Going solar lets you slash heating bills, reduce your home’s carbon footprint, and embrace a green lifestyle. Installing solar panels can give you energy independence. However, you can still “go solar” and reduce heating bills without investing a fortune in expensive solar panels. Every unit of electricity you save is a unit you effectively generate. … Read more
Hurricane season starts on June 1st and runs through November 30. This time frame was created based on long-term statistics, but hurricanes can certainly occur outside of this range. In January 2016, for example, Hurricane Alex became the strongest Atlantic hurricane to occur during the northern hemispheric winter. So, irrespective of the date, take some … Read more
Determining the type of supercells that may occur within a given severe weather environment is important for a multitude of reasons. A supercell is a thunderstorm that rotates. There are three types of supercells: low-precipitation (LP), classic, and high-precipitation (HP). The configuration of the wind shear profiles within a severe weather environment is critical in diagnosing … Read more
If you are searching for diverse weather or extreme temperatures and precipitation, the U.S. is certainly one of the places to be. Have you ever wondered what U.S. city is the coldest or the warmest? What city experiences the most rainfall or the most thunderstorms? I thought that it would be interesting to come up with … Read more
Long-track supercells formed across the western Great Plains on Tuesday, May 16th, 2017. Accompanied with these supercells were multiple tornadoes, damaging winds, and giant hail upwards of 4.00″ in diameter. Widespread flash flooding also occurred across the Oklahoma Panhandle and southwestern Kansas. The morning data analysis, including the 1200z / 7:00am CDT observed weather balloon … Read more
Strong vertical wind shear is important for the development of severe convective storms including the type of thunderstorm, its orientation, and its life span. Wind shear can influence storms in several ways, including speed shear and directional shear. Speed shear is a change in the wind speed with respect to height, while directional shear is the … Read more
Do you have a dog that is terrified of loud noises such as thunder or fireworks? It can be devastating to watch as your dog shakes uncontrollably, pants, and paces every time a storm approaches or during Independence Day celebrations. Not too much is known as to why some dogs have a phobia of loud … Read more
Extremely warm and dry conditions across southern Georgia and Florida has set the stage for the eruption of wildfires and brushfires. The largest fire, West Mims, was triggered by lightning in early April and has burned over 225 square miles. A extremely high fire danger is likely to continue across these areas, with little hope of relief anytime soon. … Read more
Like humans, our pets can have phobias, such a stress-inducing fear of loud noises, fireworks, and thunderstorms. As a pet-owner, you have an awareness of your dog’s mood and her behavior likely alerts you to an approaching thunderstorm, even before you hear the first clap of thunder. She may cry or whimper, tremble, or scurry … Read more
A low pressure system was located over the southern and central Plains Thursday, May 11th. Although the low-level dynamics were quite weak the combination of the mid-to-upper level winds, and outflow boundaries analyzed on the visible satellite, signaled the potential for severe weather in the early afternoon Thursday across the region. How to Get Flood Insurance – … Read more
Severe thunderstorms were in the forecast across southwestern Oklahoma on Wednesday, May 10th. The potential for supercells (a rotating thunderstorm) existed as well, particularly along the intersection of the dryline and outflow boundary. The forecast was quite complicated, with early morning convection and persistent cloud cover across much of Oklahoma that made for a complex afternoon for … Read more
Introduction This informative forecast writing will focus on the weather forecasting tools and concepts that are used to predict winter weather events. There are various types of winter weather events that are analyzed and forecasted including mid-latitude cyclones, ice storms, lake-effect snows and sleet storms. Each of these will be discussed separately. In addition, bust … Read more
On Monday, May 8th, there was the potential for isolated thunderstorms across eastern Colorado with possible supercells (a rotating thunderstorm) along the Interstate 70 corridor in vicinity of the Palmer Divide. Although the tornado threat was very low, there was certainly a good chance of observing photogenic storms in the High Plains of Colorado. Forecast soundings … Read more
Ten years ago today on the evening of May 4, 2007, the small town of Greensburg, Kansas, was nearly destroyed by a 1.7 mile wide EF-5 tornado, with a maximum wind speed of 205mph. Damage surveys concluded that about 95% of the city was destroyed, with EF-5 damage observed through the heart of Greensburg. The tornado tracked for … Read more