1/17 - 5:15pm CST - A Day of Tornadoes in Kentuckiana and Mississippi

Two tornadoes have now been confirmed by NWS Louisville in Kentucky and Indiana. The first of these is an EF-1 that caused damage in the Springhurst area of Northeast Louisville (photos from John Belski's Weather Blog):

...EF-1 Tornado Confirmed in Jefferson County Kentucky...

Brownsboro Rd, Louisville

Damage Type: Tornado
Date: Jan 17 2012
EF Scale: 1
Wind Speed: 95 MPH
Path Length: 4.2 MILES
Path Width: 250 YARDS

Narrative: An NWS storm survey has confirmed an EF-1 tornado in Jefferson County, Kentucky.  The tornado touched down near the intersection of I-264 and Brownsboro Road.  The tornado tracked northeast to near the intersection of Hurstbourne and Brownsboro Road where it briefly lifted.  The tornado then reformed and crossed I-265.  The preliminary path length is 4.2 miles with a path width of 250 yards. This storm survey is ongoing and information in this statement will be updated as it becomes available.

The second tornado hit the airport in Madison, Indiana and carries an EF-0 rating with 85 mph winds:

...EF-0 Tornado Confirmed in Jefferson County Indiana...

Madison, IN Airport

Damage Type: Tornado
Date: Jan 17 2012
Start Time: 10:40 AM EST
End Time: 10:40 AM EST
EF Scale: 0
Wind Speed: 85 MPH
Path Length: 0.3 Miles
Path Width: 60 Yards

Narrative: An EF-0 tornado touched down at the Madison Municipal County Airport. Damage was confined to IMS Lane. The tornado touched down briefly along this path and moved an at least 500 pound dumpster 35 feet southeast. It also moved a Beechcraft/King Air plane 10 degrees and the nose gear was broken. The airport operations building had a disabled awning and post. Part of a hangar`s siding came off with siding and insulation up in trees. Several trees were snapped along the narrow path. A witness saw the swirl as the tornado touched down.

It's worth noting that the Storm Prediction Center did not issue a Tornado Watch today during this severe weather event. There may be more tornadoes confirmed in the Louisville area tomorrow as more surveys are conducted, especially in Clarksville, IN where damage has been well publicized. Two tornadoes were also reported in Mississippi this afternoon in Tippah and Marion Counties:

1800		3 NE DUMAS	TIPPAH	MS	3467	8880	TORNADO SIGHTED IN THE DUMAS PINE GROVE AREA NEAR HIGHWAY 4. (MEG)
2207		7 E SANDY HOOK	MARION	MS	3104	8969	PROBABLE TORNADO ... MOBILE HOME DESTROYED WITH PERSON POSSIBLY TRAPPED ... NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN ... EMERGENCY PERSONNEL HAVING DIFFICULT TIME REACHING THE SIT (JAN)

Ratings on these possible tornadoes will likely come tomorrow when NWS crews are able to get out and survey the damage.

Unfortunately severe weather could become an issue again this time next week as a potent trough moves through the Southeastern portion of the nation. The GFS and Euro computer models indicate ample upper-level support and moisture return for a severe weather setup, but this is not set in stone yet as things can change in a week's time. Stay tuned!

8/19 - 4:30pm - Weekend Rain on the Way, Belski Retiring

It's been one busy week at MSU so far! Classes have begun and it's time to get back into the swing of things. It's also been a rainy week around here, with nearly an inch of rain since the 14th in Starkville. We could add to that total tomorrow afternoon with storms that fire off during the heating of the day, but I think our best chance of rain will come on Saturday as a surface low (the remnants of TD 5) moves to the Eastern seaboard. We'll be keeping an eye on a couple cold fronts that could make their way down here next week (like Monday, left image), but for now expect temperatures in the low to mid 90's and a daily chance for afternoon rain after this weekend.

WAVE-TV meteorologist and good friend John Belski is retiring after over 30 years on the air in September. John has been one of my main inspirations for getting into broadcast meteorology after growing up watching his cheerful, informative, and oftentimes humorous forecasts. Throughout the last few years John has supported me greatly as I've made the transition from wanting to be a meteorologist to getting the education needed to be one. You may recall when John put me on the air during a job shadow I did at the station back in 2007... That was completely his idea to do that and I haven't been the same since. Since then I presented a forecast with him on TV as part of a contest at WAVE back in February 2009 and this spring Kevin Harned (now chief meteorologist at WAVE) and I sent video updates to him during my annual storm chasing trip. Louisville will surely miss John's forecasts and especially his blog, which is probably one of the most successful local weather blogs in the nation. TV news is one of the fastest-paced industries in the country and John was always at the technological forefront. Kevin Harned will do a fantastic job as his replacement and I'm sure that WAVE will continue in their tradition of having an exceptional weather department.

Just as one career is winding down, another is just beginning. I received some great news today about an opportunity I've been pursuing and I can't wait to share it with everyone. There are still some details to be worked out, but I assure you that the news won't disappoint. I'll have all the specifics on this in a few weeks.

5/10 - 11am CDT - HIGH RISK Chasing Today!

We're in for a big day of storm chasing here in North Oklahoma as all the right elements com together for a sizable outbreak of severe weather. We just left our hotel in Blackwell, OK, where it's 54 degrees and visibilities are less than a mile due to fog and mist. As a warm front moves northward through Oklahoma, this may intensify before things clear out quickly early this afternoon. Once things clear out, it shouldn't be too long before we're picking a supercell to chase! Needless to say, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a rare HIGH risk for the area.

Things will be very active today because instability, shear, moisture, and numerous other factors are aligning pretty well. CAPE values well in excess of 3000 J/kg, dewpoints near 70, bulk shear (0-6km) over 70 kt, and the jet screaming overhead are going to set off some very intense supercell thunderstorms this afternoon. Some of these storms will go from small puffy cumulus clouds to monster storms within an hour because of the intense uplift. Needless to say, the feeling is electric out here and we're hoping that things materialize as forecast.

We'll be streaming LIVE video today at http://stormchasertv.com when storms start initiating. If you've just found my blog through John Belski's blog or another source, welcome! Follow me on Twitter or Facebook to to get the latest updates on our chase and see when we're streaming live video.

5/14 - 6:30pm - Scattered Storms Tomorrow

A few scattered storms will make the rounds around the Louisville area tomorrow, but nothing severe is on the table it looks like. Heavier and more widespread precipitation will be here on Saturday afternoon, lasting until just after midnight according to the GFS and NAM models. The rest of the weekend and most of next week will be cooler, but not a drop of rain will be in sight.

This was posted over on John Belski's blog, but it bears a reposting here. Take a look at this video of a tornado in Kirksville, MO yesterday evening:



I was watching some live video streams from that area yesterday, but I didn't see anything nearly this dramatic. This tornado destroyed 10 homes and damaged 60 buildings, killing two people in the process. Severe weather could fire up again in the same area on Saturday. Let's hope we don't get that close during my two weeks of chasing coming up.

23 days until storm chasing begins!

2/9 - 11pm - WAVE TV Appearance

Here's a video of my appearance on WAVE 3 TV today with John Belski:



It was a lot of fun getting to do a real weather forecast on TV for the first time! I've never used a green screen to do the weather before, so it took some quick learning to get accustomed to it. I appreciate all of the e-mails and comments that I've been getting about the broadcast tonight!

2/8 - 9pm - WAVE-TV Tomorrow

I'm scheduled to do the weather on WAVE 3 TV tomorrow evening:

The winner of our "Be a Weathercaster" contest....Ryan H., will be doing the weather on the 5:30 news tomorrow.

-John Belski's Blog

I hope that everyone can tune in at 5:30pm tomorrow for my first live weathercast!