Graduation Day in Starkville
* Again, congratulations to Derek Kinkade, our weekend meteorologist, on graduating from Mississippi State University. Derek is a very talented meteorologist who will go very far in the TV weather business.
* STORM CHASE UPDATE: My friends Greg and Lauren from LDCT are in the panhandle of Texas chasing after thunderstorms out there. So far, the chase hasn't yielded much in the way of success. But, storm chasing is not for the impatient! Persistence and preparation are two key ingredients for storm chase success, so I would imagine that better chase days are ahead for the crew in the Plains. I'll be keeping you updated on their adventures over the next several weeks!
* Weather looks calm for the next several days. Perhaps a shower or storm early next week, but not a big deal - the best dynamics will stay well north of us. Time to go!
Storm Chasing
* Just spoke with my good friends Greg Nordstrom and Lauren Raymer earlier this afternoon. They are on their way to the Great Plains to spend a few weeks chasing tornadoes and thunderstorms. Storm chasing allows those studying thunderstorms to learn about storm structure by observing it in the field. Like most things, learning in real life generally outweighs learning from a textbook. There are several groups from colleges around the Southeast heading out to go after the storms:
LDCT - Long Distance Chase Team - from Mississippi State. This is the group in which Greg and Lauren participate. They go out each year seeking storms, snow, and hurricanes! These students are all from MSU, but aren't officially affiliated with the school. Here's their website:
LDCT
NOMISSIT - NOrth Mississippi Severe Storms Intercept Team - also from MSU. This is the school's official storm chase group, comprised of students and faculty. This group does some local chasing, and the highlight of their year is the annual "Great Plains Storm Chase," a trek out to America's Heartland to seek out severe weather. They are leaving Monday on their storm chase. Here's a link to MSU's Operational Meteorology website:
MSU MeteorologyUSA - University of South Alabama. This group of meteorology faculty and students head out to the Plains in search of the worst weather nature offers. The USA storm chase is in its second year, and will only continue to improve as time goes on. They caught some tornadoes last year in their first storm chase. Impressive stuff! Here's an unofficial account of their adventure last year:
USA Storm Chase 2004
Interesting Statistics...
* We all know how active this Spring has been in east Mississippi and west Alabama. Here's an e-mail I received from Jeff Craven, the Science and Operations Officer at the National Weather Service in Jackson:
As you know, it has been an active Spring for severe weather and especially hail in the Jackson County Warning Area (CWA). Attached is a comparison of Golfball (1.75") and larger hail events in the current Jackson CWA since 1955. Obviously, since the mid 1970s, we've been better at receiving and documenting severe weather reports.
Nonetheless, the numbers show that we nearly doubled our previous maximum for combined March and April hail reports of at least Golfball size. The previous maximum was 43 events in 1996, and we had about 82 in March/April 2005.* Wild times!
Can We Control Weather?
* You might be surprised how many people like to make jokes to us about "controlling" the weather. It's all we can do to get it right most of the time, much less have any say in what it does. But, there are those who believe that we might be able to influence the weather. Here's an article from ABC News:
Russian pilots vs clouds at V-day parade
Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov says he is sure the Air Force will repel any hostile clouds looking to rain on next week's Victory Day parade.
Russian pilots are past masters at seeding clouds to make rain fall away from major state events, and Mr Ivanov says they will repeat the feat for the Red Square party celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany.
The party is due to be attended by more than 50 world statesmen and Mr Ivanov says he will guarantee it will be held under a clear sky.
"Only the Defence Ministry can physically ensure a clear sky," he said in an interview with official daily Rossiskaya Gazeta to be published on Wednesday.
However, Russian meteorologists have suggested his pilots might be up against it, amid predictions of rain for the weekend and most of next week.* Here's the link to the article:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200505/s1359513.htmCloud seeding has been attempted, but has been met with limited results. The idea is rather complicated, but the basis is to "seed" clouds with tiny particles. These particles collect moisture on them affect the way rain is formed. I believe the Russian Defence Ministry might be overselling their ability!
Wireless Weather
* Let me introduce our newest product to keep you up to date on the latest severe weather warnings: Wireless Weather.
For a very small fee, you can sign up for the service to receive weather watches and warnings on your cell phone.
This service will allow you to ALWAYS know when severe weather is approaching YOU, even if you are away from the TV or radio!
To sign up, follow the link below:
Newscenter 11 Wireless Weather
A Busy Night...
* A busy night for our friends in the news department. Tonight was election night for several local municipal primaries, so the newsroom was alive with activity tonight. This is the news equivalent of covering severe weather: a rapidly changing and often chaotic situation! After all of the severe weather coverage this Spring, it was nice to see someone other than our meteorologists being so busy. This was my first to observe from this perspective, I would imagine that it gets REALLY busy on the actual election night! Our news department did a great job covering things tonight.
For a full update on the local election winners, check out Newscenter 11 Election Coverage.* Our weather will be pretty dull for the next 7-10 days. The most exciting thing to talk about will be the small prospects for rain tomorrow and Thursday. A weak system diving southeast towards the Gulf of Mexico will give us a shot at seeing a scattered sprinkle or shower. But, most places will probably stay dry.
* Warm weather on the way for the weekend. I would imagine we'll see 80 by Friday, with middle 80's likely by Saturday and Sunday.
* I want to give a big congratulations to our weekend meteorologist Derek Kinkade. He will be graduating from Mississippi State this weekend, and we are all very proud of him. If you would like to drop him a word of congratulations, his e-mail address is Derek.Kinkade@wtok.com. I'll post this message in most of the blog entries throughout the week.
* Time to get going on the 10:00 news...
Cool and Cloudy
* First, I'd like to apologize for not posting yesterday. I was on the road for most of the day, and then had to format the hard drive on my computer yesterday evening and into the night. So, I didn't get around to posting anything....
* Our weather is giving us a well-deserved break. We don't see much in the way of active weather for at least the next 4-7 days. There is an outside chance of a sprinkle or shower Wednesday and early Thursday, but most places will remain dry.
* I ran across an interesting article on a bulletin board for meteorologists. This is courtesy of Dan Brounoff from WAAY in Huntsville, Alabama:
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(May 3, 2005) -- In a combat zone, accurate and timely weather predictions are vital for service members to complete their mission.
Tucked away in a small tent here, Cpl. Victor Rodriguez, meteorology and oceanography observer, G-2, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Headquarters Group, II MEF (Forward), has one of the few jobs where star gazing and cloud watching are allowed throughout the day.
Rodriguez makes hourly observations of visibility, sky conditions, winds and dew point using high technology equipment daily to gather information.
“I go outside every hour to take measurements,” said the Chicago native. “I observe the clouds and feel the wind speed.”
Rodriguez, who recently reenlisted, feels his job is important for everyone on camp.
“People need to know what the weather will be for day-to-day accomplishments,” he said. “Pilots especially need the information.”
The pilots get information from the weather van or the Air Traffic Control tower.
“The meteorology and oceanography Marines work closely with ATC to provide pilots with the information they need,” said Rodriguez.
There are two weather sensors on camp, known as the Weatherpak 2000.
“There are differences in wind speed and temperature in the two different locations, even though they aren’t very far apart,” he said.
Rodriguez has been going through old observations to make an archive of the weather patterns here. He said it has never been done before.
“I am going over all the old hourly observations,” he explained. “I’m not sure why it has never been done, but I think it’s because no one knew how long we’d be here, so they didn’t think it was necessary. But I am putting the information together so it can be used in the future.”
The weather center is operated 24-hours a day.
Cpl. Michelle L. Gottschalk, METOC technician, G-2, II MHG, II MEF (FWD), works with Rodriguez during the day shift. She fixes the equipment when it breaks and also orders supplies and does other duties.
Gottschalk, an Island Lake, Ill., native, knows the weather equipment well.
“We are a team,” Gottschalk said. “We are teaching each other our jobs. For instance, I tell him about the cables or some of the equipment, and he lets me help out with the balloons.”
Once a day, Rodriguez releases a weather balloon which has a Global Positioning System and other small equipment attached to it. It is capable of taking temperature, dew point, surface, wind and humidity readings. Another balloon is released during the night shift.
“If you blow up the balloon too full, it pops,” said the 22-year-old. “It just took me lots of practice to get it right. The balloons I release average around 80,000 feet. If it’s filled improperly, it will only go about 40,000 feet which is okay, but not the best.”
The balloon has to be between 200 and 300 grams of pressure, and Rodriguez said the balloon can be read within five minutes of its release.
“After I release the balloon, I go to the computer inside our van and start reading the information,” said Rodriguez. “We then use the information to put on our Web site to be seen by military personnel.”
This is his first deployment to Iraq.
“The difference in my job here is that I hardly ever work with ground operations in the rear,” he said. “I have to pay attention to detail all the time, but more so now.”
Rodriguez says his favorite part of the job is knowing what’s happening before other people know about it.
“When the last sand storm came in, we could see it on our readings, and we were able to let everyone know about it,” he said. “We get to pass the information along that no one else knows about.”* Pretty interesting stuff...
Quick Sunday Update
Temperatures running a good 10 degrees below normal today, and I think the overall pattern for the week will remain on the cool side. Moisture starts to increase off to our west and we will see clouds on the increase around here by tomorrow.
Still considerable disagreement about rain chances late in the week. I think that we will see some rain around here Thursday afternoon and into Friday morning. We will fine-tune the forecast later in the week.
I will not be on duty next weekend. It is college graduation time! Josh Johnson will be handling the weather duties. Everyone stay safe and enjoy the week!
