Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Questions Answered

I thought this would be a good chance to answer some of the questions that are posted here on the blog. One of the more recent questions was from Peggy wanting to know if weathermen disagree. The answer is yes, we do disagree from time to time, and occasionally we arm wrestle to see which forecast we should use. =) Actually, if there is disagreement, we put our heads together and figure out some compromise. Over the years I've discovered that no one meteorologist is correct all the time (that's hard to say) but we do the best we can with the data that is available to us. Forecasting precipitation of any kind is usually difficult, but predicting snowfall amounts is the hardest (that's my opinion).

There was another question someone posted on here a few weeks ago wanting to know the record for tornado warnings in one given day. The record books don't keep track of the number of warnings issued, but we do have a record for the number of tornadoes in one day for Kansas. That number happens to be 36 on May 5th, 2007 and the most tornadoes in one year for our state is 137 in 2007.

The wheat harvest will get underway very soon, so a stretch of dry weather would be welcomed by many farmers around the area. I know my dad has requested some dry weather for Father's Day so he can plant milo, but I keep telling him I have no pull with Mother Nature.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Speaking of questions...How come hail is a ball shape? Memorial Day weekend I was driving towards Dodge City (this is when the weather was crazy) after turning around at Ford and I saw to my right a dust devil (remember I was driving trying not to freak out and listening to the weather warnings on the radio--at least I didn't have to worry about other cars b/c I was in the middle of no where. Anyways, I was wondering if dust devils show up on the radar? I was glad to see that this dust devil fadded away! :) Thanks and keep up the great work!

Anonymous said...

Why do you people keep interrupting the program with no new news. Why not just do what every other station does and update in the ads and use a banner notification during the show.

Anonymous said...

Boy oh boy you said a mouthful! We gave to sit there while All of Kansas watches a little storm in BFE, Why couldn't you have a separate video channel for all the colorful children's finger paintings. If you want to watch it fine, if you want watch your program press a button. With all the Cox crap on the video box it ought to handle that. FEE

shelly said...

Hi Ross,
As someone who benefited from the excellent weather coverage on Wednesday night, I want to thank you so much for staying on CONTINUOUS coverage during the storms. Living in Salina, and having family in Dickinson County, KWCH was one again priceless in the number of people warned, and probably lives saved. I don't care what anyone says, including the 2 "anonymous" writers here. Saving lives will ALWAYS be more important than a silly TV show. I do hope that those writers are never faced with a life threatening storm, and get nothing but a ticker tape at the bottom of the screen. KWCH SAVES LIVES! And for those of us that were threatened, there is no way to thank you enough for staying with us here in NC Kansas!! I promise NEVER to complain about coverage of storms in other areas of Kansas that don't affect me. I know that what you as a weather team do is very often emergent and needed. That's why KWCH is the weather leader in Kansas, and why I praise you for all your hard work and dedication. Maybe the other stations will figure that out someday, and if not, it gives these 2 writers another place to go while you give valuable service to those who need it!

I'm curious what the other bloggers think.....Don't be afraid to share.....

Anonymous said...

Shelly, I agree with you. It seems that people have got so callous and self centered. After 911 people seemed so respectful and courteous. But now it seems like they are worse than before. Saving lives will always be more important than any program. Keep up the good work Ross. Randy

Anonymous said...

Hey Ross! Thanks so much for the great coverage last night (Wed) of the storms in our "old stomping grounds". Mom said that she didn't know if it was tornado or straight-line wind damage (she heard some roaring), but they did have some on the farm. Hope your family made it through ok.
Great coverage on the less severe weather up in my area (OT Co) as Chris was out storm spotting & you were my eyes as to what was going on.
Thanks again & you can break in on regular programming any time necessary!
Rebecca (Kratzer) Rios

Anonymous said...

Ross - from another person that benefited very much from the continuous coverage of the line of very dangerous storms I want to say THANK YOU for keeping us so updated as to what is going on. While we in Ellsworth might be in "BFE" we are still there and still need to know what is going on to be protected from dangerous storms like that! You did an amazing job last night and I hope you get some well deserved rest today!

Anonymous said...

Great job last night. Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

I, for one, am not afraid to leave a comment regarding the storm coverage of June 11th. I watched faithfully as I had a grandson in Marquette, ex just west of Salina, and believe it or not, I was talking to my daughter whose home was only about 200 yds or less from the major damage at Seth Childs & Amherst @ Manhattan. The storage sheds coming into their park were also totally destroyed. When the sirens went off in Manhattan, they hurriedly went to the shelter without thinking twice. When they go the shelter there is no tv coverage & radio is not always "clear". The electricity had gone out & I could even hear the storm go over them. I stayed on the phone with her till I lost contact. I prayed that Ross would find a way to let us know what was going on there. I am the main contact when they are in shelter there. All I could tell her was that there was a tornado on the ground "just south" of Manhattan. I was just sick when I couldn't get ahold of her, especially after hearing there was damage on Seth Child. About 30 minutes later I received the "We're OK" call.
Bottom line is that this season I have depended heavily on KWCH stormteam to keep me informed of all areas of dangerous storms. The storms pop up so quickly that I agree that if you don't want to watch it, change the channel.
Thanks very much, Ross, for helping keep my family safe there.
PS..When they first left their house to go to shelter, they knew they were in trouble cuz they could actually hear the loud commotion being made by the animals at the zoo...

Ross's Biggest Fan! said...

Hi Ross! Thanks for the great weather coverage. Pay no mind to the naysayers. We all benefit from the program interruptions when our friends and neighbors are kept our of harms way. We love you!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey everyone. I can understand that some might be upset if they can't watch their favorite tv show, I do think that Ross you did a good job last night.

I would rather not see my TV show then have a life saved cause they got a weather alert from KWCH then myself being able to watch my show.

Looks like South Central Kansas is under the gun this evening. Keep safe everyone tonight and this coming weekend!

Ty said...

THANK YOU ROSS for ALL YOU and everyone else at KWCH do to keep us safe! Interrupt as needed because the majority of us realize that you only interrupt if you feel a life threatening danger is approaching one our fellow neighbors in Kansas, whether that is Wichita or rural Kansas or even surrounding states. You do what need to do to keep people safe and informed and that is what is important. Many also have to realize the complexity of predicting what mother nature will do, if the severe nature is possible it is important to break in and notify everyone possible. It would be much worse for people to have no warning and then have severe casualities because an important show was on TV. For those that want a switch or alternate TV station to air without weather coverage, talk to COX Communications or CBS, not KWCH for those technological advances.

This definately has been on CRAZY STORM SEASON!

Anonymous said...

WHY DOESE FEMA REFUSE TO LET CHAPMAN REBUILD? REASON, IT IS IN A FLOOD PLAIN. WELL UNLESS MY MIND IS GOING. THEY ARE LETTING NEW ORLEANS REBUILD, AND THEY ARE IN A GIANT BOWL SUROUNDED BY WATER. I KNOW THEY ARE ALOT BIGGER, BUT DOESE THAT MAKE THEM WANTING TO KEEP THERE HOMES ANY MORE IMPORTANT? JUST A CONSERND RESIDENT

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