Dust storm

Every week I get an email with different satellite views that showcase some interesting elements of weather. This week, I received a picture of a serious dust storm that was taking place in Afghanistan on December 20. The dirt is being driven by strong north winds, carrying the dust over the Arabian Sea. Dry lakebeds near the Iran/Afghan border are the most common sources of blowing dirt. Dust storms in Afghanistan can happen any time of the year, but they are more common in the summer months. The average is 6 days a month with dust storms in the summer, but it drops to 2 dust storm days (on average) in the winter season.

Almost everyone reading this has probably been in or around some blowing dirt, but maybe not one where the visibility was almost zero.


Seems like we had our share of blowing dirt this summer with all of the dry weather that we had across the central and southern US. Dry weather is likely to be with us until the 8th or 10th of January. Eventually, by the middle of next month (January), we'll start to enter the active pattern once again with storms coming out of the southwest US. Check back for updates. The mild weather to end 2011 might fool you, but cold air will find us before too much longer.

White Christmas 2011?

The chance of a White Christmas is very low for Kansas. In most cases, the chances are only 10-20%, and we define a White Christmas by having at least 1" of snow on the ground from a previous storm, or it could fall on Christmas.


Looking ahead, there are two more storms that should be coming through the central US, and each one of them will be very different. The first one should arrive on Monday, December 19th and this storm will approach from the southwest. This type of storm in the winter can produce a wide variety of weather for Kansas. This one should track to the south of our area, which will put Kansas in a favorable spot to see more moisture. Most of it will be rain, but there is a chance we could see some snow in central and northern Kansas. It is too early to predict accumulations, but even if we do get accumulating snow on Monday, it will likely melt during the middle of the week.


A second storm will move through the area on Friday, December 23, but this one will not likely produce measurable rain or snow for Kansas. The heavier precipitation and snow looks to stay north of our area. However, it will set us up for colder weather going into the Christmas holiday.

So in summary, don't expect a White Christmas this year in Kansas. We'll have to wish for one in 2012.

A different view

This is by far one of the most beautiful pictures I've seen of our atmosphere, taken from the International Space Station, which is about 250 miles above us. One of the things I teach to school kids is that the Earth's atmosphere is made up of layers, starting with the troposphere (the lowest layer where we are). Next up is the stratosphere, then mesosphere, and finally, the thermosphere. When you get higher than the thermosphere, you are moving into outer space. The orange-reddish color is the troposphere, which is more dense than the other layers of the atmosphere. The brown color is the tropopause (the division between the troposphere and the stratosphere), and the milky white color would be the stratosphere. The mesosphere and thermosphere fade from shades of blue to black. We are able to see these particular colors because the different gasses act to filter out certain colors that we see with our eyes. The moon may appear to be part of our atmosphere, but it is almost 240,000 miles away, putting it outside of the gaseous envelope that surrounds our planet.

Winter Forecast

One of the projects I'm working on is coming up with a winter forecast for 2011-2012. Making long range forecasts are not easy, but this Sunday night at 10 p.m., I'll be talking about what kind of weather I think Kansas will be seeing this winter. Yes, we know it will get cold and we are bound to get some snow, but how much snow and what are the chances we'll get ice? There are several factors to take into account when coming up with a long range outlook, and I'll go over some of them in the broadcast.


Here is the winter forecast we put out last year in November. It was very accurate with Wichita ending the season with just over 17 inches of snow. And there was one morning in February where the temperature dipped down to -17. We also had a couple of record setting 70 degree days that followed the -17. So wild weather is common in the winter months here in Kansas. We see it other times of the year too, but big fluctuations in temperatures are common in the cold season around here.

Millie and I visited Clark Davidson Elementary school on Monday. Here is a picture from our visit with the 1st graders.

Crepuscular rays

We are all familiar with a "ray" of sunshine, but there is a different kind of ray that you may not be familiar with. Crepuscular rays are common sights at sunrise and sunset, or near mountainous terrain where the rays of sunlight are actually blocked, creating a shadow. This satellite image from the International Space Station shows how the crepuscular rays are actually parallel, but when viewed from the ground, it appears the rays radiate out from the center of light source. This illusion is caused by distance and perspective in which we are viewing the light.

Our weather situation in Kansas is about to get active. Several storm systems will be crossing the central and western US through the first 10 days of November. Let's hope it cuts into the drought situation a little more, as much of the state could still benefit from precipitation. Of course this time of the year, it could be rain or snow, so check back for updates.

Fall frost

It may seem early, or it could be that our summer was so hot we're just not ready for the first fall frost or freeze. But actually, we are very close to the time when much of Kansas should experience lows in the 30s, resulting in some frost. Of course, northern parts of Kansas, on average, would see the frost first, with southern Kansas being the last areas of the state to see sub freezing temperatures. But this year has been anything but average. You'll see the map I've posted shows the average first fall frost for the state, and a few areas have already reported lows in the 30-35 degree range.

I enjoy these cooler nights and sleeping with the windows open. But anyone that suffers from allergies probably finds it hard to open the windows just yet. There is still a bunch of junk floating around in the air that is bothering a lot of people, and in order to help get rid of it, we really need temperatures to drop into the upper 20s. That won't happen for several more weeks, but the overall weather pattern the week of October 17-21st should support cooler than average temperatures and the chance for some frost in the near future.

Waterspouts

We don't see these around Kansas (at least in this form), mainly because we don't have big bodies of water here (El Dorado Lake doesn't count), but they did make for a spectacular show near Chicago over the weekend. A violent rotating column of air in contact with the ground is a tornado, but when it's over water, that's where we get waterspouts. They can move inland and become tornadoes, making them extremely dangerous. But when they develop over water, they only pose a threat to boats and a few swimmers. There were no reports of signifcant damage, but because they are rare over Lake Michigan, it created quite a stir for residents along the water. Only 13 waterspouts have been documented over Lake Michigan since 2000, and this weekend there were at least 6 different ones reported.

No waterspouts in our forecast (and not much water either). The pattern will continue to be dry for several more days. Our next chance for rain may not be until October 5th or 6th, and even then, that may only be a slight chance. The temperatures have been really nice lately, but we need rain in a bad way.

Fall Foliage

The fall color in Kansas will most likely not be as good as some years, due to the lack of rainfall. Some of the best fall foliage in our area will likely be in northern Kansas where the rainfall has been a little heavier. This map shows what time of the year certain areas reach their peak fall color, with cooler climates typically reaching the peak earlier in the season.

Autumn begins on Friday at 4:05 a.m. That's when the sun will be directly overhead at the equator, so we'll actually have an equal amount of daylight and nighttime (equinox = equal day and equal night). We are already starting to see changes going on in the atmosphere, with colder air developing in the Northern Provinces of Canada.

September is going to close on a dry note, which shouldn't be a surprise with the way things have been going. We can always hope October brings more moisture to our area, but it's not one of our wetter months here in Kansas.

Wildfires

As I mentioned in my last blog entry, the drought in Texas has been so severe that much of the vegetation has dried out and now easily catches fire from a spark or a cigarette that has been tossed out the window. This picture taken from the International Space Station shows some of the fires that have been ongoing in Texas and for quite some time. The weather pattern from September 14-20 looks unsettled and there will be chances for rain and storms. Some of the rain will make it into north Texas, but only time will tell exactly how far south the moisture will go. The jet stream (winds in the upper atmosphere) get much stronger going into the autumn season. I'm so hopeful this energetic jet stream delivers stronger storm systems to our area to increase our chances for moisture.

Millie and I continue to be busy with the Kansas State Fair. If you are in Hutch on Thursday or Friday, be sure to come by the KWCH booth and say hello.

Drought Update

The recent change in the temperatures has been so nice and we don't hear many complaints in the weather office. But what hasn't changed is the drought situation across the central and southern Plains. The dry pattern has been relentless now for at least a year, and it is not likely to change any time soon. Almost all of Texas is in an exceptional drought classification, with other areas in a severe drought. The exceptional drought stretches across Oklahoma and into southern Kansas, with rainfall deficits running 5-15 inches below normal. Dodge City has had less than 5 inches of rain this year, so the need for rain is extreme.

We've had several people ask what our upcoming winter season will be like, but we don't have any idea yet. The La Nina phenomenon that helped establish this drought last fall, weakened this summer, but forecast models show it could return for a part of the winter. La Nina is the cooler-than-average water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. Although it won't be as strong as it was last winter, the La Nina phenomenon is still having some influence on the weather pattern, helping to keep our area dry.

September is going to stay dry for a while and we may not be getting any moisture until the second half of the month. September (on average) is the 5th wettest month for Wichita with just over 3 inches of rain.

Hurricane vs. Tornado

With Hurricane Irene in the news lately, it raises the question would you rather live here in Tornado Alley, or along a coast that could be slammed by a hurricane? I've found mixed reactions over the years, but I would still have to chose Tornado Alley. Granted, the winds associated with tornadoes tends to be stronger than winds with a hurricane, but the isolated nature of tornadoes and scope of the storm is dramatically different. Hurricanes are so large in scope that millions of people are affected at once, while tornadoes cover a much smaller chunk of real estate.

The area of the hurricane with the strongest winds is usually in the right front quadrant of the storm. So as Irene moves up the east coast, the outer banks of North Carolina will feel the strongest winds, but the storm surge will be significant everywhere along the coast. It will be interesting to see how New York City fares with the storm and the wind. It should be a category 1 storm by the time it reaches the big metro area, but it's been a long time since a storm of this magnitude has taken aim at the northeast and the New England states.

Stage Collapse

Scary times for concertgoers at the Indiana State Fair over the weekend with the stage collapse at the Sugarland concert. A strong line of storms rolled through the area just after 8 in the evening and the National Weather Service had a warning out 16 minutes prior to the storms hitting the fairgrounds. Of course, what people will tell the media is they had no warning. But the announcer did mention over the loudspeaker that storms were in the area and informed the fairgoers where to go for shelter. Maybe some of the people didn't realize the severity of the storms, or didn't know a warning had been issued. It's difficult to say without being there, but it's something meteorologists have discussed in great detail at conferences and workshops. What do you do with thousands of people at a large outdoor event when storms are near? The fact of the matter is this is not the last time something like this will happen. Severe storms are no strangers to large outdoor venues (just like the storm that rolled over Bill Snyder Family Stadium last fall at a football game). So, we can learn something from this tragic event in Indiana. Wind gusts of 60-70 mph were reported as the storms moved through(certainly enough to bring down a stage that already has a huge amount of weight up high with the lights)


It's going to get hot again this week as kids head back to school. It shouldn't be as hot as it was in July, but we'll be close to 100. Look for storms off and on this week too. We still need the rain!!

I Survived

I spent my Saturday in Kansas City running a 5K race called the Warrior Dash. I didn't know anything about it until March when a friend of mine suggested I sign up and give it a shot. They have a video posted online at www.warriordash.com that shows potential racers what to expect, and my first impression was it looked like boot camp, or maybe a Survivor challenge for immunity.

This race has 12 obstacles and I'm not sure if their intention is to get you to feel like a warrior, or just to get you really really dirty. But the organizers of the race did a good job of making sure nobody came out of the race clean. Just about everyone I saw was muddy from head to toe. Some of the obstacles included running through knee deep water, climbing walls, climbing over a stack of hay bales nearly 25 feet tall, and at the end, you had to cross two rows of fire and swim through a mud pit. I was so sweaty at the end that the mud pit felt great (almost wanted to root around in it like a pig).

I'm posting pictures from before and after. Fortunately, I had some great warriors to participate with, and it wasn't 115 degrees like I was afraid it might be earlier in the week.

New Radar Coming

Last week, the Wichita National Weather Service radar went down for a big upgrade that will take up to two weeks to complete. When the radar comes back online, it will be a Dual Polarization Radar, which will increase the number of radar products we'll be able to view in the weather center.

For the general public, you won't see many changes on our air, and it will be several months before we begin using some of the new imagery on air. But you may already be asking what is dual polarization radar?

Without going into great detail, the radar beam will be able to sample targets both horizontally and vertically (in the picture, the red line is the horizontal detection). By doing this, we'll be able to better understand what the radar is hitting (i.e. large hail, large rain drops, small drops, ice, smoke, birds, etc). We'll also have a clearer picture of estimated rainfall during flooding events, and should a tornado touch down and start doing damage, the debris ball (junk from a tornado thrown up into the air) will be clearly visible with the new dual polarization radar. If you drive by the airport, you won't see any changes to the white, golf ball looking tower. The changes are inside the white dome.

Wichita is only the 3rd location in the country to get an upgrade to dual polarization, but the network of 122 radars will be getting the upgrade by the end of 2013. It's an expensive change, but one that will hopefully improve our detection and tracking of severe storms.

Trip to OKC

I spent most of last week in Oklahoma City for the AMS (American Meteorological Society) Broadcast conference. I am fortunate to be serving on the broadcast board for the next 3 years, helping advance this wonderful organization that so many broadcasters are a part of. There is going to be an overhaul of the Doppler radar network across the United States, upgrading to Dual Polarimetric. This upgrade on the radar will allow us to understand what the radar beam is hitting (i.e. rain, hail, snowflakes, ice crystals, tornado debris, birds, insects) and it will also give us better estimation on rainfall amounts. There are so many cases where heavy rain and hail occur simultaneously, and the Doppler radar estimates are not accurate because of the large hailstones. I also had a chance to listen to some great case studies on different weather topics, including climate (seems to be a big topic these days) The next conference will be in Boston (a nice place to cool off next summer)

On the last day of the conference, I had another opportunity to tour the National Weather Center on the OU campus. It was interesting when we arrived at the top of the building, looking straight south, you could see where an EF4 tornado lifted before charging into Norman, OK on May 24th (this year). The tornado actually lifted near Goldsby, but there was a distinct clearing in the trees straight south of the weather center building. Some of the meteorologists on duty that night had already found shelter, while others were going to wait until the last minute. The image posted here is the track of the strong tornado that lifted just before going into Norman (Norman would be off the top of the map)


Get ready for the heat. July is about to start, and I feel like we've already had our fair share of 100s, but there will be many more to come based on the way things are looking.

Helping a small town

Some of you may know I'm from the Geneseo area and it's a town of about 250-300 on the Rice/Ellsworth county line. The community is working to make some improvements on the buildings that line Main street. Several buildings are in need of repair, including one building called the 55+ Club, which needs a new roof. When I was growing up in Geneseo, the building was used for senior citizen meals and receptions.

In an effort to raise some money to get a new roof, Home Communications Inc. is having a BBQ this Friday and asking for donations to help offset the cost of the roof repair. I'm attaching the flier in case anyone reading this in central Kansas is interested in going. These small Kansas towns have seen a decrease in population over the last several years, so keeping them going requires a little more effort, even from those who don't live there anymore, but still call it home (like me)

Harvest is going to be in full swing for the next few weeks, so hopefully I'll get a chance to head home and help for a day or two.
Have a great week.

Arizona Fires

Smoke was passing over Kansas Tuesday afternoon from the wildfire that has been burning since May 29th in eastern Arizona. The satellite images here clearly show the fire almost right on the Arizona/New Mexico stateline, and there is concern the fire may spread into western portions of New Mexico.

Upper level winds (30,000 - 50,000 feet) continue to blow from southwest to northeast, carrying more smoke toward Kansas. So it's possible (and maybe even likely) that more smoke will be coming our way before the fire is extinguished. Rain in the short term is not likely, but there should be some changes early next week that may bring some moisture to the southwest US. Hopefully by then, the fire will be under control, but with hot weather and strong winds, it is going to be a long battle.

The wheat harvest has started in Kansas. It sure seems early for it, but just like always, depends on what kind of weather we've been having and with the recent hot spell, it's time to get it before a storm comes through and takes it.

Pattern Changing

It has been remarkably quiet with our storm season this year in Kansas. The downside is that we are not getting in on the much needed rain either. We haven't had any May tornadoes yet in Kansas, which is the slowest May tornado season we've had since 1984. If we make it all the way through the month without any twisters in our state, it will be the first time since 1980 (even before I was born).

Our pattern is changing this week and the rest of May should be fairly active. We already have one system coming at us for later in the week, and yet another one that could impact the area just before Memorial Day weekend. Severe weather is possible with both systems, so the lack of May twisters could be challenged soon. We'll see. Like you, I'd be happy with some serious rainfall (2 or 3 inches worth) and the severe weather can go somewhere else.


I also posted a picture on my Facebook fan page of Millie and I in the recent Goodwill Administrative Professionals Day fundraiser. We did this two years ago and had a good time (I'm not much of a model, but Millie sure is), so we were asked to come back for this go around.

Drought in Pictures

Kansas is not in the right spot for rainfall this year and it doesn't look to get any better soon. Rainfall has been so heavy in southern Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and northeast Texas. In the last week, rainfall amounts of 8-10 inches have been quite common across Arkansas and the flooding is historic for some.

The pictures posted here are from Rice county, near Lyons, where dry and windy conditions from last week help pile up dirt in ditches. Even those who have had moisture in central Kansas say it's been rather spotty, and agree, more rain is needed to help fill farm ponds and keep the wheat in business. The lack of moisture is evident in wheat fields that are now producing heads as the plants are so much smaller than normal.

So far this spring, there have only been two days with tornadoes in Kansas. Last year (from March 1st - April 30) there were only two days with tornadoes, but when May 2010 started, the severe season ramped up. There were 8 different days with tornadoes reported in Kansas. Historically, this is the busiest month with severe weather, so we can't let our guard down even though our storm season has been off to a very slow start.

Wildfires

The drought situation is bad here in Kansas and it gets even worse down in Oklahoma and Texas. In fact, 6 month rainfall deficits in north Texas range anywhere from 8-14 inches, with Wichita seeing nearly a 7 inch rainfall deficit.

Wildfires in Texas have been burning out of control now for several days and the smoke is quite visible from space. The attached image shows the different fires burning in the Lone Star state. We can contribute this unusually dry pattern to the La Nina that has been in place across the Equatorial Pacific since early fall 2010. The water temperatures are cooler than average and favor drier than normal conditions in the south.

Storm season has ramped up for areas to our east, with a couple different tornado outbreaks in the last few weeks. The pattern continues to be active for us in Kansas, but we have been missing the best chances for rain because Gulf moisture has been getting pushed off to the east before the storm systems get a chance to do anything with it. As much as it stinks to have to wait, that's about all we can do, waiting for La Nina to go away and the pattern to favor more spring rains in the central and southern US.

Belle Plaine Tulip time

Millie and I participated in the Belle Plaine Tulip Time Festival over the weekend and we rode in a 1950s Chevy truck. It was a little hot Saturday afternoon with temperatures near 90, so Millie did her best to stay cool. A 1950s vehicle model doesn't have AC, so we kept the windows down and the south breeze helped a little. The kids were excited to get candy and Millie was excited for a nap by the end of the day.

We are getting calls on when this pattern will break and we'll start getting better chances for moisture around the area. With the wind and warm temperatures lately, conditions are extremely dry in the west (and have been that way for quite some time) The storm systems are forming right over us and tapping Gulf moisture once they get east of our area. We can hope for this pattern to break down and change, but unfortunately, it may be several more weeks before this will happen.

Tsunami Pictures

BEFORE
AFTER

I was so shocked to see the tsunami hit Japan, and like most of you, trying to imagine a wall of water 23 feet high coming at you is very scary. This serves as a vivid reminder how powerful water can be when it's moving at such a high rate of speed. It nearly swallows everything in its path, and it will take years to clean up with so much debris everywhere.

I am posting satellite pictures of before and after for the area hardest hit by the tsunami. The red covered areas in the images are vegetation covered areas. The dark shades of blue would be water covered areas and it is amazing to see how far inland the water traveled. There is reported to be extensive damage in and around the air field, which is located in the lower left side of the picture. You have to study each picture for a little while to fully understand what you are looking at and how bad the damage is, but if you've been following the national news, you probably already know how powerful the earthquake and tsunami turned out to be. I thought it was interesting to hear that Japan could've survived the magnitude 9 earthquake, but it was the tsunami that they weren't prepared for.

Millie and I visited Explorer Elementary school and the kids had several questions about earthquakes and tsunamis. I am not expert with those kinds of natural disasters, but I was able to help them understand a little bit more about how they happen. I'll post pictures soon.

Have a great week.

1st Severe Storms of the Season

So we actually had an introduction to storm season before March 1st. Scattered storms developed over the area Sunday afternoon and rolled east, with one storm even producing a tornado near the Kansas/Oklahoma state line. The tornado didn't do any damage, thank goodness, but it did provide for some nice pictures that were taken by viewers and chasers in the area.



One other interesting feature that was viewable from space was blowing dust and smoke across west Texas and eastern New Mexico. Those areas are very dry and with such strong wind and low humidity Sunday afternoon, it wasn't a surprise. This type of setup will more than likely repeat many more times this spring, which usually help ignite big storms and severe weather outbreaks across Tornado Alley.

Visit to Cloud Elementary

Millie and I made our way through the slush and snow to Cloud Elementary Friday afternoon. We visited with the 1st graders about clouds, low and high pressure, and showed the big weather balloon that I take to almost every classroom I visit. Millie was happy because the students had a bag of Beggin' Strips as a way of showing their appreciation for her visit. The students presented me with a Cloud Elementary shirt and I was accepted into the Honor Club.

Winter must be wearing thin on most people because when I asked the kids who liked snow, only about 1/4th of the kids raised their hands. That's not very common.

Big changes are taking place in the weather pattern for next week and we will see a shift to the warmer side of things. Afternoon highs in the 60s and 70s look likely by Wednesday and Thursday. Goodbye snow, but will it be back this year? Maybe a little.

Snow and Bowling

The weather has just been crazy with the 12+ inches of snow that fell over portions of central and southcentral Kansas. Snow everywhere and it will take a little while to melt it off, but this time of the year, bitter cold snaps don't tend to last more than about 4-5 days. A huge warming trend is expected and the rest of February should see milder temperatures. I have a strong feeling we only have one more winter system between now and spring's arrival. But be advised the next chance for a winter storm could come in March and most of us know March storms can be awful.




Millie and I joined up with some other familiar faces from KWCH for Big Brother's Big Sister's Bowl for Kid's Sake last Saturday. Millie didn't actually bowl, but she had fun mingling with kids and adults. She didn't need to bowl last Saturday because she's been bowling her way through snow drifts that are nearly as tall as she is lately.

Winter rolls on

In our winter forecast back in November, we predicted 3-4 winter storms with 3-5 cold, Arctic outbreaks. We've already had 2 good winter storms, some might argue there have been 3 depending on what area you are in. Our first real cold, Arctic cold snap occurred earlier in the month, when highs were only in the teens back on January 11th and 12th. This next cold snap coming in is going to be a harsh one, with single digit highs and wind chills down between 15 and 30 degrees below zero.

The snowfall will be significant in SE Kansas too. Accumulations of 8-10 inches appear likely, with some areas getting up to a foot. The wind will crank up and blowing and drifting could be a big problem too. We still need moisture, right? Well, when you start talking about the specifics of this winter storm, you start to ask yourself how bad do you want the moisture. The snow is good for the wheat crop, but I always feel bad for livestock that have to be out in the elements. I know they have extra hair at this time of the year, but when you see how cold it gets at night, you wish you had the world's largest heated barn to bring them into.

We may have one more good cold snap in the middle of February with some snow, but I think there is light at the end of the tunnel as Spring is now less than 2 months away. Millie couldn't be more ready, especially after the 70 degree weather we saw last week.

Analyzing winter storms

We are in the middle of winter and as storms develop and move across the Pacific, the government has decided to investigate the storms long before they reach us here in Kansas. The aircraft in the picture is actually stationed in Japan through February, but in March, they will move it to Hawaii. The twin engine Gulfstream 4 jet will fly through storms to collect data such as temperature, pressure, wind speed, and humidity. That data will be fed into computer models (ones we look at in the Storm Center) to help increase the accuracy of the forecast with respect to precipitation, temperature, and wind. Without data from over the ocean, we have to rely on satellite data and land based weather balloons that are launched in the morning and at night all across the country. But because the prevailing wind direction across the US is west to east, those weather balloons almost never travel west to sample the approaching winter storms. The aircraft is based in Japan in an effort to collect as much data upstream as possible as the storms approach the west coast of the United States.

And finally.... snow!!!!

The wait is finally over for our first measurable snowfall in most of Kansas. We had a storm move through about 2 weeks ago that dropped 1-2 inches of snow in western Kansas, but this latest storm affected everyone in the state. The area of Kansas that didn't get much snow was in the southwest, but most areas in southcentral, central, and northern Kansas had anywhere from 4-7 inches.

Subzero temperatures don't happen that often in Wichita. If we get to subzero temperatures Wednesday morning, it will be the first time since December 8, 2005 that we've had a negative temperature. Before that, Wichita had a spell of almost 10 years without subzero temperatures.

The snow is great for the wheat crop and good moisture for Kansas. If you melt down the 4-7 inches of accumulation, you'll find it turns into about .10-.20" of liquid, which isn't enough to end the drought. But, it is enough to erase the fire situation for a little while and it's a start. Something is better than nothing, right? Millie loves the snow. If I throw it up in the air, she bites at it and loves to roll around in it. Thank goodness I don't have to bundle her up like you do with kids. This is when that thick coat of hair comes in very handy.

Where is the snow??

Almost every forecast I looked at for the winter 2010-11 said "above normal temperatures and below normal snowfall" because of the La Nina conditions in the Pacific. So far, the forecast has been right on the money. I'm not a huge winter fan and I have to admit the temperatures lately have been fantastic (and the lack of wind has been nice too). But the lack of snowfall this winter is just amazing. Northwest Kansas averages over 41 inches of snow in a winter, and Goodland has yet to get 3 inches. Wichita averages just over 16 inches of snow in a typical winter, and we still haven't had anything measurable.

If you look back at previous winter seasons, the winter of 1922-23 only saw .7" of snow in Wichita, which is the least snowiest on record. This winter is almost identical to the 2001-02 season where almost no snow occurred until late January, February, and March. That winter, we ended up with just 4 inches of snow. Depending on your thoughts about snow and winter, we still need moisture, and the lack of it is hurting the wheat crop. A pattern change is expected this weekend that could bring some moisture to the area, but how much we'll get is still a little uncertain. It is safe to say it won't be enough to erase the drought conditions, but even if we could get .25" - .50" of liquid precipitation, that would sure help out. Get ready for a BIG blast of cold next week, that could be around for 4-6 days.