End of 2008

I had a really nice Christmas and I hope you did too. I was reminded at how good of a cook my mom is; the turkey, potatoes, rolls, dessert, it was all so very good. I don't think she's ever fixed anything bad.

The weather here in Kansas has been nothing short of amazing. The tornado watch Friday night was somewhat of a surprise, but it really shouldn't have been when you consider how humid and warm it turned out to be during the afternoon. Snow was a common sight on Saturday, but just like that, it melted away Sunday afternoon.

This weeks weather looks rather quiet. There will be some day to day variation in the temperatures, but for the most part, it will be above average in the coming days. It also looks dry this week too.

Do you have any resolutions planned for the new year? I've been thinking of a few, but I've discovered that old habits die hard and so I'm going to have to work really hard to make a change. Don't forget time keepers, there will be an extra second at the end of 2008 to keep clocks in check with the slowing spin of the Earth on its axis. So, you'll have to delay your Happy New Year by just one tick of the clock.

White Christmas

I've had the discussion already 3 or 4 times in the last few days, but people keep asking about a white Christmas here in Kansas. Some would define it as actually seeing snow fall on Christmas Day, while others just want to see it on the ground. The National Weather Service defines a white Christmas with one inch of snow already on the ground from a previous storm, or it can fall on Christmas Day. Records date all the way back into the 1800s for Wichita, and since that time, only 13 Christmas' have been white. You might remember that last year we had a big snowstorm in southcentral Kansas right before the holiday, leaving us with 4 inches on the ground Christmas morning. It tied the record for the snowiest Christmas ever, but it was not the coldest. A high of 10 degrees above zero is the coldest on record, which happened back in 1983. Last year, many in central Kansas were cleaning up after a major ice storm. Those in the northeast part of the country are still suffering after the big ice storm that hit just over a week ago.

Our active weather pattern will bring one more system to the area Friday before things begin to settle down over the weekend. Next week our weather pattern looks quiet. The bitter cold goes back to Canada and we may actually get through the week without any significant winter storms. Have a Merry Christmas!

BBBBBRRRRRR!!!

Someone asked me on Sunday, how does the temperature go from 60 one day to 12 the next. Well, my first response was, "It's Kansas", but that wasn't enough of an explanation for this individual. It is incredible to say the least. One side of the storm system is warm, and once it passes on by, you get the other side which is usually the bitter cold, which is what we happen to be seeing right now. Of course, everyone has their own descriptor of this cold weather. Most of them probably aren't suited for the blog. =)

The weather pattern will be very active through Christmas, so yes, the chances of getting a snowy Christmas are higher than in most years. The computer models continue to show the possibility of another system coming out of the southwest sometime early next week, so we'll be waiting and watching. Sometimes, the computers are off just a bit (which is why the weatherman is sometimes off just a bit).
How is your holiday shopping going? I've started, but I'm still scratching my head on what to get Millie. I received some pictures of the recent snowfall in Lawrence. Grant Smith has been to KWCH to visit a few times and is working on a meteorology degree at KU. He was nice enough to send the pictures of the snowy scene on campus.

Snowfall winner

The first one inch of snow fell Tuesday and it sure made a mess of the roads. The first winter storm of the season always catches people off guard and from what we heard in the newsroom, there were several accidents. The weather will improve for the rest of the week and into the weekend. The weather pattern set up for next week should be rather interesting. Cold air will plunge south by Sunday afternoon and early next week, moisture starts to creep in from the west. So there is a good possibility we'll get more snow early next week, but we'll keep you posted.

Jackie is the winner of the 1 inch snowfall contest. She had guessed December 11th and so she'll be getting a weather umbrella. Thanks everyone for guessing. We actually had some really close guesses and most people were picking dates in the 2nd and 3rd week of the month, so it was a pretty good contest this year. I hope you are having a great week.

Snowfall Contest Update

We will be watching Mid-Continent Airport on Tuesday to see if Wichita gets its first one inch of snow. That would end our contest that we've had going for several weeks now. I have the list of people that posted an entry. Looking at some of the latest data, I don't think our contest will end with this storm system. We just don't have all the ingredients coming together the way we should and most of the moisture has passed to our north. The band of snow Monday afternoon across the northern Plains and the upper Midwest was very interesting to see.

How is your holiday shopping going? I finally did some shopping online Monday, but that just scratches the surface. It is hard to think about Christmas shopping when it's 68 degrees outside, but that's going to change. Millie has finally decided what she wants for Christmas. She is not picky on how it's cooked. Have a great week. I'll update the blog later in the week with more on this latest round of wintry weather.