2021 Storm Names for the North Atlantic and Caribbean 2021 Names for Tropical Cyclones in the East Pacific When Does Hurricane Season Begin? In the North Atlantic and Caribbean, hurricane season basins begins on June 1. In the East Pacific, hurricane season begins on May 15. What is the Difference Between a Hurricane and Typhoon? … Read more
Daylight saving time (DST) begins: Sunday, March 14th, 2021. When will DST end (return to standard time)? 2021 Countdown to Spring A Few Interesting Facts and Myths About Daylight Saving Time 1. Terminology: Daylight saving time, not “savings”. 2. Bottling daylight most of the year. In the United States, we spend about 65% of the … Read more
The town of New Bern, North Carolina, located approximately 40 miles inland from the coastline along the Neuse River, has recorded storm surge greater than 6 feet above ground level for more than 24 hours in a row. The Neuse River is a saltwater river that empties into the Pamlico Sound in coastal North Carolina, … Read more
A blocking weather pattern has encompassed much of the nation throughout the summer. A persistent area of high pressure and large-scale, high-amplitude ridging over the western half of the country has resulted in hot temperatures and extremely low atmospheric moisture content. These are the conditions necessary for the development of wildfires. Last week, NOAA’s Geostationary … Read more
The National Weather Service’s Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) network across the United States consists of 155 Doppler radar sites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In 2013, the entire WSR-88D network was upgraded to dual-polarization capabilities, meaning that the Doppler radar can emit pulses in both the horizontal and vertical plane. … Read more
…Daily rainfall record shattered at DFW on the 28th… …Also the most rainfall ever recorded on ANY day in February… …February 2018 is now the wettest on record for DFW… A heavy rain event on the last day of the month pushed monthly rainfall totals to record levels at DFW Airport in the Dallas/Fort Worth … Read more
The atmosphere can display phenomenal optical features through the bending of light. You may have looked up at the sky on a day with high-level clouds, e.g. cirrus clouds, which are composed of ice crystals. These hexagonal ice crystals act as prisms, and when a photon (a particle of light) passes through the ice crystal, … Read more
The City of Rowlett, Texas, continues their efforts to raise money for those affected by the EF-4 tornado that impacted the area on December 26th, 2015. Rowlett Strong, the non-profit organization involved, has earned a Gold Participant status from the GuideStar non-profit organization. GuideStar is one of the world’s largest source of non-profit information. Rowlett … Read more
On Sunday, November 17th, 2013, an outbreak of deadly tornadoes occurred across the upper midwest region of the United States. 73 tornadoes were confirmed across Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. Two of the seventy-three tornadoes were violent, of which both earned damage ratings on the Enhanced Fujita Scale of EF-4 (166-200mph winds). Both … Read more
A new polar orbiting satellite, the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1), is scheduled to launch Wednesday, November 15th, at 1:47am PDT from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Update [11/16 at 11:39am CST]: The morning launch was scrubbed due to strong upper level winds. The new launch time is scheduled for Saturday, November 18th, … Read more
Last year on November 19th, 2016, GOES-16 (formerly GOES-R) was launched on the Atlas V541 rocket from the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Nearly a year after its launch into geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 22,240 miles above the Earth’s surface, the satellite constellation will begin its drift to the GOES-East … Read more
Dallas/Fort Worth/North Texas Forecast Summary [Wednesday 10/25] ➤ As I discussed in my previous DFW forecast posted on Monday, the coldest air so far this season will overspread North Texas on Friday. ➤ Temperatures will be in the upper 80s to near 90º tomorrow (Thursday, October 26) thanks to downslope/compressional warming with southwest winds. ➤ … Read more
Forecast Discussion for DFW/North Texas [Posted on Monday 10/23/17] …Coolest air so far this season arrives Friday… ➤ Following highs in the low-mid 80s today, a weak cold front tonight will bring temperatures back down to seasonal levels tomorrow and Wednesday. ➤ A bit warmer on Thursday, ahead of the next cold front, with temperatures … Read more
On the morning of October 14th, 2017, at 11:00am AST, Hurricane Ophelia was upgraded to a rare major hurricane south of the Azores Islands in the far northeastern Atlantic. Ophelia is a Category-3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with maximum sustained winds of 115mph. Three days earlier, on October 11th, Ophelia became the 10th consecutive … Read more
As of 5:00pm AST today, October 11th, Hurricane Ophelia became the 10th consecutive named system in the Atlantic Basin to reach hurricane strength. According to research meteorologists at the Colorado State University, this ties the all-time record previously set in 1995 for the second most on record through October 11th (it also ties records set … Read more
As of 5:00pm AST on Saturday, September 30th, 2017, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, issued their final advisory for Tropical Storm Maria. During the past 49 days, there were five major hurricanes (Category-3 or higher) in the Atlantic Basin. These hurricanes had the names of: Harvey, Irma, Jose, Lee, and Maria. Hurricane Irma … Read more
A total solar eclipse will occur across parts of the United States on August 21st, 2017. The path of totality will cross over the following states: Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The total eclipse over the U.S. will begin at 10:15am PDT in Oregon, and … Read more
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
