
sales with an agency sales force.
Hendee has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing fabric structures
and associated aluminum steel frames. It has developed a wide range of
sizes and styles to shade structures for residential, commercial and military
applications.
NOAA'S NEW GLOBAL CLIMATE FORECAST
SYSTEM PUSHES FORECAST BOUNDARIES
Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
have begun operation of a new Climate Forecast System, which it says opens
a new era in climate forecasting. The Climate Forecast System was developed
at NOAA’s Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) in collaboration with
NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). NOAA is
an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Under development for a year by a team of NOAA scientists, the Climate
Forecast System is a coupled model approach, representing the interaction
between the Earth’s oceans and the atmosphere. These interactions
are critical for determining climate on seasonal time scales.
“The system is already pushing the boundaries of science and effectively
complementing NOAA’s existing seasonal forecasting process,”
said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, director of NOAA’s
National Weather Service. “The Environmental Modeling Center is an
important part of the National Weather Service mission in that they develop
numerical models that provide climate, weather and water products and
services for America. The new Climate Forecast System is the beginning
of a new era for climate forecasting, leading to potential improvements
in U.S. seasonal outlooks.”
“The Climate Forecast System is the first fully global coupled prediction
system developed at NOAA that produces a set of operational seasonal forecasts
using an interactive ocean-land-atmosphere system,” said Hua-Lu Pan,
EMC’s climate modeling team leader. “This system attempts to
more accurately depict the actual physical processes that occur in nature.”
Historically, operational climate forecasts have relied mostly on the
knowledge of present and past conditions to make projections about future
events. Current methods are based largely on statistical relationships
and the physical laws that govern climate. Now, armed with the Climate
Forecast System, NOAA scientists are using improved dynamic methods to
predict the future behavior of the climate, which entails solving extremely
complex mathematical equations on the NOAA weather and climate supercomputer.
FSU RECEIVES NOAA GRANT TO IMPROVE
FORECASTING
Florida State University (FSU) has received a $773,500 grant from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct research
on improving seasonal forecasting and applications.
The grant will fund ongoing research efforts to assess the regional impacts
of El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation
on the Southeast United States using global and regional climate models.
Researchers will combine climate forecasts with application models such
as seasonal hurricane predictions and assess their potential applications.
“Climate cycles can have a major impact on various regions of the
United States . . . This NOAA grant will support the continued development
and improvement of climate forecast models that can help to more accurately
anticipate the impacts and prepare for them,” said retired Navy Vice
Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans
and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.
Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members
of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency
in fulfilling its mission to study the Earth’s natural systems in
order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect
life and property, and provide decision makers with reliable scientific
information.
HPVA PUBLISHES REFERENCE HANDBOOK
The Hardwood Plywood & Veneer Association (HPVA), Reston, VA, has
developed a new handbook that will serve as a reference tool for sales
representatives, specifiers, distributors, purchasers and end users of
hardwood plywood.
The revised Hardwood Plywood Handbook is a visual companion to the American
National Standard for Hardwood and Decorative Plywood (HP-1 Standard).
It uses full-color graphics to illustrate and describe the grades and
product characteristics defined in the standard. Together with the HP-1
Standard, the new handbook will help readers understand and specify the
correct hardwood plywood species, grade, thickness and core combination
for specific applications.
For more information, visit www.hpva.org.
SIMONTON MAKES ORGANIZATIONAL
CHANGES
Simonton® Windows, Parkersburg, WV, announces two manufacturing organizational
changes.
Mark Wherry has been promoted to director of manufacturing and Russ Chaney
has been hired for the position of general manager for the company’s
Ritchie County manufacturing operations.
Wherry is a five-year Simonton employee originally hired as general manger
for the Ritchie facilities. In his new post he will assume leadership
responsibilities for all of the company’s manufacturing facilities
east of the Rocky Mountains.
Chaney comes to Simonton after serving as general manager for MECO, Inc.
He takes over for Wherry as general manager of the company’s three
Ritchie County facilities. He will be responsible for overseeing plant
operations along with assuring a top quality product be delivered to customers
in a timely manner.
TARCO APPOINTS WILCOX VICE PRESIDENT
OF SALES
Tarco, Little Rock, AR, announces that Steve Wilcox has joined the company
as vice president of sales. In this role, he will be responsible for company-wide
sales and for creating an effective sales strategy for profitable growth
of the company.
Wilcox joins Tarco from RMG Products where most recently he was South
Central regional sales manager. Prior to this assignment, Wilcox was a
partner in Suncoast Roofers Supply and vice president of sales for GS
Roofing Products, and he held several progressively more responsible sales
positions with ELK Corp.
Tarco is a supplier of asphalt-saturated organic felts, organic base sheets
and mineral surfaced roll roofing. It has manufacturing facilities in
Greencastle, PA; North Little Rock, AR; and Belton, TX.
IN MEMORIAM: DON ECK JR.
Don E. Eck Jr., vice president of sales and marketing for Coastal Aluminum
Rolling Mills, Inc., Williamsport, PA, died September 13 of a heart attack.
He was 48 years old.
Eck began his career in maintenance at Coastal’s coating division,
Chromagraphic Processing Co. in 1987, one year after the company was founded.
From the beginning, he was instrumental in the growth and success of both
Chromagraphic and its parent company, Coastal Aluminum Rolling Mills,
Inc., which was founded in 1990 to purchase and move the assets of Kaiser
Aluminum’s foil division to Williamsport. Eck was promoted to sales
manager of Coastal in 1991 and promoted to vice president of sales and
marketing for the entire organization in 1994, a position he held until
his death.
Eck is survived by his wife, Betsy, and four children Mahlon, Aubrey,
Loren and Tyler.
A memorial fund has been set up for his children titled Don E. Eck Jr.
Children’s Scholarship Fund. Memorial contributions may be mailed
in care of Coastal Aluminum, 2475 Trenton Ave., Williamsport, PA 17701.
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