5K Race

I am definitely not the best or fastest runner around, but the exercise gives me a little boost to get through the day. Saturday was the 5K Susan G Koman Race for the Cure in Wichita and as you can see, I didn't run it alone. Denise Hyntka and I decided to join a team of about 8 others to see if we could complete the race. I'm not sure what was harder; trying not to get runover by other runners, or just trying to keep from dying of exhaustion. The weather was ideal with temperatures in the 60s, low humidity, and light winds. It was a great time.





Storms did develop over portions of Kansas Saturday morning and afternoon. We had a couple pictures sent to us from the KSU game around 11:30 a.m. The clouds looked very ominous, and without actually being there to see the full skyline, it almost looks like a shelf cloud rolled over the stadium. Shelf clouds are associated with strong winds, and then it's usually followed up with some heavier rainfall and small hail. The game was put on hold for over an hour until the system had passed.

Holy Hail!!

As the storm clouds started building over southcentral Kansas on Wednesday, people at the Kansas State Fair were concerned they would be swept away in a tornado. The Storm Prediction Center issued the tornado watch at about 3 p.m. and it didn't take long for storms to start dropping tremendous hail. Fortunately, there were only a few tornadoes reported, and despite being in a populated area, no reports of serious injuries or major damage.




I'm posting a picture of what looks to be one of the weak tornadoes reported near Haysville, and there is a map that shows the hail swath from south of Hutch, all the way down into Cowley county. Along the path, several reports of baseball and softball size hail. The storms were extra hard on Goddard and Winfield, with 80 mph winds reported in Winfield at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday evening.

In many ways, we were lucky that we didn't have tornado warnings on the fairgrounds, and also that we didn't have any widespread damage from tornadoes. But I'm sure some roofs will need repair in the wake of Wednesday's madness.

State Fair 2010

We've had a number of phone calls and emails, and yes, Millie will be at the fair this year on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This will be her 4th year attending the fair, and I'm not sure how to read her this year. She'll probably be excited when we get there, but the attention she gets is overwhelming to her and by the end of our 2nd day there, I'm sure she'll be feeling like this:

I spent part of my day on Thursday helping my dad get ready to plant next year's wheat crop. It goes in early in an effort to allow cattle to graze it going into the winter months, and once it's in, they'll need some rain in central Kansas. The pattern may turn more active next week with chances for storms beginning in the west on Monday, and continuing area wide Tuesday and Wednesday. Still not sure how widespread it will be, but at least there is some hope for moisture. The computer models suggest it will be mild through the rest of the fair, but if for any reason we miss the rain next week, it's possible it will stay warmer than normal (highs near 90).

I'm still waiting to see when our first big cool spell will be (one that lasts more than just 2 days), but so far, we cool down for a day, and warm right back up the next. That will be the story this weekend.

Hope to see you at the fair this year.

Stirring up the Atlantic

After waiting and waiting for something to get going in the Atlantic, now it is one right after another when it comes to tropical storms and hurricanes. It could be a long, Labor Day weekend for those on the east coast with Earl passing very close to shore tonight and early Friday. It will likely be a major hurricane through Friday, before weakening over the weekend. But as you can see from the hurricane center, we have Fiona, Gaston, and maybe Hermine (the one outlined in yellow)

It will cool down for Friday and Saturday, but next week still looks hot and humid and the long range forecast keeps the above normal temperatures around until the 2nd full week of September. Maybe Millie can stir up some rain and cooler temperatures... just in time for the fair. And some say it always rains during the state fair. By the way, Millie and I will be there Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (17th), so stop by and say hello.