Friday, October 30, 2009

10/30 - 5pm - Severe Weather at MSU

A tornado-warned supercell with a wall cloud passed north of MSU at around 2pm this afternoon, causing tornado sirens to sound on campus. Another storm just half an hour later passed right over us and caused quite a stir with all the low-hanging scud clouds, heavy rain, and cold wind. Here's a video I shot of that storm:



Heavy rain should continue tonight, but will clear out tomorrow morning and leave us with a very pleasant weekend!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

10/27 - 7pm - MSU Video Forecast

Thanks to the meteorology department here at Mississippi State University, I will be delivering video forecasts on my blog every Tuesday evening. This is the first forecast, so there are still plenty of things I need to work on and fix. Getting used to the studio was challenging at first, but I now have the hang of it. It's great to be back doing video forecasts after nearly four months!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

10/25 - 3:15pm - MSU Forecast

Here's your latest Mississippi State University forecast:


Sunny skies should stick around until Tuesday, when severe weather might be an issue. A squall line of thunderstorms will most likely come through the area on Tuesday afternoon or evening, packing with it some strong wind and heavy rain. I don't think this will be a tornado-type of event, but more of a fast-moving windy thunderstorm type of event. A sunny day will follow on Wednesday with more storms on Thursday and Friday. Things should clear out on Saturday after a small chance of morning storms.

The MSU vs. Florida game last night was a blast, but unfortunately MSU just couldn't outpace No. 1 Florida. Great effort though!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

10/21 - 11pm - Heavy Rain!

A mid latitude cyclone is very slowly pushing east and dumping rain over a good portion of the United States. Two days of heavy rain is in store for us in Mississippi as this storm begins turning toward the Great Lakes. Flash Flood Watches have been posted for a majority of Mississippi in anticipation of the rain. The HPC's precipitation estimate gives us well over 2 inches of rain here in Starkville, but most computer models are painting a general area of near 2 inches for this two-day event. Keep the umbrella handy!

This weekend's MSU vs. Florida game looks dry and cool, with a temperature in the 60's at game time on Saturday. Go Bulldogs!



The Weather Channel made headlines this week by announcing the start of Friday night weather-related movie airings. The Perfect Storm will be the first movie in this series with titles like March of the Penguins and Deep Blue Sea coming soon. Twister may even be in the works according to the New York Times.
[Forecast for Movies on the Weather Channel - The New York Times]

In other news... I'm getting ready to do some pretty cool weather-related stuff on campus soon. More details to be announced in the coming weeks!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

10/18 - 3pm - MSU Forecast

A nice sunny day is in progress with temperatures near 60 around the area. A Freeze WARNING is in effect tonight as temperatures drop below the freezing mark in some spots around the Golden Triangle. We should warm up into the 70's this week before a cold front comes through on Thursday:


Hurricane Rick is making headlines as a Category 5 hurricane south of Baja California. It is expected to make landfall early Thursday morning. We may receive some moisture from Rick, which could influence how much rain we get on Thursday. Here's the latest 5-day track from the National Hurricane Center:


Need a National Weather Service weather forecast for your iGoogle homepage or website? My dad has programmed a small gadget that can give you the latest NWS forecast based on your location. Simply add it to your custom iGoogle homepage or add the code to your website to get the latest forecast anytime! Click here to find out more.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

10/14 - 3pm - Storms Tomorrow, Severe?

Just about everyone I talked to today had an opinion on all the rain that we've had. Luckily we're almost to the end of this cycle of rain, but we have one more hurdle to go through tomorrow.

Storms should form ahead of a cold front that will pass through the area early tomorrow afternoon. Some of these could be strong to severe, but the brunt of any severe weather would most likely occur to our south where instability will likely be stronger. In any case, this won't be a big outbreak, but rather a risk for isolated severe storms and some supercells unless a factor like directional shear, instability, or frontal passage timing changes. The main things to look out for tomorrow are high wind gusts, heavy rain, and possibly some large hail.

Here's the latest outlook from the SPC:


They've put us in a 5% risk for severe weather, but some of the area may be upgraded to a SLIGHT Risk (15%) tomorrow morning once the situation becomes clearer.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

10/11 - 4:30pm - MSU Forecast, Severe Weather?

Here's your latest Mississippi State University forecast:


It looks like we could have a pretty potent severe weather setup on Thursday if things come together. There are still timing issues that need to be hammered out at this point, but otherwise there are enough ingredients (shear, instability, moisture) to generate an elevated severe weather threat in the area. I'll have more details on this potential as soon as the models begin to agree on the timing of this system.

Aside from the severe weather, be ready for more rain this week and a sharp drop in temperatures after a cold front comes through the area on Thursday night.

Friday, October 9, 2009

10/9 - 10:30pm - Severe Weather Video, Reports

The round of severe weather that came through much of the Southeast U.S. gave Mississippi State quite a show today. Not only did we see heavy rain and high wind, but also some nice storm structure and low, fast moving clouds. Here's a video of what it looked like outside my residence hall:



Click the HD button to see this video in 720p high definition.

Casey County, Kentucky took the brunt of the severe weather today as an EF-2 tornado touched down and caused quite a bit of damage across the area. The two-minute long tornado got up to 1/8 mile wide and traveled a mile and a half. An EF-0 tornado was also confirmed today in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. Click the links below for more information from the National Weather Service in Louisville.
[NWS Confirms EF-2 Tornado In Western Casey County, Kentucky]
[NWS Confirms EF-0 Tornado in eastern Breckinridge County]

Most of the damage today around the South was caused by straight line winds, which even caused a fatality in Washington County, Mississippi. Here are today's severe weather reports from the SPC:


Tomorrow's football game at MSU against Houston looks pretty rainy at this time, but luckily it will clear out later in the afternoon. Keep those rain coats handy!

10/9 - 12:15pm - Severe Weather Update

A Tornado WATCH has been issued for all of North Mississippi, including the MSU campus until 4pm CDT. There is a 50% chance of an EF2 or greater tornado in this watch area according to the SPC. Everything is linear at the moment, but there is a decent chance that some supercells could form ahead of the main line of storms. Here's the latest radar image:


The small dots you see to the east of the main line are developing cells that could become supercells shortly. Tornado WARNINGS are already posted for counties in West Mississippi and more warnings are expected as this line moves east. Keep watch on my Twitter and Facebook updates for more details as the day goes on.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

10/6 - 10:15pm - MSU Forecast, TS Henri, Winter!

Here's your weekly MSU forecast:


The models are bickering over how much rain we'll get on Saturday as well as if we'll actually get rain on Sunday and Monday. The general consensus for the MSU vs. Houston football game right now is that we will see some rain during the game, which starts before noon. After the next cold front finally gets out of here next week, cool temperatures and sunny skies will return!

Tropical Storm Henri has just formed in the Atlantic. While it's not expected to develop into a Hurricane, it is the eighth named storm of the year:


Finally... Henry Margusity at AccuWeather has released his detailed winter forecast. MSU: We're on the edge of ice storm territory this winter. Louisville: Get ready for some major snow and frigid temperatures!
[Henry Margusity - The 2009-2010 Winter Forecast]

Thursday, October 1, 2009

10/1 - 8pm - Storms Tonight, Fall Break

A broken line of thunderstorms stretching from Wisconsin to Texas will cross into Mississippi's Golden Triangle this evening and should provide a fair amount of thunder, lightning, and wind as it comes through. Here's the latest severe weather outlook from the SPC:


The SLIGHT Risk from the SPC ends in West Mississippi, but I think there's a chance that a couple storms still could be near severe limits when they get here later tonight. A few storms may linger into early tomorrow morning, but the remainder of the day should be dry. This weekend should be cooler and dry until Sunday night. Daily rain chances and warmer air come back into the area next week.

Since I have Monday and Tuesday off at MSU for fall break, I'm heading down to Orlando, Florida tomorrow to spend the long weekend with my family. Can you guess what my favorite theme park is in Florida? (Hint: the geodesic sphere on the left is an indication!)

There won't be a blog post or forecast until Tuesday at the earliest.