March Madness

Well, you either love it or hate it because it messes up your evening TV programs. The NCAA tournament starts Thursday and if you are like me, you are trying to figure out which one of the top teams will fall first (I hope it's not the Jayhawks). It is nice to see the Big 12 so well represented in the tournament this year. Enjoy the games.

I have a couple of friends send me this picture from the downtown Atlanta area when the storms came rolling through. It is very hard, even as a meteorologist, to correctly identify all of the features that we are seeing in the picture. At first glance, it looks like a shelf cloud moving through. Shelf clouds stretch for several miles across the horizon and are usually associated with strong winds. In the background, the lightning is illuminating torrential rainfall and probably some hail. I don't know for sure where the tornado is located in all of this, but if indeed that is a shelf cloud stretching across the horizon, tornadoes can sometimes form on the leading edge. It is very possible that the tornado that hit Atlanta is not even in this picture. All of this is proof that storm identification can be very difficult, even for trained professionals. Nighttime spotting is even harder, which is why we don't normally recommend it unless spotters have some access to radar in the field.

Despite the tornado and some of the damage that was left behind, I'm sure they are grateful for the rain. Remember, this is an area that has been plagued with drought for quite some time now.

Alright, good luck to your NCAA teams!

Crazy Weather Pattern

Another round of severe weather takes its toll on a big metro area. Atlanta, GA had a bout with severe weather Friday night and there were two fatalities in Georgia. Someone in our newsroom said they didn't see any pictures of the actual tornadoes from that area and I think it's largely due to the fact they just don't have the storm chaser population like we have here in the central US. The storms interrupted the Arizona/Mississippi State game which was in overtime. They should've stopped the game sooner and they were lucky the tornado wasn't stronger, or the death could've been much worse.

We have two powerful storms that could affect our weather this week. The first will arrive on St. Patrick's Day with showers and storms. Another system will be coming in next weekend for Easter. Sunrise on Easter is set for 7:29 a.m. for those that might be going to sunrise services.

I have a severe weather presentation coming up Monday evening for the Sunnydale 4-H Club. I hope to have some pictures for the blog tomorrow evening. Have a great week and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Enjoying the Weather

Mother Nature is treating us to some great weather here lately. I wish we could keep it going for another 3 or 4 weeks, but there are bound to be some changes before then. A powerful storm is coming in on Monday, so get ready for a good deal of wind.

What did you think of the weather special Tuesday night? There was a great deal of work involved, so we hope you liked it. I set my VCR to record the show, and wouldn't you know, I ended up recording the wrong channel. It is possible the show will air again, but I don't know what time or date. If I hear something, I'll let you know.

Someone asked about Wade, my nephew, and how he is doing. Well, he has glasses for right now because he is having trouble seeing distant objects. The glasses make for a cute picture, so I decided to share that with you today. You'll see our new meteorologist on the air the next few days. We think you'll be impressed!

I'll be blogging again this weekend. Enjoy the warm weather.