Who Needs an Alarm Clock?

Who needs an alarm clock when you have Mother Nature blasting you out of bed at 5 a.m. with golf ball size hail? It happened again Saturday morning with storms that developed over southern Kansas and we had some hailstones up to softball size in Cowley county. This large hail is about to wipe out an above average wheat crop and it is a good year with the prices higher than normal. I'm sure area farmers want to cry each time we have large hail in the forecast.

It is amazing to see how much rainfall southcentral Kansas has had in the 2nd half of May. It is a very different story in western Kansas where some ranchers are moving cattle around because the grass is burning up. It would be nice to share the wealth with those in the west, but maybe the storm system coming in late next week will help out.

Our weather pattern still looks a bit unsettled for the next week. It will mean more rainfall for some areas that don't really need it. The wheat is beginning to change color here in the Wichita area. It won't be long before the combines start rolling. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

I'm Sleepy

I always try to get creative with the blog entries, but I can't seem to go more than 10 minutes without yawning, so my creativeness is running low. Thanks for the compliments on our weather coverage. We get several phone calls when prime time programming is covered by weather updates, but we are just doing the best we can to help save lives and keep everyone informed. It is a true team effort when you have several days on end with storms, and now we finally get a break in the active weather.

Our Stormshots folder is full of hail pictures and flooding from the recent storms. There is one unusual picture I wanted to share with you that came from a viewer on Monday. Hail stones come in many different shapes and sizes, but have you ever seen hailstones that look like this? Oddly enough, I have some in my freezer at home. It is nice to know our viewers have a sense of humor. I definitely had a good chuckle out of this photo and wanted to share.

I'm posting other pictures on here of the hail that fell on Monday and you can see the rings in one of the hailstones (hail picture from Minneola and the tornado was from Salina). Each time the hail gets carried up and down in a storm, a new layer of ice is added and that's where they get the rings. We also had a microburst hit Wichita Sunday night with winds up to 100 mph. A microburst, sometimes called a downburst, is a strong rush of wind that descends from a thunderstorm and can produce winds over 100 mph. It can result in damage similar to that of a tornado.
Have a great week everyone!

Crazy Tornado Day

This was an unusually active day for tornadoes in Kansas. Several areas in the west had tornado touchdowns reported and I happened to be near a few late in the day. Things didn't go quite as planned, but I was able to catch a few of the tornadoes with my cell phone. I was right on the Gove/Trego county line when these pictures were taken. At one point, I must have been within 1/2 mile of the tornado. You know it is close when you can see the dust and debris getting picked up right in front of the vehicle. I think it is the closest I've ever been to a tornado.
Enjoy the photos and it is time for so much needed rest. More severe weather is expected this weekend.