Awww, Springlike Feel

When will the first tornado warning be issued for Kansas?(Date and Time)Please include the county too, just in case we have a tie.

That is the question that you can answer in hopes of winning some KWCH gear. Yes, it will probably include an umbrella. We will take your guess up until March 10th.

I'm getting ready to drive to Greensburg to see the town for myself. This will be my first trip into town since it was hit almost a year ago. You'll be able to see the story in the weather special that is coming up on March 11th.

The weather is looking good the next few days. Warmer conditions and not much in the way of wind. There could be some thunderstorms in Kansas this weekend, mainly Sunday. This will be something to track through the next few days, but right now, I would expect the severe weather chances to be just east of our area. I guess March will be coming in like a lion! Millie says hello to all of you bloggers!

The Winter That Never Ends

It seems like this winter weather is never going to go away. I know there are some out there that really enjoy the snow, but I'm sure a survey would show that most of us are ready for the warmth.

Keep the guesses coming as to when you think the first tornado warning will be issued for Kansas. Just pick a date and time, and county in case there we have a tie. The winner of our first blog contest received an umbrella and a bunch of other KWCH stuff (just ask Mack, the winner of our first contest)

Our weather special will air on March 11th at 6:30. We had a huge setback in the production of the show this last week, but we are still excited about the show. My little segment will deal with the rebuilding of Greensburg. I'll be traveling there on Wednesday to talk with those who suffered through the storm. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Time to Guess Again!

I've decided that our spring guessing competition should have something to do with severe weather. I had you guess the first one inch of snowfall in October and November and Mack was the winner. Here is the question for you to answer:
When will the first tornado warning be issued for Kansas?(Date and Time)
Please include the county too, just in case we have a tie.


The lunar eclipse will happen tomorrow night at 10 p.m. local time. I'm still a bit uncertain about sky conditions at that time, so check the blog later today or in the morning for an update. It will be awesome if we can see it. It will turn red, orange, an maybe even turquoise. The total eclipse will last for about an hour. Can you stay awake that long?

I'm not really a man of wisdom, but I have a quote for the day. When someone means something in your life, make sure to tell them everyday. It could make all the difference in the world. Have a good one!

Upcoming Lunar Eclipse & Something Special

I know there is a bunch of sickness going around, so if you've been sick, I hope you are feeling better. The International Space Station was visible over Kansas the last couple of evenings, but did anyone see it? The clouds blocked our view Saturday night, but someone may have seen it Friday night.

There is a lunar eclipse coming up this next week. It will take place on February 20th, Wednesday, and it will be a total lunar eclipse, which means the moon will turn red and maybe even turquoise. We had one not too long ago; I remember blogging about it and we had perfect viewing conditions. The moon will be full this week, the weather will be quiet, and we should end up with optimal viewing conditions. We may have some clouds arriving late Wednesday night, but I'm still optimistic.

If I remember correctly, the last lunar eclipse was really early in the morning, but this one will be viewable before bedtime (at least for most of us)

On another note, our weather special is coming together and will air on March 11th at 6:30 p.m. It will focus on the Greensburg tornado, but there will be some other small pieces included in the special.

I'm preparing another blog contest for the upcoming spring season. I'll have more details coming up soon, so tell your friends and family to be looking for details in the next week or so.

Snowfall Update

All kinds of things on my mind this week. I hope things are running smoothly for you this week (at least so far)

People have been talking about the snow and cold this winter. I looked up some numbers for you and actually, we've had our share of snow this winter. I've posted Wichita and Dodge City snowfall information for the winter months and you'll see that both places are above normal.

There is a chance for more snow on Thursday as the temperatures take another plunge. We don't think there will be accumulations with this next round of wintry weather.

We had thunderstorms Monday morning in southcentral Kansas. It really has me thinking about the upcoming severe weather season and it isn't that far off. Don't forget, our severe weather special will air on March 11th at 6:30 in the evening. The focus of the show will be on Greensburg and as always, each member of the Storm Team will have a small part in the broadcast. I know this will be another great show, so mark your calendar.

Alright, enjoy the rest of the week. I like hearing from you when you get time to post comments.

Severe Weather Forecasting

I wanted to follow up on a comment that someone posted in the last entry I had on here talking about severe weather forecasting and wondering if it is actually getting better. By now, I'm sure you've seen some of the tornado damage on TV and some are asking if the death toll could've been reduced if the people in those areas knew ahead of time about the severe weather threat.

I know I'm biased when I say this, but severe weather forecasting is getting better and better with each passing season. Just recently (last year if I remember correctly), the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK started highlighting areas of concern for severe weather as many as 8 days in advance. We can't always tell you about a specific severe threat 8 days out, but we can tell you which areas may have severe weather and which day (or days) we are most likely to see the storms. I'm posting an example of the graphic that the Storm Prediction Center puts on their website. In this case, the SE corner of the US has a threat for severe weather on Day 4, which would be Tuesday, Feb. 12.

I have a feeling because we aren't technically in tornado season, most of us are not prepared for a significant outbreak like we had last week. But as we've seen now in 2 different cases, tornado outbreaks do happen in winter time and we should be ready. There is no severe weather (of the springtime variety) in our extended forecast. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Wade, Tornadoes, and a School Visit

Someone requested a picture of my nephew, and I just received some new pictures this week. Here you go; Wade Leland Janssen makes his debut on the blog. He is growing like a weed and it won't be too long before he'll get to go on his first storm chase with me. Alright, so that might be pushing it a little bit and I'm not sure if his mom would be willing to let him go, especially with me.

I had a chance to visit some of the high school kids at Wichita East Tuesday morning. We covered mathematics in meteorology (one area I wasn't so good at in college) and I had the kids doing conversions on the different temperature scales. It was just early enough in the morning that I bribed the kids with chocolate candy for answering some of my questions.

There has been another tornado outbreak already this year. We watched another round of tornadoes hit east of Kansas and there has been significant damage in the Memphis area. I don't know if this is any indication of how our severe weather season will be, but it is definitely off to an early start in places that don't normally get severe weather until April or May. Very interesting to say the least!

Groundhog Day 2008

So the Groundhog saw his shadow on Saturday, which means 6 more weeks of winter. Millie says we will have an early spring, so let's see which one is a better long range forecaster. According to the records, Phil has seen his shadow 97 times in the last 121 years. There have been 15 years where he did not see his shadow, which leaves 9 years where there was no record of his prediction. I was scrolling through some of the pictures from this years event and I thought this one was just fitting for the election that is coming up this year.

We will be going through some changes in the weather pattern this week, so expect some big fluctuations in the temperatures through the next 8-10 days. There will be some 60s this week, but there will also be some days in the 30s too. Tuesday will be one of those days.

In an effort to keep the blog somewhat professional, I'm trying to keep some of my personal life out of the blog. I appreciate each and every one of you and your comments are always fun to read. The regular bloggers (and you know who you are) do a great job of keeping it interesting and I want you to continue to post the things that may be on your mind, or questions you have about the weather. Questions about my relationship status are not ones I want to continually discuss, and I hope that everyone will understand. What did you think of the Super Bowl?