Visiting Oatville Elementary

Tuesday afternoon I visited Oatville Elementary school in the Haysville area and something happened to me that has never happened before. After getting setup in the gym, the school went on mandatory lockdown. All the doors were closed and no one was allowed to enter or leave the building. I was very concerned because the faculty and staff were unaware of the situation. It lasted about 5-10 minutes, and then the all clear was announced. Turns out, it was a practice situation for law enforcement in the area. Other than the lockdown, everything else went as planned and the kids were great.

Cooler weather is going to return for a little while. The threat for thunderstorms and severe weather will diminish for the rest of the week and actually, we don't see any real threat for storms until early next week.

A Visit to Explorer Elementary

Millie and I had more school visits this week. I stopped by to do a weather talk at Benton Elementary on Wednesday, and Friday, we were in Goddard at Explorer Elementary. The 2nd graders were so good and were so excited to see Millie. From the kids' reaction, I think they were impressed with the cloud-in-a bottle experiment too. I have to thank Carol Maddox for the invitation to visit the school, and before we left, they had Millie and I record a weather forecast that the kids will get to see Monday when they get back to school.

Our weather is going to change BIG time next week. High pressure in the upper atmosphere should guarantee dry weather all the way through Thursday. However, after the long, dry, warm stretch next week, we could be looking at our first round of severe weather by Friday or Saturday, so check back with us. It is getting to be that time of year. As the temperatures go up, so does the risk for tornadoes and hail. Have a wonderful weekend.

Crazy March Weather

As we transition from winter to spring, we tend to get some bizarre weather in the central US. It's not uncommon to have 60 degree weather one day and snow the next. It was nearly one year ago when parts of southcentral Kansas had 20-30 inches of snow (ie. Pratt) and strong winds. Some of the biggest snowstorms occur in the month of March, so we shouldn't be surprised with these late season snows. However, the chance for any accumulating snow from here on out looks rather low. There are a couple of systems coming in this week that will bring some moisture to the area, but it looks like it will mainly be rain with just a little snow in the far west. Hopefully that won't change.

Have you seen the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium? It is HUGE. The screen in the middle of the stadium is 160 feet long and 70 feet wide. It's the largest HDTV in the world (according to Guinness Book of World Records). There are 300 executive suites and I can't even remember how many concession stands. The stadium can be seen from miles away, and if you are ever in the Dallas/Arlington area, it is worth checking out.

Have a great week.