Pert Near Washed Away!

Ok many of your know I am from the south originally -- and between Minnesota and Colorado I have managed to lose SOME of my "twang."

My family thinks I sound like a northerner -- but others still know where I am from.

Anyways -- the "pert near" is kind of a popular phrase where I come from in Arkansas.

Over the 4th of July weekend I decided ok, starting Monday, you have to get back to blogging -- so I made a vow to do so today (Monday).

And boy do I have a story to tell.

If you go to maps and look at the Denver Metro map, you will see my dot. Unless another area observer (and there aren't many as my part of town in new and still developing) filed a report after me, someone looking at the data would think there was a mistake.

All area reports are about a quarter inch or so and there is my 1.50+ inch rainfall!

I wasn't home, I was on the westside of town but could see the dark, nearly black cloud to the east. I knew it was near my place, but one can never tell -- the sky exposure is so huge in this part of the world what looks like right over your house may actually be 40 miles further east!

Well, I came home to see my flowerbeds washed away -- all the mulch and some dirt washed up against the fence. Mud was splattered and caked all along the bottom of the fence posts.

I estimate based off the incredible erosion that the rain fell over an hour or so, and really intense for about 20 to 40 minutes.

See the pictures below. Check out the dirt formerly in my yard that is now on the greenbelt path behind my home!

Still Here!

Sorry for such a long silence on the blog -- I really miss it and hope to be back sooner than later.

Life has been busy since mid-April with work, the changing economy, etc.

HUGE changes with my full-time job -- too much to go into and boring to most I am sure.

Thanks for understanding, I will try to blog again soon.

Why Didn't The Severe Weather Pan Out?

Last week's potentially huge severe weather outbreak didn't quite pan out -- THANKFULLY! But why?

The night before, a squall line of severe thunderstorms developed from north-central Texas into Oklahoma and pushed east into Arkansas.

The storms did a few things -- they created a large shield of clouds that covered much of then moderate to high risk area that was expecting severe storms. The cloud cover didn't break for much of the day and kept daytime heating down.

As you probably know, daytime heating is a key element to "cook" up the atmosphere and create instability.

The storms also made the atmosphere more stable -- and without that daytime heating, there wasn't enough dynamics to make a large outbreak.

The negative was southern Missouri, northern Arkansas and the Ohio River Valley still saw copious amounts of moisture fall.

Did you know a large chunk of northern Arkansas has seen anywhere from 14 to 18 inches of rainfall since March 1?

That is so hard to imagine for climates in the west where they see less than that in an entire year (and that is accounting for both rain and melted snow!)

Large Severe Weather Outbreak Possible

The center of the nation has been active as of late, and that trend will continue as a potent storm system takes shape Wednesday over the central Rockies and ejects out into the center of the nation Thursday into Friday.

The storm system is already on shore in the Pacific Northwest -- bringing valley rain and mountain snow to the northwest.

It will move across the Rockies and organize Wednesday night somewhere across southeast Colorado.

Those of us along the eastern slopes of the Rockies will see a cold rain and snow. In fact, Denver is under a winter storm watch for up to 8 inches of snow by noon on Thursday.

As the low moves east and draws up TONS of warm, moist air out ahead of it -- severe thunderstorms will break out as the dry air behind the front collides with the warm moist air out ahead of it.

Some discussions are calling for potentially the biggest tornado outbreak of the year.

Strongs winds at the surface out of the southeast, and even stronger winds just above the ground out of the southwest as the storm moves in, will provide plenty of rotation necessary for tornadoes.

Long track tornadoes are expected.

As if that isn't scary enough, most rivers from Missouri and Illinois, and points south, are at bank full if not out of their banks.

With a widespread 1-3 inches of rain expected over this region, we could see additional historical flooding in the days and possibly weeks to come.

Tornadoes Strike Another Metropolitan Area

Just a few weeks ago, tornadoes touched down in metro and downtown Atlanta, Georgia.

Last night, a tornado (or tornadoes) moved across the Little Rock metropolitan area.

For me, it hit close to home since I am from there.

I have a part-time job in the evenings and about 8:30 pm I took a break to call my mom. Something I usually don't do but about once every few weeks because of the time difference.

She answered and said there had been a possible tornado touchdown in SW Little Rock and it was heading their way.

I let her go so she could call my grandma and monitor the situation.

A little while later she sent me a text message saying that a wall cloud was spotted near where they live and that sirens were going off. Then the TV said the center of the tornado was potentially traveling right for their neighborhood.

She got up and looked outside and saw what she described as fast moving fog and that the trees were almost bent over. Then she heard the freight train sound.

They sought shelter in the bathroom and within no time at all it was over.

The tornado that had touched down in southwest Little Rock and again in North Little Rock over the National Weather Service and the commuter airport had went right up her street.

Just a few blocks away there was damaged homes, fallen trees and a fire.

They immediately lost power so she hasn't been able to see if there is any damage to her home on the outside, but from what they can tell from inside, all is ok.

What a close call!

A security driver for a car dealership in SW Little Rock recorded the tornado pass by. This is good video! Click here to watch. The video is about a minute long, and the part where the tornado passes by is on the last portion of it.

If you look closely you will see a light pole in the middle of the screen blow away as the tornado passes over.

I am sure as daylight spreads across Arkansas today and the full extent of the damage is accounted for, there will be some incredible scenes on the news.

To top it off, the poor flooded regions of the state are seeing very heavy rain once again.

I will be traveling home in a few weeks to meet up with everyone, and from there will be driving to Upper Michigan for a vacation.

It is going to be odd to see areas I know so well damaged from this tornado.

More Flooding Rain

Hello -- it has been a few days since I have been able to post.

I have got to get back into my field at some point so I can talk about the weather like I used to. I am getting out of practice!

Unfortunately it looks like another heavy, pro-longed rain event is setting up over the mid-south.

The NWS office in Little Rock has a nice story about it. Click here

Some model data shows a widespread 2-4 inches with some isolated pockets of 4-8 inches falling over the same areas that saw up to a foot of rain in mid-March and massive flooding.

We'll have to watch and see how it unfolds.

I am traveling to Arkansas in late April and then will be driving up to Michigan for a week with my family.

It will be interesting driving right through the heart of all the flooded area in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri.

Flood Safety Awareness

March 17-21 was flood safety awareness week here in the USA.

Click here for a great website full of information and additional resources.

Floods Carry House Into Bridge

I came across some amazing raw video as flood waters carry a house down the White River in Arkansas.

As the house moves along the river, it approaches a bridge.

Click here to see what happens.

It just shows the power of water and Mother Nature!

Chilly Start To Spring

Frost and freeze warnings were posted over the weekend deep into the southern states. A chilly northwest flow of winds aloft will keep the cool temps in place one more day.

Warmer weather will spread north this week on southerly winds. Portions of Texas will see 80s and a few 90s believe it or not.

60s and 70s will spread as far north as the Mason Dixon line.

If you aren't quite ready for the warmer weather, head north to the states along the Canadian border -- where highs this week will be in the 30s and 40s.

And for those in the north, hoping for warmth -- just hold on a bit, it will be here soon enough.

The sun angle continues to climb higher and higher with each passing day. That will help spread the warmer air further north in the days and weeks to come.

Speaking of the sun, have you ever tracked it's position in the sky to see just how much it changes over say the period of 2 weeks?

If you want to conduct a small, fun experiment -- click here.

Southern Deluge; Kudos For Intense Reports

Hey everyone, sorry it has been a week since I last posted.

Work got really hectic for me last week with some management in town. The visits went well and so did my event for Macys and Dillards.

We are relaunching DKNY and Kenneth Cole dress shirts this season and I was fortunate enough to get funding from my company to throw a nice sit down dinner party/training at an upscale restaurant in the Denver area.

OK ENOUGH with my life and on to the weather.

WAY TO GO on filing 3 dozen intense rain reports on Tuesday -- reports came from Texas to Indiana. GREAT INFORMATION!

By the way, YOU WILL HAVE to check out the daily comment reports and precipitation totals from Missouri and vicinity today.

Although I am writing this several hours in advance, I can almost assure you they will be impressive.

A widespread swath of heavy rain has drenched northern and central Arkansas, extending up into southern Missouri, Illinois and western Kentucky.

I have seen at least a dozen reports in the 5 to 10 inch range so far from these locations on the National Weather Service storm reports.

Having lived in a dry climate for so long now I forgot what it is like to see that much rain.

Many locations here in the west see that much in an entire year, with a portion falling as snow!

They are definitely seeing some flooding and will deal with this on the rivers for several days to come in that part of the world(esp. downstream on the Mississippi).

Here in Colorado, we would have done lost everything if that much rain fell at once. We float away during summer time storms that drop an inch of two!!

You can bet it will be a green spring in the southern plains and lower Mississippi River Valley -- with plenty of BUGS this year I am sure!

Weather Stations - For The Home

Bill in Missouri asked me about home weather stations. One that is of good quality and will broadcast to the web.

Not to pass the buck, but this isn't really an area I am good with. I only own old fashioned, manually checked weather instruments.

One of our fellow CoCoRaHS'ians is a HUGE weather nut, and owns something like 3 different weather stations at his home. He has a website called weatherbuff.comand is really in the know about home weather stations.

Check out his website, and drop him an email. His name is Steve Hamilton.

Monsoon Season -- Now It's Defined

Well if you have any knowledge about the climate of the desert southwest and the southern Rockies, you know about the annual monsoon season.

Yes, there really is a monsoon -- just like the one each year in India and vicinity.

A monsoon has nothing to do with rain or thunderstorms, although it creates both.

The definition of a monsoon is a seasonal shift in the wind pattern, plain and simlpe.

Here in the US, this season wind shift brings southwesterly winds up from the Pacific Coast of Mexico, with moisture sometimes reaching as far north as southern Idaho and Wyoming -- maybe further north on a good day.

The North American Monsoon, or Mexican Monsoon, is declared active each year once Phoenix records a daily dewpoint of 55 degrees or higher on 3 consecutive days, and Tucson sees a 54 degree dewpoint or higher on 3 consecutive days.

The average start date is right around July 3. The earliest start was on June 17, 2000 and the latest was July 25, 1987.

Well that is all history starting this year. The National Weather Service has decided it is in the best interest of safety for all who live in the monsoon region to define a "season" for the weather activity, much like we have a defined hurricane season.

Which if you think about it, really isn't a bad idea. It gives those who live in the area a little time to prepare before the season gets underway.

Thunderstorms that form during the monsoon are often short-lived but intense, and because they form over areas that are typically dry, the result is a lot of unexpected flash floods.

Lightning is also a huge hazard. These aren't the type of thunderstorms that typically produce tornadoes, although it can happen, esp. the further away you get from the actual core of the monsoon, such as in eastern Colorado.


Beginning this summer, the annual monsoon season will start on June 15 and run through September 30.

March Roaring For Some

Another large storm is winding up this morning across the south-central plains.

Most of the country (along and east of the Mississippi) will get hit with precipitation now through the weekend.

Strong to severe thunderstorms will roam the skies from southeast Texas along the Gulf Coast into the southeast this weekend.

We don't need the storms, but soaking rains will be welcome in the drought-stricken southeast.

Hopefully we can get some gully-washers right over Lake Linear in Georgia and Falls Lake in North Carolina -- which serve the Atlanta and Raleigh-Durham metro areas respectively.

On the back side of this storm system, a band of snow will form from Dallas to Little Rock and St. Louis.

There will be a bullseye of heavy snow somewhere in the vicinity of eastern Oklahoma and western to central Arkansas.

Some may see up to a foot.

By the weekend, heavy rain, ice and snow will move into New England.

More Severe Weather Hits Nation

The weather will quiet down today after severe thunderstorms impacted much of the south on Monday and Tuesday.

Thankfully this event was mostly wind and hail with plenty of heavy rain -- some places really needed the rain while others didn't.

In portions of Arkansas, up to 5 inches of rain fell and then as the colder air moved in, up to 11 inches of snow fell -- just to the west and northwest of Little Rock.

There were a few tornadoes, but nothing like the outbreaks we have seen in recent days.

As the storm system moved up the east coast, it brought some severe storms to New England early Wednesday.

60 to 72 mph winds were reported across Rhode Island, and wind damage reports came out of Massachusettes.

Another Large Storm

Well here in Denver, we have went from a record high of 74 degrees on Saturday to 27 degrees with blowing snow less than 24 hours later.

The snow would be considered light to moderate if it weren't for the winds. They are sustained in the 30s and gusting to near 50 mph at times.

It is slowing travel a little but not stopping it. I think it is worse on the roads than in the air.

My house is in the southern approach path to Denver International Airport, and those planes have been coming over constantly all morning.

For those not familiar with Colorado weather, this is pretty typical stuff for us for this time of year. 40 to 50 degree temperature swings in 24 hours are just a way of life.

Weather here is very dramatic, largely made possible by the Rocky Mountains and Denver's relation to that wall of rock. It is any meteorologist's dream.

The same storm system impacting us today will move across the nation over the next few days, bringing a large area of wintry precipitation from Oklahoma and the Ozarks all the way up to the Great Lakes.

Ahead of the front, strong to severe thunderstorms will form later today and rumble into early next week.

The lower Mississippi River Valley will could see a few doozies by late Monday, with a few tornadoes not out of the question.