3:45pm Weather Update

After all of the rain this morning, skies are starting to clear across the area. In fact, it is pretty nice outside! At 3pm CT, the temp in Cape Girardeau is 63°.

Our next chance for rain arrives Thursday. The Storm Prediction Center has portions of southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, northwest Tennessee, and northeast Arkansas under a "Slight Risk" for the time period 7am Thursday - 7am Friday.

Right now, I wouldn't worry too much about the threat of severe weather Thursday.

11am Weather Update

As of 11am, the rain has taped off in southeast Missouri. There will continue to be a few waves of showers with a few embedded thunderstorms pass through (south to north) the afternoon.

According to the SPC, there is a chance for a few severe thunderstorms as they have put parts of southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and all of western Kentucky, northwest Tennessee, and northeast Arkansas under a "Slight Risk" through 7am Sunday. (see image below)

It appears the main threat will be hail in a few of the thunderstorms.

By the way, due to the heavy rain overnight and the threat of scattered showers/thunderstorms through the rest of the day today's KFVS12.com baseball WebCast of UT-Martin vs SEMO has been postponed until Sunday. The time of the game is yet to be determined. (It will depend on if and how many games they are able to get in today at Capaha Field.)

Temperature Contrast

Take a look at the temperature contrast across the state of Missouri. Below is a surface observation map centered on Evansville, Indiana. All of the readings were taken at 2:00pm CT. (Click on the image to see a larger image.)

It is currently 62° in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Where as in Columbia, Missouri it is 39° and in Sedalia, Missouri it is 33°. To say that we are on the warm side of the storm is an understatement.

Now you know why the National Weather Service is calling for snow around the St. Louis area. Below is the snowfall forecast from the St. Louis NWS through Sunday morning. (The forecast was made Friday morning.)

11:20am Weather Update

As expected, it appears that the threat for severe weather will stay south of the southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, northwest Tennessee, northeast Arkansas area. Here is the latest Day 1 Outlook from the SPC.

There is a good chance of several strong tornadoes from northern Louisiana (Shreveport/Monroe) over towards Jackson, Mississippi.

One thing that is becoming increasingly popular is "virtual storm chasing". (I'll have to write a blog post only about this later on.) Here is a good website to watch chasers as they maneuver around storms. They have webcams/video cameras attached to their dashboard pointing out the window and have the video streaming live to the internet.

12:45pm Weather Update

The SPC just updated their Day 2 Outlook which runs from 7am Friday - 7am Saturday. They have parts of southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, northwest Tennessee, and northeast Arkansas under the "Slight Risk". (see below)

Note the "Moderate Risk" area. It generally runs from Memphis south to just north of Jackson, Mississippi. If you are headed that direction, watch out for some big storms Friday night.

I think we might not get too much in the way of severe weather around the "Heartland". Often times in these situations, storms that develop south towards the Gulf Coast "rob" the energy to pop storms. However, it does appear that we could get some decent rainfall.

Another Sign

Found an interesting article tonight regarding carriers of international phone calls. An internet VOIP company, Skype, is now the largest provider of international voice calls.

TeleGeography estimates that Skype international calls topped 33 billion minutes of use in 2008.

This news shouldn't be surprising to "techies" and even the general public is starting to take notice.

The telecommunications industry is in the middle of a huge paradigm shift. Telecommunications businesses (telephone, television stations, radio stations, satellite tv, cable tv, etc) that haven't taken notice will be seeing a decline in their business over the next 5-15 years.

4:40pm Weather Update

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for all of southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas. The watch is in effect until 9pm CT.

It looks like the line of storms that moves through the area will have the main threat of damaging winds and heavy rain.

Re: Is It Going to Blow?

As I mentioned back on Saturday, January 31, geologists were warning that volcano Mt. Redoubt could erupt. Turns out they were right. There was an eruption recorded earlier this morning.

Follow the latest by visiting the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

You can take a look at Mt. Redoubt on two webcams setup by the AVO.

• Webcam located 7.5 miles from the summit crater
• Webcam located 45 miles away

Mt. Redoubt is located 110 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.

According to Wikipedia, Mt. Redoubt erupted in 1902, 1966, and 1989. The eruption in 1989 threw volcanic ash to a height of 45,000 feet.

3pm Weather Update

The SPC has put southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, northeast Arkansas, northwest Tennessee, and parts of western Kentucky under a "Slight Risk" of severe weather. The below outlook runs from 7am Tuesday through 7am Wednesday.

It looks like we will see a line of thunderstorms move through the above mentioned region by late afternoon/evening Tuesday.

Here is a look at one of the computer models we have access to in our weather office. This is called the RPM model. It was developed by a company called WSI. The first view is a regional view.

The next view is a closer view on the Mississippi River Valley region.

Right now, I think the main threat for the area will be damaging winds and heavy rain. Stay tuned...

Plains Starting to Heat Up

Spring has officially sprung and the Plains are starting to wake-up from it's winter hibernation...

We are starting to shift the weather pattern across the central US. Several storms will move across the country and bring with it several chances of severe weather. The first comes Monday for the Central Plains. Below is the Day 2 Outlook from the Storm Prediction Center.

This is the time we start to see things heat up, but it seems to be a little further north than usual for this time of year. Notice how the "Slight Risk" runs all the way up to the North Dakota/South Dakota border. I would "usually" expect to see that in late April or May. It isn't out of the question to see storms that far north. I have spent many days chasing through Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota.

We will have to keep an eye on things for southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, northeast Arkansas, and northwest Tennessee Tuesday. There could be some left over energy from the Monday storms that could move through. Currently, we are not outlooked by the SPC for Tuesday.

There is another system that caught my attention yesterday when looking at the computer model projections. This will move through the area Friday.

Stay tuned...

A Flashback to My Past

I just found a website that gives me flashbacks to my past.

www.zaharakos.com

Zaharakos is an ice cream parlor that is located in my hometown, Columbus, Indiana. The parlor was first opened in the early 1900's. While I was growing up, Zaharakos had a great "old time" feel.

During the holiday season, they would hang up decorations and lights, so each year my parents would take my brother and I to Zaharakos to see the decorations.

The highlight of every visit to Zaharakos was walking to the back of the store and looking at the rare Welte orchestration. We would always ask them to turn it on so we could listen to it.

Did I mention they also had pretty good food and great drinks (old soda fountain drinks). My special (mix of hand squeezed orange-aide/lemon-aide). The Green River was pretty good too.

In the early 2000's the Zaharakos' family closed the ice cream parlor. Luckily, an investor purchased the store and is in the process of restoring the landmark.

I look forward to visiting the parlor the next time I am in Indiana and they are open!

5:20pm Weather Update

An isolated shower has developed in Southeast Missouri this evening. It isn't out of the question for us to see a few more isolated showers (perhaps a couple thunderstorms) developing through the mid-evening. Once the sun sets and temperatures cool a bit, we should mainly see just rain showers. The below radar image is from 5:13pm CT.

A cold front will slide through the region overnight. There could be a few lingering showers in the morning before more sunshine breaks out by afternoon.

Temperatures will be a tad cooler, but it won't be bad. Highs will be in the upper 50's to 60's.

Ever have one of those weeks?

Ever have one of those weeks where you are off a day?

All week I have been thinking it is actually the next day. I had a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Monday afternoon I showed up asking where everyone was.

Same thing happened this morning. I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for 9am. Around 10:15am I was working on something at my desk (at work) and it hit me. "Doh! I had a doctor's appointment this morning!"

Typeface Periodic Table

If you have ever had to pick a font to use in a document, you know it can be a overwhelming process. There are thousands of fonts to choose from.

I found a pretty interesting graphic on the internet tonight. Designers at Squidspot put together the Periodic Table of Typeface. They rank it by popularity and also include who came up with the font and the approximate year.

Here is the link to the hi-res image. (Image is around 2mb.)

Not the best of news for CBS affiliates

CBS Sports has created an iPhone app that allows you to watch the Men's NCAA Tournament on your iPhone. Follow the link for more information from Gizmodo.

This isn't the best of news for CBS affiliates. Applications like this keep eroding the viewership of the local CBS stations. Granted, if you want to watch the basketball games in High Def, you still can only do that through your tv. However, I bet watching the games in HD via your computer isn't too far down the road.

The cost of the application is $4.99. You can get it at the iTunes store.

What would you like?

I have a question for you, the readers. What kind of topics would you like for me to cover in my blog?

Leave your answer(s) in the comment section.

Thanks!

9:50pm Weather Update

The National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky just issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for eastern Scott, Alexander, Pulaski, and Union counties. Below is a radar capture from 9:43pm. The yellow polygon is the Severe Thunderstorm Warning.

The main threat from the above mentioned storm is damaging wind. It looks like the line is bowing through Scott County. That is an indication of where strong winds are occurring.

I just drove back from St. Louis and drove through some of the line of thunderstorms in Ste. Genevieve and Perry counties in Missouri. There wasn't anything too bad in the line. Just some heavy rain and the occasional strong wind gust.

Storms Tonight

The Storm Prediction Center still has Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky, Northwest Tennessee, Northeast Arkansas, and Indiana in a "Slight Risk" for severe weather for today/tonight. See below graphic for the outlook valid through 7am Wednesday.

Looking at their probability graphics shows that their biggest concern is damaging winds.

Most likely a squall line will form late tonight across the central part of Missouri. The line will then race east through the Heartland overnight.

I'm headed to St. Louis for the day so I won't be able to post any updates until later tonight.

More Severe?

This is a quick update to let you know about a couple of storm chances in the next 48 hours.

According to the Storm Prediction Center we might have a couple more chances of severe thunderstorms this week.

Here is the Day 1 Outlook which runs from now through 7am Tuesday.

Here is the Day 2 Outlook which runs from 7am Tuesday through 7am Wednesday.

I think the best chance for severe storms would be Tuesday evening/night. The main threat will be damaging winds from a line of storms that will move through.

Stay tuned...

11:55am Weather Update

A Tornado Warning has been issued for southern Bollinger County, Missouri. The warning is in effect until 12:15pm CT.

A heads up to people in southern Cape Girardeau County. It looks like this storm will continue to move to the east at 65mph. That would bring the storm in to southern Cape Girardeau County around 12:30pm CT.

I need to get ready and head in to work.

New Tornado Watch to be Issued

I'm on the conference call with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky. They just stated that the Storm Prediction Center will be issued a Tornado Watch for all of Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, and Western Kentucky in a matter of minutes.

The watch will be in effect until 4pm CT.

Just a reminder... A Tornado Watch means that conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes.

9:25am Update

Wanted to give you a quick radar update on where the line of thunderstorms is located.

Here is the 9:26am radar data from the Springfield, Missouri radar site.

The red polygons indicate Tornado Warnings. The yellow poylgons indicate Severe Thunderstorm Warnings.

9am Weather Update

A quick update regarding today's chances of severe weather across southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, northwest Tennessee, and northeast Arkansas.

As of 9am, there is a Tornado Watch just to the northwest of the listed above area. Here is a radar/watch composite graphic from 9:05am.

Most likely a watch will be issued that will cover parts of southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois in the next couple of hours.

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has upgraded parts of the area to a "Moderate Risk" while the remaining area is under a "Slight Risk". See graphic below.

Here are some of the probability products SPC puts out concerning what types of severe weather could be seen.

Here is the large hail product.

Here is the high wind product.

Here is the tornado product.

As you can see, the biggest threat appears to be large hail and damaging winds from storms as they move through.

SPC's next outlook will be issued around 11:30am CT.

The National Weather Service in Paducah, KY has scheduled a conference call for emergency managers and tv meterorologists this morning. They typically do this when a "Moderate Risk" is covering part of their forecast area.

Weather Update

Just a quick update before I go in to work. The SPC updated their Day 2 Outlook. See the image below. In their discussion they are talking about the chance of a few possible tornadoes.

I'll have more tonight on Heartland News at 6pm and 10pm. I'll try to update the blog later tonight or early Sunday morning with the latest thinking.

Thunderstorms Sunday?

It still looks like there is a chance for thunderstorms around Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Indiana Sunday. The SPC (Storm Prediction Center) still has parts of those states under a "Slight Risk" of severe weather from 7am Sunday - 7am Monday in their day 2 outlook. (See below graphic.)

Temperatures are expected to be in the 70°'s and dew points are expected to be in the lower 60°'s. So it is going to feel a bit more humid.

There could be a few scattered showers/thunderstorms around the area Sunday morning, but they should behave.

As the day progresses, temperatures/dew points will increase. A cold front will start to sweep in from the west by mid-day. Ahead of and along the cold front more wide spread thunderstorms will develop. This is most likely when the stronger to severe thunderstorms will move through the area. Once the sun sets, we will lose some of the energy as temperatures drop. So storms should quickly diminish in intensity.

It still appears that the main threat will be large hail and damaging winds. However, there is a little turning in the atmosphere, so it isn't out of the question we could see a quick spin-up of a tornado.

Another reminder... Today would be a great time to go out and purchase a NOAA Weather Radio. They can be lifesavers!

Follow me on Twitter

I have joined the Twitter community. (Actually, I have had an account for quite a while when we were testing things for Heartland News/KFVS use.) The new Twitter account is now public.

So follow me on Twitter. I am johndissauer on Twitter. Or you can go to www.twitter.com/johndissauer.

Spring is here!

I'm back from vacation and my batteries are recharged. I'll post some pics from the trip a little later (I'm still trying to unpack).

I did want to make everyone aware of the threat of thunderstorms for Sunday. I just sat down and took a look at the Storm Prediction Center's website and noticed that Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Indiana are highlighted with a "Slight Risk" area.

The above graphic is the Day 3 Outlook from SPC. It covers the time period 7am Sunday - 7am Monday. The current forecast discussion from the meteorologists at SPC state that the main threat from thunderstorms will be large hail and damaging wind.

By the way, welcome to spring! Meteorological spring begins March 1.

If you are out and about this weekend, it might be a good idea to pick-up a new battery for your NOAA weather radio. If you don't have one, it would be a perfect time to purchase one.