Snow is a precipitation type that results from the build-up of ice deposition upon condensation nuclei. The snowflake size is amplified as ice crystals join together as the crystals move in the wind. A common theme in ice crystal development is the 6-sized structure of the ice crystals. The chemical bonding of ice molecules produces … Read more
From elementary school through high school, I always looked forward to the month of March. But not for reasons that you might think. It was the month that I competed in science fairs. During those years, I had my share of successes and disappointments, but the benefits of my participation continue to this day. My experience with … Read more
On the evening of Sunday, March 26th, 2017, severe thunderstorms affected portions of southern Oklahoma and North Texas. These storms were scattered, as predicted in our forecasts leading up to the event, and many people received no rain. We also expected that thunderstorms forming along the dry line would quickly develop updraft rotation (i.e., become … Read more
The evolution of broadcast meteorology goes hand in hand with scientific advances and the method that it is communicated to the consumer. Timeline of broadcast meteorology (1915-1982) The evolution of broadcast meteorology has worked hand in hand with advances in technology. This is true both with the scientific advances of meteorology itself, and the way that … Read more
The snow-to-liquid equivalent is the amount of liquid precipitation that is produced after melting snow. The temperature profile of the troposphere and the surface temperature are important factors that determine this value. The “average” snow-to-liquid ratio is 10:1. This is saying that if 10 inches of snow fell and that snow was melted it would … Read more
Whether a natural disaster arrives in the form of an earthquake, tsunami, tornado, or hurricane, it is almost guaranteed that the poor will suffer from the aftereffects of the incident much more than wealthier individuals. This is due in part to the fact that individuals living in poverty often lack the resources that would help … Read more
On January 21-23rd, 2017, a rare, multifaceted severe weather outbreak occurred across the Deep South and southeastern United States. 80 tornadoes occurred over the three day span of the outbreak, of which several were strong (EF-2 to EF-3 strength), long-track tornadoes. This tornado outbreak was the second largest outbreak on record in the southeastern United States. … Read more
Despite a recent trend to colder temperatures and back to back blizzards in New England, this winter has been a mild one for most areas east of the Rockies. Surges of cold air have been sporadic and temperatures have been above to much above average for many locations. Moving on to next week it appears that much … Read more
Whether you are searching for potentially life-saving weather information, a local forecast, or even historical weather data, there are a number of government and private weather sites that you can visit. Since your tax dollars fund government weather organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA.gov), I will focus on some of their useful sites. Dedicated … Read more
Section 1: Is it Going to be a Big Deal? One of the more difficult forecasts to make is the winter precipitation forecast. The complexity is with determining precipitation type, areal coverage, and whether any winter precipitation will accumulate at the ground surface in the first place. The public is very sensitive to winter forecasts … Read more
Update #1 [Monday February 6 at 1 pm EST] – Tom Moore A surge of colder air remains on schedule to push down into the northern U.S. on Wednesday, February 8th. The colder air mass will then move to the east and southeast on Thursday and Friday. As we indicated earlier, we are not talking about extremely cold … Read more
The GOES-16 (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on November 19th of last year. Originally, the name of the satellite was GOES-R as it is part of a multi-satellite series, as GOES-S, GOES-T, and GOES-U, are scheduled to be launched in 2018, 2019, and 2024, respectively. GOES-16 underwent several technical calibrations after … Read more
The year of 2016, there were a total of 1,059 tornadoes across the U.S. (with the month of May, 2016 having some of the more photogenic tornadoes). How does this compare to other years? According to the 2005-2015 tornado climatology, there was an average of 1,402 tornadoes across the nation. Tornado activity for 2016 was below the 2005-2015 average. Each … Read more
A brief spell of warmer temperatures are not uncommon across parts of the U.S. around the third week of January. The common term for this is a “January thaw“. What we have coming up later this week across much of Canada and the eastern two thirds of the U.S. is a January thaw to the … Read more
Every four years, our nation conducts a ceremony for the newly elected president to begin a new term. There has been a wide variety of weather conditions over the years and I thought that it would be interesting to highlight some past inaugurations where weather played a significant role. Inauguration History The first inauguration ceremony was held for … Read more
Update #4 [Sunday January 15 at 1 pm EST] – Tom Moore The multi-day ice storm continues in the nation’s heartland. So far, the greatest amount of ice, reported by the NWS from this storm (.50″-1.00″), has occurred from parts of northern Oklahoma to southern Kansas and into southwest Missouri. Dangerous conditions continue Sunday from much of … Read more
The “atmospheric river” is taking a direct aim on California, and that will result in eye-popping rainfall totals, heavy mountain snow accumulation, flooding, and mudslides. Weather conditions are ideal for an impressive and climatologically rare heavy-rain event over the weekend over a large section of California. Rainfall amounts from 8 to 12 inches are expected. … Read more
It’s that time of year… Winter. The season when those unrealistic snow and ice accumulation maps, for an unlikely event 10 days into the future, that often go viral on social media. So, I wanted to briefly discuss the nature of internet weather hype and how you can learn to recognize it. As the National … Read more
After a change to milder temperatures in late December for much of the U.S., the jet stream is in the process of taking another plunge southward into the nation. That will result in much colder temperatures over a significant portion of the U.S. during January. Late December Upper-Level Pattern In a previous article, we indicated that temperatures would be milder across … Read more
This past Christmas Day resulted in interesting weather across the central Plains. From strong thunderstorms in Kansas to the blizzard conditions in the Dakotas, the stockings were full of interesting weather Christmas morning. Nearly the entire state of Kansas, excluding the extreme western parts of the state, were impacted by a low-end squall line. I spent the … Read more
For well over 100 years, revelers by the thousands have flocked to Times Square and braved the elements to see the annual ball drop to ring in the New Year. Since the 1940’s millions more have been able to watch the festivities on television. Fortunately, most of these events have been without precipitation , with a few exceptions, but there … Read more
The day after Christmas Day in 2015, an outbreak of tornadoes across the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex and northern Texas. There were a total of 12 confirmed tornadoes, including one violent tornado that was rated an EF-4 with estimated winds to 180mph that devastated the communities of Garland and Rowlett as it crossed Interstate 30. Below … Read more
If you aren’t a skier and you long to get away from snow and frigid temperatures during the holiday season, there are a number of destinations where weather conditions can put a smile on your face and allow you to have a good time. Here’s a short list of cities that could be quite inviting to you this … Read more
There was a time when I thought that I was all alone with my passion for weather. I was only 7 years old and how many other weather fanatics that were my age could there possibly be? I wanted to be a meteorologist when I grew up and that was settled. Over the many decades … Read more
A new member of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) family will launch from the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday, November 19th, at approximately 5:42pm EST (2242 UTC; Universal Coordinated Time). GOES-R, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R series, will be the next generational advancement in meteorological forecasting and technology. It will … Read more
Last year on December 26th, the day after Christmas Day, an outbreak of tornadoes occurred near the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, metroplex. The area of Rowlett was hit the hardest by a violent EF-4 tornado. Many families lost everything as houses were completely destroyed, and donations for gifts and toys are being accepted for affected children. … Read more
On November 14th, our closest celestial neighbor will reach its full phase as it orbits behind the Earth where the sun, Earth, and moon are aligned, respectively. As the lunar orbit reaches its closest approach to Earth, it is called a perigee. The moon’s orbit is elliptical around the Earth and as a result, the proximity of distance between … Read more
On September 27th, 2016, a tropical depression had formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean that had traversed across the Atlantic Ocean as a disturbance of thunderstorms days prior. The next day on September 28th, a tropical storm formed. Its name: Matthew. Over the next few days, Matthew would undergo a rapid intensification process and strengthened … Read more
Important Update #1 [Monday 10/3 at 3 pm EDT] Since this page was created 8 hours ago, new model data have continued to trend the track of Hurricane Matthew westward, closer to the eastern Florida coast, tracking northeast along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. If future data continue to show this … Read more
You can also use our interactive tropical cyclone map to view more data about Hurricane Matthew. Category-5 storms are extremely rare in the Atlantic basin. September 30, 2016 Where is Hurricane Matthew headed? October 3, 2016 At 11 pm EDT, Friday September 30, Hurricane Matthew was upgraded to category 5 status by the National Hurricane … Read more