On the afternoon of March 24, 2016, a stunning mesoscale convective vortex (MCV) formed within a mesoscale convective system as it moved over southern Alabama. I created the animation below using a sequence of radar images provided by the College of DuPage. What is an MCV (Mesoscale Convective Vortex)? An MCV is an area of […]
A little over a decade ago, I was a forecaster at the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. Prior to forecasting for North Texas, I was a tropical forecaster at the National Hurricane Center… my first full-time professional position after I completed my master’s degree in 1998. I loved working in Miami, but my scientific interests […]
On Sunday, March 13, 2016, DFW Airport (along with many other locations) reached 80 degrees for the first time this year. Prior to 3/13, the last time DFW was at or above 80º was on December 26th. December 26, 2015 was the date of the historic EF-4 tornado that tore a path through the eastern […]
On Monday, March 7th, 2016, a spectacular supercell formed in far northwestern Oklahoma and entered southern Kansas. A supercell is a thunderstorm that rotates. Conditions on Monday were favorable for a couple of supercells to initiate off the dryline in far western Oklahoma, and into western Kansas. However, given weak convergence along the dryline and meager […]