Click to listen to episode (3:50) Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.) Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 4-16-21. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of April 19, 2021.  This revised episode from May 2014 is part of a series this year of spring-related episodes. MUSIC – ~12 sec – instrumental This week, we feature a Virginia musical group’s version of a traditional Finnish waltz tune, named for a plant community that, like good music, depends on the right timing.  Have a listen for about 35 more seconds. MUSIC – ~36 sec – instrumental You’ve been listening to part of “Flowers of the Forest,” by No Strings Attached, on their 2003 album, “Old Friend’s Waltz,” from Enessay Music.  Just as in a well-done waltz, timing is crucial for low-growing, spring-blooming forest plants.  Such plants live under trees whose leaf canopy will close by late spring, blocking much of the sunlight and rainfall from reaching the forest floor.  As a result, many non-woody forest plants are adapted to take advantage of early spring’s interaction of warming soil and air temperature, available moisture, increasing light, and the activity of emerging insect pollinators to reproduce and to store enough energy underground to survive the coming year.  Bloodroot, Spring Beauty, Trillium, and many other Virginia woodland plants follow this strategy: show up early, use colorful flowers to show off for foraging insects, and then produce fruits and seeds before the summer’s shade. Thanks for No Strings Attached for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with about 25 more seconds of “Flowers of the Forest.” MUSIC – ~27 sec – instrumental SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 212, 5-5-14. “Flowers of the Forest” and “Old Friend’s Waltz” are copyright by No Strings Attached and Enessay Music, used with permission.  More information about the now-retired, Blacksburg/Roanoke-based group No Strings Attached is available online at https://www.enessay.com/index.html.  This music was used previously by Virginia Water Radio most recently in Episode 521, 4-20-20, on Virginia Bluebells, another spring-blooming wildflower.  Information on “Metsäkukkia,” the original Finnish tune on which the No Strings Attached selection was based, is available from Andrew Kuntz, “The Fiddler’s Companion,” online at http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/MER_MIC.htm; and from Jeremy Keith, “The Session,” online at http://thesession.org/tunes/4585. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. IMAGES  Shooting Star

Click to listen to episode (4:26) Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.) Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 4-12-21. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of April 12, 2021.  This revised episode from April 2013 is part of a series this year of spring-related episodes. MUSIC – ~ 18 sec – Lyrics: “I went outside, the rain fallin’ on the branches bare.   And I smiled, ‘cause I could feel a change in the air.” That’s part of “The Coming Spring,” on Andrew VanNorstand’s 2019 album, “That We Could Find a Way to Be,” featuring Kailyn Wright on vocals.  It opens an episode about the feathered “changes in the air” that take place each spring in Virginia.  We start with a series of mystery sounds.  Have a listen for about 15 seconds, and see if you can guess what’s making these three different high-pitched songs, each heard just once.  And here’s a hint: These small creatures make big journeys, twice a year. SOUNDS  - ~12 sec If you guessed warblers, you’re right!  And if you’re an experienced birder, you may have recognized the songs of a Bay-breasted Warbler, Palm Warbler, and Tennessee Warbler.  These three species breed in Canada and the northern United States, but they winter in Central and South America, and they’re among the birds that may pass through Virginia during spring or fall migration.  Virginia’s location along the Atlantic coast and Chesapeake Bay allows Commonwealth birders to have a chance to see songbirds, waterfowl, and birds of prey that migrate along the broad, eastern North American route known as the Atlantic Flyway, one of four main migratory routes on this continent.  For example, while about 100 bird species breed in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, over 200 species have been identified there, particularly during the spring migration from April to June. The Colorado-based organization Environment for the Americas, which has helped coordinate an annual World Migratory Bird Day, has called bird migration, quote, “one of the most important and spectacular events in the Americas.”  Virginia’s part of that spectacle, every spring and fall. Thanks to Lang Elliott for permission to use the three warbler species sounds, from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs.  Thanks also to Andrew VanNorstrand for permission to use part of “The Coming Spring.”  We close with part of another song, whose title captures how many people may feel about spring’s arrival after a long winter.  Here’s about 20 seconds of “At Long Last,” by the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Va.-based band, The Steel Wheels, from their 2011 album, “Live at Goose Creek.” MUSIC – ~ 22 sec – instrumental SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Click to listen to episode (4:36) Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Extra Information Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.) Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 4-23-21. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of April 26, 2021.  This revised episode from June 2014 is part of a series this year of spring-related episodes. MUSIC – ~17 sec – Lyrics: “I can’t explain away the reasons, I can’t wish away the seasons.  When springtime comes again, it’ll sure by my winter’s end.” This week, that music opens an episode about a group of plants with species found across Virginia and whose blooming times collectively span a period from early spring well into summer.  Have a listen for about 50 more seconds to the song and its celebration of some members of this plant group found high up in southwestern Virginia. MUSIC – ~48 sec – Lyrics: “Well I was high up in the fields, there above the rhododendron ridge.  My time up there was real, not like some other time I’ve spent.  And when the flowers bloom in June, it’s like something you’ve never seen—shades of purple, white, and blue, as far as you can see.” You’ve been listening to part of “Rhododendron Ridge,” by the Roanoke, Va., band The Floorboards, on their 2012 self-titled album.  The song was written about the area around Mt. Rogers—Virginia’s highest peak, located in Grayson and Smyth counties.  Mt. Rogers is noted for its populations of Catawba Rhododendronand its flower displays in June.  Catawba is one of Virginia’s nine native species in the scientific genus of Rhododendron, some of which are commonly called azaleas.  As a group, their habitats range from rocky mountainous areas, to Piedmont streams, to Coastal Plains wetlands.  Their blooming times range from March to August, depending on the species. These perennial spring and summer flower shows happen in places where the plants’ roots and leaves get their preferred combination of sun or shade, temperature, moisture, nutrients, and acidity levels in the soil and soil water.  Virginia’s rhododendron species typically prefer higher acidity, and they share that preference with other members of the heath family of plants, including blueberries and Mountain Laurel. While you can’t see the water chemistry going on around rhododendron roots, at the right time and place you can see a remarkable flower display, which might be for you—as for this week’s songwriter—like something you’ve never seen.  Thanks to the Floorboards for permission to use this week’s music, and close with about 25 more seconds of “Rhododendron Ridge.” MUSIC – ~28 sec – Lyrics: “Springtime’s comin’ now, oh it won’t be long—you and I we’re gonna sing, gonna sing our summer song.” SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode replaces Episode

Click to listen to episode (3:47) Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.) Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 4-2-21. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of April 5, 2021.  This revised episode from April 2016 is part of a series this year of spring-related episodes. SOUND – ~7 sec - Kayaking on the Appomattox River, recorded from underwater. This week, those sounds above and below the surface of the Appomattox River open an episode about spring signals on and in Virginia’s water bodies. Have a listen for about 10 seconds to the following mystery sound, and see if you can guess what group of water-resources users this signal is designed to alert.  And here’s a hint: it’s a powerful signal, for reel...and rod. SOUND - ~11 sec If you guessed, a signal for people fishing, you’re right!  You heard a June 2013 recording of a warning siren at the Claytor Lake hydroelectric facility on the New River in Pulaski County, Virginia.  The siren was being used to alert anglers and any other nearby river users that a power-generating unit was about to start operating and releasing more water. While that siren sounding was a human-generated signal to stop fishing in that location, spring in Virginia sends out plenty of natural signals that serve to start or increase fishing activity.  Anglers follow fish, and fish follow various environmental and biological cues, such as temperature, daylight, sources of insects and other food, predator behavior, and life-cycle demands.  Spring brings significant changes to those fish cues, and as a result, gives many anglers their cue to resume trying to outwit the finned inhabitants of the Commonwealth’s ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, and coastal waters. Thanks to Raven Harris for the Appomattox River sounds.  We close with some music for Virginia’s anglers.  Here’s about 25 seconds of “Bass Fisherman’s Reel,” an adaptation of a traditional tune called “Fisher’s Hornpipe,” done by Williamsburg musician Timothy Seaman on his 2004 album, “Virginia Wildlife.” MUSIC - ~28 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episodes 208, 4-7-14, and 311, 4-11-16. The opening sounds were recorded by Raven Harris, of Newport News, Va., on the Appomattox River in Petersburg, Va., on April 18, 2014; used with permission. The warning signal was recorded by Virginia Water Radio near the Claytor Hydroelectric Facility on the New River in Pulaski County, Va., on June 30, 2013. “Bass Fisherman’s Reel,” from the 2004 CD “Virginia Wildlife,” copyright Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind Music, used with permission.  This music was previously used by Virginia Water Radio most recently in Episode 241, 11-24-14.  More information about Timothy Seaman is available online at http://timothys

Click to listen to episode (3:49) Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Extra Information Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.) Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 3-26-21. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of March 29, 2021.  This revised episode from April 2012 is part of a series this year of spring-related episodes. SOUND  – ~ 6 sec This week, we feature an amphibious, sign-of-spring mystery sound.  Have a listen for about 10 more seconds, and see if you recognize this chorus, which you may have heard on spring evenings in areas near standing water. SOUND  - 10 sec If you guessed Spring Peeper frogs, you’re right!  Spring Peepers, occurring throughout the eastern and central United States and Canada, are one of seven native chorus frogspecies in Virginia.  Their choruses are the combination of mating calls produced by many individual males when air in a throat pouch is drawn across the voice box.  The mating calls occur in Virginia from February to June, but Spring Peeper sounds often can be heard again in the Commonwealth in fall as days shorten and temperatures cool. Like other frogs, toads, and salamanders, Spring Peepers are amphibians, and they rely on water for reproduction.  Winter and spring precipitation provide ephemeral– or temporary – ponds and pools, where many amphibians’ eggs transform into tadpoles and eventually into adults that, in many species, move onto land.  For Spring Peepers, breeding takes place in a variety of water bodies and wetlands near trees, shrubs, or other vegetation on which females deposit their eggs.  After hatching into tadpoles—known scientifically as larvae—Spring Peeper’s metamorphosisto adult takes about three months, after which the adults move into woodlands. As tadpoles, Spring Peepers feed on material suspended in the water.  The adults feed on a variety of insects, spiders, and other invertebrates.  Predators on Spring Peeper tadpoles include giant water bugs, predaceous diving beetles, and dragonflies, while the adults may fall prey to salamanders, spiders, snakes, owls, and other birds. You’re not likely to see these one-inch-long frogs, but their loud mating calls are prevalent across the Commonwealth in spring and early summer, reminding us of the presence and importance of wetlands and small seasonal bodies of water. We close by letting Spring Peepers have the last call—a springtime chorus that I hope resounds at some water near you. SOUND  - ~7 sec SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The episode is a revised version of Episode 105, 4-2-12.  Virginia Water Radio thanks Heather Longo (formerly Heather Vereb) for researching and writing that episode. The Spring Peeper sounds were recorded by Virginia Water Radio at Heritage Park in Blacksburg, Va., on March 21, 2020. Cli

Click to listen to episode (4:23) Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.) Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 3-19-21. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of March 22, 2021.  This revised episode from March 2016 is part of a series this year of spring-related episodes. MUSIC  – ~ 13 sec – Lyrics: “see I ate all my dinner, and so much for winter; I’m gonna run till the springtime’s gone.” This week, music from the Harrisonburg, Va.-based band, The Steel Wheels, captures some of the “fever” of spring, which begins astronomically in the northern hemisphere on March 20 this year.  Have a listen for about 40 more seconds. Music – ~ 41 sec – Lyrics: “Hey, hey, hey, what a day.  I’m gonna soak up sun, gonna dry out the river, I’m gonna run to the shimmering pond, until the summer comes….” You’ve been listening to part of “Until the Summer Comes,” from The Steel Wheels’ 2013 album, “No More Rain.” Water is part of spring’s feverish pull for this song’s narrator and for many non-humans, like Spring Peepers [SOUND ~ 3 sec] seeking temporary ponds for breeding; Red-winged Blackbirds [SOUND ~ 3 sec] nesting in wetlands; and—to humans’ dismay—mosquitoes [SOUND ~ 2 sec] seeking all kinds of standing water for egg-laying. As of this recording on March 19, water supplies were mostly in good condition across Virginia.  The U.S. Drought Monitor from the University of Nebraska showed no current drought in Virginia; the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s drought indicators map showed mostly normal conditions, except for low groundwater in part of northern Virginia; and the U.S. Geological Survey’s WaterWatch showed stream flows over the past 28 days at or above normal across the Commonwealth.Let’s hope that those good water conditions persist well beyond when summer begins astronomically on June 20, for the sake of kids in creeks, frogs in ponds, birds in wetlands, water supplies in reservoirs, plants in the ground, and countless other aquatic connections. Thanks to Freesound.org for the mosquito sound, and thanks to The Steel Wheels for permission to use this week’s music.  Here’s to spring’s arrival, and we close with about 25 more seconds of “Until the Summer Comes.” MUSIC – ~ 26 sec – Lyrics: “Until the summer comes.” SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 308, 3-21-16. “Until the Summer Comes,” by The Steel Wheels, is from the 2013 album “No More Rain,” used with permission. More information about The Steel Wheels is available online at http://www.thesteelwheels.com/. The Spring Peeper sound was recorded by Virginia Water Radio at Heritage Park in Blacksburg, Va., on March 17, 2021. The Red-winged Blackbird sound was recording by Virginia Water Radio in Blacksburg, Va., on March 26,

Click to listen to episode (4:53)  Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.) Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 3-12-21. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of March 15, 2021.  This is a revised repeat of our episode on tornado safety, last done in March 2019. SOUNDS – ~ 4 sec – thunderstorm on April 20, 2015, 9 p.m., Blacksburg, Va. This week we feature a severe-weather mystery sound. Have a listen for about 20 seconds, and see if you can guess what this sound might mean on a warm, stormy day or night, particularly in spring and summer, but possible in any season. SOUNDS - ~ 20 sec If you guessed a tornado warning, you’re right!  You heard Virginia Tech’s warning siren, first during a tornado drill in March 2011, and then—along with rain and thunder—during a real tornado-warning for the Blacksburg area in the early morning of April 28, 2011. Virginia’s statewide tornado drill for 2021 was on March 16.  The annual springtime drill is a chance for schools, agencies, businesses, and families to learn about tornadoes and to practice tornado-emergency plans.  Information about the drill and other tornado information is available from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, online at vaemergency.gov/tornadoes.Whether by siren, broadcast, phone, or some other way, if you receive an actual tornado warning for your location, here are some recommendations from the National Weather Service. *Take shelter in the nearest substantial building, in the basement or on the lowest floor in a windowless, interior room.  Stay off elevators, because you could be trapped in them if the power is lost. *Be ready to crouch down and protect your body, especially your head, from flying debris with a mattress, pillows, or other material. *Don’t stay in a mobile home; instead, quickly seek a more substantial building. *If you caught outdoors and can’t get to a substantial building, lie flat and face down in a ditch or some other low spot, away from trees, and cover your head with your hands.  In such a place, be alert for rising water.  Don’t seek shelter under bridges because doing so provides little protection and can increase traffic risks. *Don’t stay in a vehicle if you can get to a substantial building or to another safer spot.  But if you are caught in a vehicle by extreme winds or flying debris, park the car as quickly and safely as possible, out of traffic lanes; stay in the car with the seat belt on; put your head down below the windows; and cover your head with your hands and whatever protective material is available. *And finally, monitor conditions on a mobile device, weather radio, or other information source, and stay in your safe location until the danger has passed. According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, the U.S. areas with the greatest frequency of tornadoes are the south-central area known as “Tornado Alley” and the Gulf Coast states.  While Virginia doesn’t have the frequency of tornadoes seen in those areas, NOAA indicates that the Commonwealth averaged 18 tornadoes per year between 1991 and 2010.  So please, do what you can to be ready for tornadoes, by becoming informed, making a plan, and having a way to get the message when a tornado watch or warning is issued. SOUND - ~5 sec –repeat o

Click to listen to episode (4:22) Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.) Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 3-5-21. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of March 8, 2021.  This episode is a revised version of an episode from March 2015. MUSIC – ~11 sec – instrumental This week, we feature a tune to mark the arrival soon of spring and give a bit of water-credit to the departing winter.  Have a listen for about 30 seconds.MUSIC - ~32 sec – instrumentalYou’ve been listening to part of “Winter’s Fall,” by No Strings Attached, on their 1999 album, “In the Vinyl Tradition, Vol. II,” from Enessay Music.  In one sense, the “fall” in the title brings to mind the approaching end of winter and the bursts of biological activities that start in spring [SOUND – Spring Peepers - ~4 sec] and continue through summer and early autumn [SOUND – Evening insects in early October - ~5 sec].But those activities—from frog calling, to insect buzzing, to many humanactivities—take water, and the water that’ll be available during spring and summer in pools, ponds, streams, and underground depends in large part on the water that falls during winter.  About 37 percent of Virginia’s statewide average annual precipitation falls from November through March, according to Southeast Regional Climate Center records from 1895 through 2020.  But compared to warm-weather rainfall, winter precipitation is less likely to evaporate rapidly and less likely to be used by plants.  As a result, much of winter precipitation can seep into groundwater, recharging supplies that’ll be available in warmer months for plants and as base flow in streams and rivers.  Winter recharge of water supplies is even more important in relatively dry—but snowy—western states; in California, for example, typically over 78 percent of the annual average precipitation occurs from November through March, according to records between 1971 and 2000. While Virginia’s water managers don’t have to focus each winter on snowpack levels, like many westerners do, what falls each Commonwealth winter is still key to our summer water supplies. Thanks to No Strings Attached for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with about 20 more seconds of “Winter’s Fall.” MUSIC - ~22 sec – instrumental SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 258, 3-23-15. “Winter’s Fall,” from the 1999 album “In the Vinyl Tradition, Vol. II,” is copyright by No Strings Attached and Enessay Music, used with permission.  More information about the now-retired group No Strings Attached is available online at https://www.enessay.com/index.html.  This music was used previously by Virginia Water Radio most recently in Episode 461, 2-25-19. The sounds heard were Spring Peepers in Blacksburg, Va., March 11, 2015; and various night-time insect sounds in Blacksburg, October 2, 2014. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. IMAGES Snow and ice on December 30, 2014, in Bla

Click to listen to episode (4:19) Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Image Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.) Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 2-27-21. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of March 1, 2021. MUSIC – ~15 sec – instrumental That’s part of “Wade in the Water,” arranged and performed by Torrin Hallett, a graduate student at Lamont School of Music in Denver.  The song is an African American spiritual dating back to the time of slavery in the United States and connected to the history of the Underground Railroad and efforts by slaves to escape. This week, Virginia Water Radio embarks on a new, multi-episode endeavor: exploring connections of water to the history of civil rights in the United States.  When completed, the series of episodes will be posted together as a thematic package available online at virginiawaterradio.org.  This week’s overview episode provides an introduction to the topic of civil rights and to the kinds of water connections the series will explore. The Georgetown University Law Library describes civil rights history as, quote, “the history of various movements by citizens in the United States to gain political and social freedom and equality.”  The Library’s Web site called “A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States” identifies civil rights movements for Black people, women, the LGBTQ community, the disabled, and immigrants and refugees.  A similar Web site at the Howard University Law School Library also includes indigenous peoples. The Georgetown Law Library defines civil rights as those rights derived by being a legal member of a given political state.  Georgetown identifies the following as key civil rights in the United States: protection from discrimination, free speech, due process, equal protection of the laws, and the right against self-incrimination. This Water Radio series will explore how water has been part of the history of Americans seeking, acquiring, or maintaining civil rights.  The episodes will include three main topic areas: 1) water in metaphors, symbolism, and other cultural references; 2) access to, and interactions with, water; and 3) the roles of rivers and other water places. For this series, I hope to find and present information that’s interesting and valuable for Virginia citizens.  I invite you to have a listen to what gets discovered and to let me know what you think of it. Thanks to Torrin Hallett for this week’s music, and we close with the final 35 seconds of his arrangement of “Wade in the Water.” MUSIC – ~ 33 sec – instrumental SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The “Wade in the Water” version heard in this episode is copyright 2021 by Torrin Hallett, used with permission.  Torrin is a 2018 graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio, and a 2020 graduate i

Click to listen to episode (4:14) Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.) Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 2-19-21. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of February 22, 2021.  This episode is a revised version of an episode from February 2013. MUSIC – ~15 sec – instrumental That’s part of “Chesapeake Bay Ballad,” composed for Virginia Water Radio by Torrin Hallett, a graduate student at Lamont School of Music in Denver.  It sets the stage for a series of Bay-related mystery sounds.  Have a listen for about 30 seconds, and see if you can guess what kind of animals these six creatures are, and a seasonal thing they have in common.  And here’s a hint: if you think cold, you’re warm! SOUNDS - ~ 32 sec If you guessed all birds, you’re right!  The sounds, in order, were the Horned Grebe, Dunlin, American Coot, Hooded Merganser, Tundra Swan, and Snow Goose.  The seasonal thing they share is that they are winterresidents around Chesapeake Bay area waters.  According to Life in the Chesapeake Bay, by Alice and Robert Lippson, some 22 bird species are commonly found in winter around the Bay but are uncommon or not present at all during summer.  And a similar number of Bay-area bird species are just the opposite—rare in winter but common in warmer months.  So as spring arrives, the first of two yearly feathered comings-and-goings will start to fill the skies over Virginia’s coastal waters. Thanks to the Lang Elliott and NatureSound Studio for permission to use the grebe, dunlin, coot, and merganser sounds, from the Stokes Field Guide to Birds Songs; and thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the Tundra Swan and Snow Goose sounds.  Thanks also to Torrin Hallett for this week’s music, and we close the final 35 seconds of “Chesapeake Bay Ballad.” MUSIC – ~34 sec – instrumental SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The sounds of Horned Grebe, Dunlin, American Coot, and Hooded Merganser were taken from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott, whose work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/. The sounds of Tundra Swan and Snow Goose were taken from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (FWS) “Sounds Clips” Web page, online at Sound Clips” Web site at http://www.fws.gov/video/sound.htm.  For more FWS audio and video recordings, see the National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/.“Chesapeake Bay Ballad” is copyright 2021 by Torrin Hallett, used with permission.  This music was used previous by Virginia Water Radio in Episode 537, 8-10-20, on conditions in the Chesapeake Bay.  Torrin is a 2018 graduate of Oberl