March Snowstorm

What an amazing snow event for Kansas. Some of the worst snowstorms occur in March and this turned out to be one for the record books. There were several areas in central Kansas that had over 20 inches of snow and with the wind, snow drifts were even more impressive. The storm had an ideal track for us to get heavy snow (obviously), but one reason why we get the heavier snows at this time of the year is because the atmosphere has the spring moisture content that we sometimes see with severe weather setups. Remember, warmer air holds more moisture, so with the temperatures hovering around 32, for every one inch of liquid moisture, we get 10 inches of snow. I know that most of us would've rather had rain and no snow, but at least we have some kind of moisture soaking into the ground. It will be great for the winter wheat crop for sure. Look for a slow warm up the next few days as we melt away this snow cover. Aside from the dangerous travel and the many headaches that come with winter weather, it can be very beautiful.

HD Weather Graphics Are Here

Okay, so it seems like I've disappeared for the last few weeks on the blog, but we've been hard at work on our HD weather graphics. We will put them on the air at 5 p.m. Thursday evening, in between the basketball games. For those of you with an HD TV set, you are in for quite a treat with the new maps and radar images that we'll be showing you. Any storm tracking we do this spring on Super Doppler radar will be in HD. I'll just say it's been quite a learning process for all of us the last few weeks.

As if you didn't know already that it's been dry this winter, here is proof. Dodge City has received 4.2 inches of snow from February 2008-February 2009, which is least amount of snowfall for the area since records began. There is a definite need of moisture here in Kansas and we have high hopes for rain and thunderstorms this weekend. I know the timing may not be ideal for you on the weekend, but we have to take the rain when we can get it. Be sure to follow the weather with us this weekend. There is a pretty good chance for severe weather on Monday and we'll be giving you updates throughout the weekend (along with those NCAA games). By the way, I picked Pittsburgh to win it all, but I'm secretly hoping the Jayhawks pull off another National Title. Have a great weekend.

March is Here

It may be hard to believe that March is already here, but surprise, we are already into the our 3rd month of the year. It is a busy month for us with new weather graphics coming soon and our severe weather special is going to air very soon too. I don't have an exact date yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to pass it along. And, finally after some encouragement, we now have a link to the blogs on KWCH.com
I spent the last week training on the new weather graphics in Madison, WI. It was cold, but it wasn't that bad because the wind wasn't blowing 90 mph like it sometimes does in Kansas. Madison had about 4 inches of snow on the ground, and I was surprised to see real live ice fisherman on Lake Monona. I couldn't tell if they were catching anything. The training went well and we hope that it will make Storm Team 12 more efficient with the new system. We are excited and if you have an HD set at home, you'll enjoy the difference in a few weeks.

The weather looks very warm again this week, which should come as no surprise considering the way things have been going this winter. It seems as if we get cold for two days, and then it's followed by some significant warm up. The east coast is getting blasted today from a Nor'easter. You may find it interesting to know it is the same system that dumped 2-4 inches of snow on NE Kansas over the weekend. Have a great week.