Tornado Watches Lining Up May 31, 2007

Tornado watches have lined up from southern Nebraska down through the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles down to eastern New Mexico and west Texas.

The one for the Oklahoma panhandle expires at 10 PM.

There is also a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of Kansas and Nebraska.

Storms have continued to develop to our north across Kansas and Nebraska:

We’ll be watching them closely the next several hours to see if a complex develops that will have the potential to drop into Oklahoma later tonight.

As Rick noted in his previous post, hail and wind will be the main threats in central Oklahoma. The tornado threat looks fairly low right now but can’t be completely ruled out.

Vivek
Weather Intern

Afternoon Update May 31, 2007

So far it’s a pleasant day out there with a mix of clouds and sunshine. A warm front was located along the Red River moving north. While a couple of storms may develop along that front this afternoon, our main chance of storms still looks like it will be tonight.

A moderate risk of severe storms is located over western Kansas this afternoon and tonight. Thunderstorms are already forming in southwest Nebraska, and a tornado watch covers parts of Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.

Storms will continue to develop in the watch area throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening. By later tonight, the storms will organize into a squall line that will move rapidly southeast into Oklahoma. The main threats will be quarter size hail and wind gusts to around 70 mph. The timing of the storms will be northwest Oklahoma around midnight, and central Oklahoma after 4 am Friday.

After the storms pass Friday morning, the rest of the day could end up dry. Another round of storms will be possible Friday night into Saturday morning.

That’s the latest for right now, of course I’ll have more coming up this evening on Eyewitness News 5 at 5, 6, and 10 pm.

Rick

Another Day We Look to the Panhandle May 31, 2007

It’s one of the warmest mornings we’ve seen in a while as temperatures have climbed to near 80 degrees at noon. Skies are clear for the most part, and the weather should remain dry for most of the state during the daylight hours.

Storms will begin to form in Southwest Kansas late his afternoon. Those storms will travel into the panhandle of our state by early evening. Some of those storms could be severe, with damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes all a threat. There is a possibility that those storms will persist overnight and travel southeast through the western and central portions of the state.

Afternoon thunderstorms are still possible through the weekend. Then, it looks like drier weather will finally make it back into the area. Also, it looks like it will warm up nicely for the first full week of June. Some models have us over 90 degrees by next Thursday.

Rusty

Summer storm pattern already? May 30, 2007

A mesoscale convective system, aka squall line, moved through last night. This system formed in western Kansas and started making a run for Oklahoma around midnight. The line of storms brought heavy rains, wind, and small hail. This is a typical pattern we find ourselves in June and early July. It may have started a few days early, but it is a good sign to see because that means more beneficial rains as we head closer towards our normally dry summer months.
AT

A Stormy Start To The Day May 30, 2007

Thunderstorms have rumbled through much of the state this morning with winds over 50 mph, hail and heavy rain. Some areas have picked up over an inch of rain. My rain gauge is showing just over nine tenths of an inch.

These morning storms will continue to move east and weaken over the rest of the morning. New storms will likely develop late this afternoon or tonight throughout central and eastern Oklahoma with a risk of gusty winds and hail with the stronger storms.

The cold front that is partially responsible for the storms will stall out over Oklahoma through tomorrow before slowly moving back north as a warm front. It will then move back south into Oklahoma over the weekend. The bottom line is that storms will remain in the forecast through Sunday.

It looks like there will be a break in the rain next Monday before storms return to the forecast for mid next week.

Check out today’s edition of Hardcore Weather for a video explanation of our upcoming weather.
Also tune into Eyewitness News 5 at 5, 6, and 10 pm for my newest forecast for the next seven days.

Have a great day and try to stay dry.

Rick

Storms Back In The Forecast May 30, 2007

The last couple days brought mainly light and relatively unorganized showers and pop up isolated storms to mainly the eastern part of the state along with mildly warm and humid weather.

Tonight a storm system is slowly carving across the Rockies and into the Plains with an attendant cold front, reinforced by a strong thunderstorm produced outflow boundary, working its way south across the plains of KS and the panhandles of TX and OK.

As the front continues SE it is projected to set up shop somewhere over Oklahoma during the day on Wednesday. The approach of the upper system combined with daytime heating and continued warm and moist air flowing into the region will cause the atmosphere to become somewhat unstable and thunderstorms will be increasingly possible by afternoon. Additionally, increasing winds in the mid and upper portions of the atmosphere will boost the wind shear and as such, heighten the chances of some of the storms to become quite strong to severe, especially during the afternoon/evening hours so this will need to be watched as we head through the day.

All in all, the forecast for tomorrow in a nutshell will be for higher storm chances than we’ve seen the past couple of days along with an increased chance of some storms to reach severe levels as well.

Tune back in throughout the day for the most up to the date info!

Ilya Neyman
Weather Intern

May rains a record? May 29, 2007

Nope, not even close. We would need to see at least 9 and a half inches of rain this month to make it to the bottom of the top 10 list. We would need about 13 inches of rain for May to be an all time record. We’ve seen 7 and a half inches so far with the average just under 5 inches. For the year we are sitting at just under 21 inches. Temperatures this month have been cool as well. Our averaged daytime high is around 76 degrees. Enjoy that break on your watering and electric bills!
AT

A Few More Showers Today May 29, 2007

A few light showers were in the state this morning. Those have now dissipated, and I think the rest of the morning will be quiet.
We’re still in the same active and wet pattern, expect more widely scattered showers this afternoon. The dryline will once again try and become established in the panhandle this afternoon. Any of the storms that do fire up could be severe with wind and hail the main threats.
A better chance for storms for all of us tomorrow as a surface cold front moves into the area. We’ll keep an eye out for the possibility of severe storms as well.
I found an interesting article about research being conducted on the search for alien life. Here’s an excerpt:
The search for life around the universe will now take place around the clock.
The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute plans to have 42 radio astronomy dishes up and running in northern California by the end of 2007, which will enable it to scan the heavens for alien radio waves on a continuous basis.
“There are a number of groups around the world doing SETI research. They are listening for radio signals out there, but it is not 24/7,” said Scott Hubbard, who holds the Carl Sagan Chair for the Study of Life in the Universe at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California.

Rusty

Extreme weather makes the news May 28, 2007

Have you noticed recently that more and more news stories are coming out of extreme weather situations over various parts of the globe? Drought, floods, extreme heat, and bitter cold. All of this would make you think the world is coming to an end. The weather by it’s own definition is in constant change. It’s never the same from one place to the next which is why everyone talks about it. “How’s the weather been?” A common phrase that can start up a conversation between family or complete strangers. So what’s up with the wild weather all of a sudden? Well, truth is, there is always wild weather, we’re just seeing more reports on it lately. If I tell you that there is a drought in China this year that is news. If I tell you that they received their average rainfall over the last 10 years, that is not news. So only the extreme gets reported and passed along. Everything goes in cycles and repeats. We’ve only kept semi accurate records over the past 50 to 100 years, so droughts and floods hitting certain areas today that haven’t occurred in the past 50 years may not mean much. It may just mean “as long as records have been kept”. See the difference?

Now how about our weather? We went from a 2 year drought to flood in as little as a couple of months. That’s how quickly the weather situation can change.

AT

I have seen worse… May 28, 2007

As a kid growing up in McAlester, I remember how upset I would be that it would rain EVERY Memorial Day!

Being of Italian heritage the thing to do every Memorial Day weekend would be to attend the Italian Festival. Every year I can remember, there was a threat of rain or it would rain “cats and dogs”. The Italian Festival was a fun time as a kid, carnival rides and FOOD.

As I got older and moved away, I would still try to visit the festival, but the thing to do was and still is, go to the lake. I grew up on Lake Eufaula. My dad knows that lake like the back of his hand. We fish, ski, swim and have great fellowship at the lake.

So, I know how disappointed many of you are about this weather we are having. But keep in mind, I have seen worse. I have seen severe storms and very heavy flooding rainfall. Much more than the flooding across southern portions of the state the past couple of days.

I still believe that this Memorial Day is not a complete washout like some of those in the past. Enjoy the holiday the best way you can. Sure, you are going to have to dodge rain, but then again I have seen much worse.

Keep in mind:

Flash Flood Watch until 6pm for South Central Oklahoma. High temperatures will range from the mid 70s to low 80s. Wind from the South at 10-20mph. The best places for rain will be along the I-35 cooridor and especially east. It will not rain everywhere all the time!

Take care and be safe,

Prof. Steve Carano

P.S. Also, don’t forget to remember those vets and those serving currently. I miss my grandfathers, both have passesd and served World War II.