Does wind chill affect a car radiator?
Wind chill is the combination of wind and temperature and is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin such as that of a person or animal. As the wind increases, heat is carried away from the body at an accelerated rate, driving the body temperature down. Wind chill has no effect on cars or other objects.

What is the coldest temperature ever recorded in Washington, DC?
After a snowstorm left a foot of snow over the city on February 8, 1899, a record cold wave struck. On February 11, the temperature dipped to -15°F in the District. It was followed by a second great storm called "The Great Valentines Day Blizzard" which dumped another 20.5 inches of snow. That year DC saw a record 54 inches of snow.

What is the difference between sleet, hail, and freezing rain?
Hail is a chunk or stone of ice dropped from a thunderstorm. Sleet is frozen rain. Freezing rain is liquid rain that freezes to a surface such as the road or a tree.

True or False. It must be 32°F or colder for it to snow.
False. It has been known to snow with temperatures in the mid 40°s. Temperatures are below 32°F up in the clouds where the snow is forming.

On the average, one inch of rain is equivalent to how many inches of snow?
10 inches of snow melts down to about an inch of liquid rain.

Which of the following impacts can Maryland and Virginia expect from a "Great Nor'easter"?
    a. Heavy snow         b. High winds             c. Coastal Flooding
    d.  Blizzard              e. All of the above      f. None of the above
Nor'easters cause high winds and flooding along the coast and heavy snow and sometimes blizzard conditions inland over the Greater Metropolitan Washington area. Nor'easters are responsible for the areas's most hazardous winter weather.

What three months bring Washington its heaviest snow storms?
January, February, and March. It is the latter half of the winter in the Washington area that brings the nor'easters that dump the majority of our snow.

What is the greatest 24 hour snowfall in Washington, DC?
The January 27-28, 1922 storm dumped 21 inches of snow in DC in 24 hours and had a storm total of 28 inches. It is known as the "Knickerbocker Storm" because the heavy snow caused the collapse of the Knickerbocker theater during a performance. One hundred people died inside.

Can it snow from clear skies?
Yes. Ice crystals sometimes fall from clear skies when temperatures are in the single digits or colder.

What is more hazardous to trees and power lines?
        a. One inch of wet snow         b. One inch of ice
An inch of ice is heavier than wet snow and is hazardous enough to cause power lines and trees to come down.

Winter Trivia Facts
Fact: El Nino refers to a warming of the Pacific Equatorial waters and a slackening of the Trade Winds over those waters. But where does the name come from? It originates from Peru. Two big industries in Peru were fishing and fertilizer. Fishermen noticed that once every several years, the waters would warm; the upwelling of cold water that brought nutrients to the fish would stop; the fish that fed on the nutrients would leave; and the birds that fed on the fish would leave. The bird guano was a major source of fertilizer. It had a great impact on the local economy. They named it "El Nino" after the child, Jesus Christ, giving it a religious connotation because it seemed to occur around Christmas time.
Last winter, El Nino was at a record strength. Impact on the Washington Metropolitan area is for the winter (especially December) to be mild and there is an increased risk for nor'easters and a big snowstorm (8 or more inches).  However, El Nino winters in Washington and Baltimore tend to be all or nothing winters meaning that either we get 150 % or their normal snowfall or they get 5 inches or less. Rarely is it anything in between!
For more information on El Nino...link to the El Nino Web Page.
Fact: La Nina refers to a cooling of the Pacific Equatorial waters and an increase in the Trade Winds over those waters.  It is not uncommon for La Nina to follow a strong El Nino. This pattern is expected to continue through this winter and therefore may have some effect on the Baltimore-Washington area weather. Therefore, this winter we expect it to average slightly above normal temperature wise..especially in January and February. Precipitation should be near normal in the Baltimore and DC area but trend toward drier than normal as you move south across Virginia.  For the official seasonal outlook or more information on La Nina, check out the web site  http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/nino-home.html
Fact: About 70 percent of winter storm related deaths occur in automobiles. The rest are primarily due to heart attacks from over exertions such as shoveling heavy snow or from hypothermia caused by over exposure to the cold.
When winter storms strike, stay indoors and keep warm and dry. Avoid over-exertion. Your heart is already working hard in the cold to keep your body warm.
Fact: The Winter of 1779-1780 was so cold that ice was piled 20 feet high along the Delmarva Coast and stayed there until spring. The upper portion of the Chesapeake Bay and the entire Potomac River was frozen solid. People were able to walk from Annapolis to Kent Island and from Alexandria into DC.
This winter in Washington, the National Weather Service expects a warmer than normal December with the overall winter period through March averaging near normal temperatures.
Fact: About 50% of deaths caused by exposure to cold (hypothermia), are to people over 60 years of age. Over 75% of these deaths are to men. About 20% of the deaths occur in the home.
People over age 60 and children less than a year old are most susceptible to the cold. For these people, keep indoor temperatures above 69°F and when going outside, dress appropriately for the cold. Have plenty of layers of clothes and a hat on the head.

If interested please contact KCnet at 893-8111 or email Kerry Clausen, KCnet Education Coordinator.  kclausen@kcnet.org

Recently we have been seeing a virus that is being sent from a KCnet member who is also a customer of Suscom.  KCnet’s virus filter bounces 99% of all viruses – but it doesn’t filter mail sent from KCnet to KCnet.  Since the owner of this virus is a member of KCnet, he/she receives mail from the KCnet server and then can send mail without that mail being filtered for viruses.  That’s just the way it works.

This virus, called KLEZ, is sent to a computer and if that computer is not armed with anti-virus software, the computer hard drive now has another e-mail program installed on it.  This program, quite independent of the computer owner, sends out e-mail to any e-mail addresses on the computer – 20 at a time – every time the owner logs into the Internet.  In this case, the KCnet/Suscom member has no idea this is happening.

Note, however, each message that is sent through the Internet is tagged with identification numbers.  The numbers identify the Internet service through which the user is connected, the number of the server that sends the e-mail and the number of the server that receives the e-mail.  These are all “IP numbers.”  Then the message itself receives a numerical identification.  There is no way to send an Internet message that is anonymous.  

When a person dials into KCnet, that connection is given a temporary IP number that is reassigned when the connection is broken.  So, the job to find who sent a message from KCnet is more involved, but certainly possible.  We have logs that identify when a person connects and with what IP number.  Then we compare the message IP number and time to the logs and have the identity of the sender. 

When a person is on cable, they have a static IP.  That means that the IP is not temporary and is assigned to that computer for an extended period of time.  Having said that, I should be able to pinpoint who is sending the virus messages, you may say. But, in order to do that, because of privacy, KCnet would have to have a court order to see records of another Internet Service Provider. 

So, we (you and I) are going to play detective.   And it is for a good cause.  We will rid one more virus from one more computer and prevent it from spreading any further.  The virus is being sent almost every day, so if your computer is turned off most of the week, or you don’t start your computer up almost every day, you can assume this is not for you. 

I am asking any KCnet member that connects to Suscom often through the week, to send me an e-mail.  Just send it with the subject “detective.”  I will then be able to see your IP and will let you know if you have the Klez virus that is being sent to the KCnet mailbox. CLICK HERE TO SEND EMAIL

I’ve spent my space this week on what you may think is an effort that doesn’t affect you.  But, I’m thinking that when you read this, you’ll understand more about e-mail and you’ll know a little more about how this virus works and know that it is unintentional on the sender’s part when you receive a message, with words like this in the subject line:
how are you 
let's be friends 
darling 
so cool a flash,enjoy it 
your password 
honey 
some questions 
please try again 
welcome to my hometown 
the Garden of Eden 
introduction on ADSL 
meeting notice 
questionnaire 
congratulations 
sos! 
japanese girl VS playboy 
look,my beautiful girl friend 
eager to see you 
spice girls' vocal concert 
japanese lass' sexy pictures 
Detected 
Hi, 
Hello, 
 
Each message contains code which exploits a vulnerability in Internet Explorer, Outlook and Outlook Express. It will contain a message such as:  
This game is my first work. 
You're the first player. 
I expect you would enjoy it. 
If successful, the e-mail attachment will be opened on viewing the message, without the user's knowledge. 
For more information on this vulnerability, see: 
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms01-020.asp
Just for the record, on New Year's Day, our virus filter blocked 123 viruses that were sent to KCnet members from non-KCnet members! 
Until next week…

Ray McGill, owner of Nittany Travel, is the President of KCnet; William Raco is Vice-President; Judy Yoho is Secretary and Donald C.  Miller of North Bend is Treasurer.  Other members of the board are Fred Bierly, Donna Gebhardt Lannan, Earl Keen, R.  Keith Kelly, Amy Lapriola, Paddy O’Hara-Mays, Bob Rolley, and Rich Wykoff.