Oak Ridge Today

NWS: Colder than normal temps forecast, bitter cold expected later

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Bitterly cold air is on the way this weekend. Temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below normal and dangerously low wind chills are expected, especially across the higher elevations. Remember to dress warmly in layers, provide shelter for pets and animals, and take precautions around your home or business to avoid frozen pipes. (Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown)

Bitterly cold air is on the way this weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown. Temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below normal and dangerously low wind chills are expected, especially across the higher elevations. Remember to dress warmly in layers, provide shelter for pets and animals, and take precautions around your home or business to avoid frozen pipes. (Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown)

 

High temperatures today will be about 10 degrees below normal, and bitterly cold air is on the way this weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

Lows in the area around Clinton and Oak Ridge are forecast to be between about 16 and 18 degrees Fahrenheit today (Wednesday, December 27).

Highs are forecast between 34 and 36, with mostly sunny skies today and mostly clear skies tonight.

Temperatures are expected to remain cold this week, with some slight warming on Thursday and more Friday, with colder weather again on Saturday and Sunday and a slight chance of snow on Sunday. [Read more…]

ORNL provides building data that helps hurricane response

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As hurricanes formed in the Gulf Coast, Oak Ridge National Laboratory activated a computing technique to quickly gather building structure data from Texas' coastal counties. (Image credit: Mark Tuttle/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

As hurricanes formed in the Gulf Coast, Oak Ridge National Laboratory activated a computing technique to quickly gather building structure data from Texas’ coastal counties. (Image credit: Mark Tuttle/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

 

Geospatial scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new computing technique to quickly gather data about building structures to help emergency response teams assessing properties that were damaged by hurricanes Harvey and Irma in August and September.

By coupling deep learning with high-performance computing, ORNL collected and extracted building outlines and roadways from high-resolution satellite and aerial images, ORNL said. As hurricanes formed in the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Ocean, ORNL activated its technique.

“During devastating weather events, it’s difficult and time consuming to assess damage manually,” said ORNL’s Mark Tuttle. “Our method supports emergency response efforts by providing preliminary building structure data—which can be categorized for residential, multi-family and commercial properties—on the county level, and this has been applied for hurricane-impacted areas of Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. Caribbean territories.” [Read more…]

Photo: Sunrise view from Appalachian Underwriters

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This picture was taken by Margie Crews from the ninth floor of the Appalachian Underwriters building on Saturday evening, Oct. 21, 2017.

This sunrise picture was taken by Margie Crews from the ninth floor of the Appalachian Underwriters building and sent to us on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017.

Great American Eclipse in Oak Ridge Schools

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Glenwood Elementary School students worked with OBED Park Rangers and practiced safe use of a telescope for viewing during the total solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

Glenwood Elementary School students worked with Obed park rangers and practiced safe use of a telescope for viewing during the total solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Schools)

 

Submitted by Oak Ridge Schools

The Great American Eclipse was unique in Oak Ridge, as we were on the coveted path of totality. Some solar eclipse fanatics will travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars just to get themselves into The Path. We took advantage of this rare opportunity that came to our back yard for the breathtaking experience of totality with our students and staff.

We had an interesting challenge, though. The edge of the path of totality cut through town in such a way that four of our schools would only experience a partial eclipse if students and staff stayed on campus. The total solar eclipse has several attributes that are not visible outside the path of totality, such as the sudden appearance of stars and planets, the solar corona becoming visible, and a temperature drop. To ensure all of our students had the opportunity for this rich total eclipse experience, we provided transportation to move everyone who wanted to participate into The Path. [Read more…]

Latest on Hurricane Irma: Expected impacts in Tennessee Valley

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The forecast for Hurricane Irma and its expected impacts across East Tennessee, southwest Virginia, and southwest North Carolina as of Saturday afternoon, Sept. 9, 2017. (Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown)

The forecast for Hurricane Irma and its expected impacts across East Tennessee, southwest Virginia, and southwest North Carolina as of Saturday afternoon, Sept. 9, 2017. (Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown)

 

The National Weather Service in Morristown on Saturday afternoon released updated information on the expected impacts of Hurricane Irma in East Tennessee, southwest Virginia, and southwest North Carolina.

The strong winds and outer rain bands of the hurricane, which has weakened to a Category 3 storm from an earlier Category 5, started hitting the Florida Keys on Saturday as officials warned of a potentially deadly storm surge in southern Florida.

The storm track appeared to have moved farther west than originally forecast, and Hurricane Irma was expected to now have a bigger impact on central and western Florida as it moved up the peninsula.

The remnants of the storm, which had sustained winds of 125 mph on Saturday afternoon, are expected to move across the southeast United States and into the Tennessee Valley, possibly starting Monday afternoon and continuing through Tuesday, with scattered showers through Thursday. [Read more…]

Anderson County EMS sending ambulance, two employees to help with Hurricane Irma

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Anderson County EMS Paramedic Michael Rhinehart, left, and AEMT Justin Harmon left on Friday morning, Sept. 8, 2017, to help respond to Hurricane Irma in Florida. (Photo courtesy Nathan Sweet/Anderson County EMS)

Anderson County EMS Paramedic Michael Rhinehart, left, and AEMT Justin Harmon departed on Friday morning, Sept. 8, 2017, to help respond to Hurricane Irma in Florida. (Photo courtesy Nathan Sweet/Anderson County EMS)

 

An emergency medical services region in East Tennessee that includes Anderson County is sending a strike force of five ambulances and one command vehicle to Florida to help respond to Hurricane Irma.

The ambulances, crews, and command vehicle are from a 16-county region known as Region 2 in Tennessee, said Nathan Sweet, director of Anderson County EMS.

Anderson County EMS is sending one ambulance and two employees. The two employees are Paramedic Michael Rhinehart and AEMT Justin Harmon. (An AEMT is an advanced emergency medical technician.)

Rhinehart and Harmon left at 8:45 a.m. Friday, and they headed to Lenoir City to meet up with the strike force. From there, they are going to Chattanooga to meet up with a strike force from Region 1. It’s not clear yet where they will be deployed. [Read more…]

NWS: Hurricane Irma could lead to rain, wind, rising rivers in region

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Here is the latest on Hurricane Irma and its impacts across East Tennessee from the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tennessee. (Image courtesy NWS)

Here is the latest on Hurricane Irma and its possible impacts across East Tennessee next week from the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tennessee. (Image courtesy NWS)

 

Hurricane Irma is expected to move north across the southeast United States into the Tennessee Valley early next week, and it could bring rain and wind gusts, and cause some rivers to rise, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tennessee.

Hurricane Irma, which has been downgraded to a Category 4 storm, could hit the Florida Keys by late Saturday and heavily populated areas of South Florida on Sunday morning. The deadly hurricane pushed through the Bahamas and onto Cuba on Friday, and it has already caused destruction across the Caribbean.

Current forecasts show Hurricane Irma traveling up the center of the Florida peninsula before hitting Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, among other states.

The National Weather Service in Morristown said the exact path across the Tennessee Valley is uncertain, which will affect the location and timing of the expected impacts. [Read more…]

K9 officers from Clinton, Knox, Loudon help relocate canine officers possibly in path of Hurricane Irma

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Detective Sergeant Bob Suarez, CPD K9 trainer, and K9 handlers from Knox and Loudon County are helping Miami authorities relocate 35 K9s that are possibly in the path of Hurricane Irma. The Tennessee crew is pictured here on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017, loading the dogs and getting ready to head north. This van, a bus, and a truck are being used for the transport. The K9s will be safely sheltered in Tennessee until the storm passes by. (Photo courtesy Clinton Police Department on Facebook)

Detective Sergeant Bob Suarez, CPD K9 trainer, and K9 handlers from Knox and Loudon County are helping Miami authorities relocate 35 K9s that are possibly in the path of Hurricane Irma. The Tennessee crew is pictured loading the dogs and getting ready to head north. This van, a bus, and a truck are being used for the transport. The K9s will be safely sheltered in Tennessee until the storm passes by. (Photo courtesy Clinton Police Department on Facebook)

 

A K9 trainer from the Clinton Police Department and K9 handlers from Knox and Loudon counties are helping authorities in Miami relocate 35 K9s that could be in the path of Hurricane Irma, the Clinton Police Department said this week.

CPD Detective Sergeant Bob Suarez, a K9 trainer, left for Florida on Wednesday night, the Police Department said.

A van, a bus, and a truck are being used to take the dogs north. The K9s will be safely sheltered in Tennessee, the Volunteer State, until the storm passes by, the Clinton Police Department said. [Read more…]

ORNL helps emergency responders with hurricanes Harvey, Irma

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The map above is part of the LandScan system that has been used by Oak Ridge National Laboratory to help readiness, response, and recovery crews during Hurricane Harvey, which hit most heavily in Texas. This map shows population counts in the Houston area, with red areas having the highest counts and yellow areas lower counts and gray areas none. The map has a flooding overlay, where red is more flooding and green is less. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The map above is part of the LandScan USA system that has been used by Oak Ridge National Laboratory to help readiness, response, and recovery crews during Hurricane Harvey, which hit Texas on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. This map shows population counts in the Houston area, with red areas having the highest counts and yellow areas lower counts and gray areas none. The map has a flooding overlay, where red shows more flooding and green shows less. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Data collection systems at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are being used to help emergency responders and recovery crews with two deadly hurricanes, Harvey and Irma.

The data collection systems are LandScan USA and EAGLE-I. Information from the systems is being used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, among other agencies. The two systems give information on electric customer outages and population counts, and they are being used in daily briefings, according to ORNL staff members.

The first system, LandScan USA, shows population counts with a resolution of about 90 meters. The system can show color-coded maps with population counts ranging for high to low, and it includes daytime and nighttime populations.

Flood maps can be overlaid on the population count maps to help determine the best places for rescuers to respond, said Amy Rose, ORNL team lead in Population Distribution and Dynamics. Rose displayed that map and overlay during an interview in the EVEREST visualization laboratory at ORNL on Tuesday.

Houston, which experienced heavy flooding, didn’t evacuate before Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 storm that came ashore just northeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday night, August 25. [Read more…]

National Park Service offering free eclipse glasses, viewers for total solar eclipse

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The National Park Service started distributing free eclipse glasses and free eclipse viewers at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge during the total solar eclipse on Monday, August 21. At right is Kendra Ownby, cultural resources program manager for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Big South Fork River and Recreational Area, and Obed Wild and Scenic River. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The National Park Service started distributing free eclipse glasses and free eclipse viewers at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge during the total solar eclipse on Monday, August 21. At right is Kendra Owenby, cultural resources program manager for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Big South Fork River and Recreational Area, and Obed Wild and Scenic River. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The National Park Service is distributing free eclipse glasses and free eclipse viewers at two viewing sites in Oak Ridge during the total solar eclipse today (Monday, August 21).

Several people were lined up for the free glasses by about 7:30 a.m. Monday at one of the viewing  sites, the American Museum of Science and Energy and the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Visitor Center at 300 South Tulane Avenue in central Oak Ridge.

“I figured there would be a pretty long line,” said Thomas Metheney, an Anderson County resident. He said he may stay at AMSE for the eclipse. He recalls a solar eclipse when he was in elementary school in the area in the mid-1980s.

The National Park Service said it is giving out about 1,500 pairs of glasses at AMSE and will have more at its other viewing site, East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site) at 200 Heritage Center Boulevard in west Oak Ridge. As previously reported by Oak Ridge Today, the distribution of eclipse glasses and viewers starts at 11 a.m. at both locations. The Park Service is giving out one pair of glasses per person in line. [Read more…]

Library giving out 500 pairs of eclipse glasses on Monday

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Kathy McNeilly, second from right, director of the Oak Ridge Public Library, and library employees presented a pair of solar eclipse glasses to City Manager Mark Watson, center, on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017. Also pictured from left to right are Martha Lux, Teresa Fortney, and Elaine Keener. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

Kathy McNeilly, second from right, director of the Oak Ridge Public Library, and library employees presented a pair of solar eclipse glasses to City Manager Mark Watson, center, on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017. Also pictured from left to right are Martha Lux, Teresa Fortney, and Elaine Keener. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge Public Library will give out 500 pairs of eclipse glasses to library patrons on Monday, August 14. The glasses will be given out while supplies last, the library staff said. A valid library card or photo identification must be shown, and there is a limit of one pair of glasses per library account, the library staff said.

The solar eclipse is August 21. Oak Ridge is one of the few cities in the path of totality in Tennessee. It is estimated that the total solar eclipse in Oak Ridge will last 27 to 31 seconds at approximately 2:33 p.m. EDT August 21.

It’s the first solar eclipse over the continental United States since 1979. [Read more…]

Former astronaut to speak during eclipse activities at AMSE on Saturday, Aug. 19

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A former astronaut originally from Jamestown, Tennessee, will share stories and answer questions regarding his experience as a payload specialist aboard a NASA Space Shuttle mission in 1997 as part of solar eclipse-related activities at the American Museum of Science and Energy on Saturday, August 19.

Roger Crouch will be at AMSE at 1 p.m. August 19.

The activities at AMSE that day are in preparation for the total solar eclipse occurring on Monday, August 21. They’re scheduled from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Hands-on “Explore Science: Earth & Space” activities will allow visitors to explore the eclipse phenomenon, a press release said. The activities were developed and distributed nationwide by the National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Net) and used in more than 250 museums during the spring and summer of 2017. [Read more…]