Hurricane Sandy is a monster storm. That goes without saying. It's about two hours from landfall as of this writing but that won't matter much due to just how incredibly large the wind field is. Tropical storm winds extend for hundreds of miles from the center of the storm making this the largest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean at over 1,000 miles wide. This is big by area, not by wind speed. While the winds extend for an incredible area the winds in general are at Category 1 speeds near 90 mph. For areas in the tropics this may not sound so bad but for the Northeast this is a disaster since winds rarely get up to that strength with storms up there.
Something that also may be unprecedented here is the extreme snow threat from Sandy for the mountainous regions of West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Snow totals could be 1 to 2 feet in places when this storm is said and done. The other thing to consider with the size and scope of this storm is the storm surge that continues to roll in. Places like New York City and along the Jersey shore could be dealing with storm surge totals in excess of 11 feet thanks to the pure mass of water that will be coming in with the storm. This will create coastal flooding whereas the high rain totals will contribute to inland flooding. You'll hear about this storm for years to come... 765,000 customers are without power across the Northeast already and this storm is just cranking up.
How is this storm affecting us here in North Mississippi? We're just seeing cooler weather thanks to the large trough of cold air that's in place. This trough is the same one that's ingesting Sandy making it a very unique storm and pulling it into the Northeast. This cooler air is going to be sticking around for the foreseeable future but with some moderation. Highs won't get out of the lower 60's tomorrow and we'll finally break into the upper 60's on Wednesday for Halloween. Overnight lows tonight will be of concern since they'll be getting close to freezing, which will create a chance for some frost. Your complete Starkville forecast with these details and more are available in the video below!
Ready for a REAL taste of fall? It's here.... and It's going to stick around for quite awhile. A large mass of cool air continues to work its way into West Tennessee this morning behind yesterday's cold front. That means temperatures today will be getting into the upper 50's across the region. By the time we get to late tonight and early tomorrow morning we'll be talking about mid to upper 30's for lows. Bundle up! High pressure will keep this cooler air locked in place through the week and sunshine will be plentiful as it has been in most places today. We'll need to watch for some frost in areas during the mornings starting on Monday as temperatures fall to near freezing overnight. High temperatures will slowly work their way to near 70 degrees by the end of the workweek.
Let's talk about Hurricane Sandy. It's a weak hurricane right now but the setup is more complicated than just that. As it moves toward the Northeast it will merge with a trough moving across the eastern half of the nation. This will transition the storm from a hurricane to what's called an extratropical storm. Basically this means that the storm won't feed off of warm water like a tropical system would. This will turn Sandy into the very, very large storm that its already beginning to become. Threats for wind damage, storm surge, and flooding will be possible for a broad swath of the Delmarva Peninsula through New England. New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington DC are included in this among many other locations. The storm surge issues will be amplified by the size of the storm, which moves more mass of water, and by the fact that this will be happening during a full moon, which maximizes tide. Check out the tropical storm force wind probabilities to the right... this is pretty significant when you consider there's a 60-70% of sustained tropical storm winds from Delaware to Long Island.
Another threat this storm poses is snow. West Virginia with its higher elevations will bear the brunt of the snow with 1 to 2 feet expected in areas. The latest run of the GFS model paints a very large area of 18"+ snowfall amounts through Tuesday evening. This could be crippling because there are still leaves on the trees that this heavy, wet snow will weigh down on snap limbs. Mass power outages are very likely whether you're in the wind/rain area in the Northeast or in the snow area in West Virginia.
In the video below you'll get a full dose of information on Hurricane Sandy and your latest West Tennessee forecast.
Finally, a break from the relentless rain this weekend. We're still holding on to a few showers across the northern half of Mississippi and chances for those will stick around until tomorrow morning. After the low that brought us all the rain moves northward during the day tomorrow get ready for the sun to return and for temperatures to go up! A few more clouds will move in toward the weekend as another cold front moves in, but it appears at this time that the front will pass through with out giving us rain. Behind it will be some cooler temperatures so more fall weather will return after all the sunshine and 80's this week. Check out the video below for your complete CampusConnect forecast.
What a great day outside it is here at Mississippi State! We're still in the lower 70's at this hour and the dewpoint is staying low in the mid 40's too. This translates to a beautiful day with low humidity that's not terribly characteristic of September in Mississippi. Nevertheless, what great weather to ring in the first week of fall! Sunny skies will continue throughout most of the workweek but temperatures will rise through the 80's as we move forward. This change in temperature, and unfortunately an increase in humidity, will be due to a more southerly wind component coming into play that will bring us more moist air from the south. It's not looking like we'll hit 90 this week for a high at any point, but we could get close to it. A system pulling through by the weekend will increase our shower and storm chances a little bit by that point but it's not entirely clear when the best chances will be at this point. Check out my CampusConnect forecast below for all the details!
Like heavy rain? Neither do I. That's what we have going on right now across most of Mississippi as an approaching cold front and a low moving onshore from the Gulf of Mexico are combining to give us a good soaking. The downpours and storms across the Golden Triangle area of Mississippi are definitely tropical in nature because moisture is streaming in right from the Gulf as the low pressure center out there continues to move our way. Storms will continue, and rain be at times heavier, this evening across the northeast quarter of Mississippi. Storms will remain likely tomorrow morning but thankfully the front will be moving through at that time and replace the rainy, tropical air with much more pleasant dry and cool air from the north. The middle of this week behind the front looks beautiful! Check out your full Mississippi State University CampusConnect forecast below for all the details on this week's forecast.
Like the new intro video and 5 Day Forecast background in the above forecast? I've been working on those graphics for the past few months and we're rolling them out today as we kick off the official start of our CampusConnect forecasts for the year here at MSU.
As promised, a few light showers are moving across West Tennessee and they will become more numerous and heavier this afternoon. Not everyone will see rain but those that do can expect some gentle rains with not much accumulation and possibly a clap of thunder. Tomorrow is a different story though as a larger, more potent upper-level disturbance moves through and generates heavier rains and possibly some thunderstorms. This will be a day when most folks see rain with some areas, especially closer to the Mississippi border, seeing over an inch of rainfall accumulation. Tuesday morning will feature some showers but the cold front at the surface that will be moving through with the upper-level disturbance should be moving east of the area throughout the day. The rain and clouds will be on their way out with the front, so expect the second half of your Tuesday to be much nicer than the first. Cooler temperatures behind the front mean highs in the mid 70's and lows possibly into the 40's by Wednesday morning. That's some fall-like weather right there! Check out my full forecast from last night's 10pm show on WBBJ below.
If you watched the video you probably saw some changes from previous ones that I've posted. WBBJ debuted an all-new HD weather graphics system that has full 3D rendering capabilities. It's very slick, easy to use, and most of all, fun! The 3D zooms to Jackson's tonight and tomorrow forecast I built from scratch between shows yesterday and it was pretty amazing what the machine could do with so little time.
This is also my 2nd anniversary with WBBJ. A lot has changed since I started working there in September 2010 but one thing that hasn't changed is how much I enjoy doing shows there! Can't wait to keep going back there on select weekends during this school year.
The break in the heat across North Mississippi has made it hard to go back to work and school today but at least it's sticking around for awhile! 90 degrees is not in the forecast for Starkville and the Golden Triangle for the foreseeable future. What we do have in the forecast is sunny skies and temperatures only nudging into the upper 80's over the next couple of days. By the time we hit the weekend we'll increase shower chances a little bit since more moisture will be flowing in with more southerly winds, but it doesn't look like an all-day washout. A reinforcing shot of cool air could make it as far south as Starkville by the start of next week. Your latest detailed CampusConnect forecast is just a click away in the video below!
Hurricane Sandy is a monster storm. That goes without saying. It's about two hours from landfall as of this writing but that won't matter much due to just how incredibly large the wind field is. Tropical storm winds extend for hundreds of miles from the center of the storm making this the largest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean at over 1,000 miles wide. This is big by area, not by wind speed. While the winds extend for an incredible area the winds in general are at Category 1 speeds near 90 mph. For areas in the tropics this may not sound so bad but for the Northeast this is a disaster since winds rarely get up to that strength with storms up there.
Something that also may be unprecedented here is the extreme snow threat from Sandy for the mountainous regions of West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Snow totals could be 1 to 2 feet in places when this storm is said and done. The other thing to consider with the size and scope of this storm is the storm surge that continues to roll in. Places like New York City and along the Jersey shore could be dealing with storm surge totals in excess of 11 feet thanks to the pure mass of water that will be coming in with the storm. This will create coastal flooding whereas the high rain totals will contribute to inland flooding. You'll hear about this storm for years to come... 765,000 customers are without power across the Northeast already and this storm is just cranking up.
