Scud... severe weather update...

Sky Watch Friday post time!!! (Please visit Tom's blog to participate.)Today, in honor of severe weather season, I want to cover something that is sometimes mistaken for tornadoes... SCUD CLOUDS!This is actually picturesque scud that was associated with a little bit of a rain shower that was heavily illuminated by the setting sun, not in any way associated with a severe weather event.

*Scud (or Fractus) - Small, ragged, low cloud fragments that are unattached to a larger cloud base and often seen with and behind cold fronts and thunderstorm gust fronts. Such clouds generally are associated with cool moist air, such as thunderstorm outflow. ~source, David Drummond's really awesome spotter guide

Sometimes, especially during a severe weather outbreak, scud can be quite deceiving, being drawn into the inflow of the storm and consolidating and organizing to form a wall cloud, making it look VERY MUCH like a funnel cloud... a funnel cloud is a funnel cloud because of its near or vertical rotation. Scud does not rotate.

Tornado/Funnel Cloud Look-Alikes
A number of features (both natural and man-made) can bear a resemblance to a tornado or funnel cloud. Some of these natural features include rain shafts and scud clouds. If a suspicious looking cloud formation is observed, watch it for a minute or two. Look for organized rotation about a vertical or near-vertical axis. ~source

Here is a site that I found that has some non-tornadoes to look at...

The wall cloud that I witnessed on Wednesday was drawing in a tremendous amount of scud as it passed over on the interstate. I was closely watching it as I reported it into the National Weather Service (as a trained SKYWARN spotter, I report weather that can be helpful to them in making assessments and decisions about whether or not to issue warnings), as significant scud being drawn into a wall cloud that had just passed over the interstate on the tornado warned cell. I told the forecaster that I did not note any rotation on the wall cloud, and without rotation, scud is just scud. Evil looking? Perhaps. Dangerous? Nope. Here are some of the better scud shots from my chase on Wednesday. They were going though various stages of consolidation, forming and re-forming the wall cloud with this supercell.See how it might look like a funnel cloud. With it being tornado warned, I would imagine some people were really thinking so...

Well, you see in yesterday's post that weather got exceptionally wild yesterday with a total of 47 tornado reports (and the number keeps climbing) in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska and California... CALIFORNIA?!!!! WHAT?! Sure enough... see that little red dot with accompanying green dots over there in southern California? That's a tornado report and hail... near March AFB in California. Of all the crazy things...So much destruction occurred yesterday... it's unreal. I know it's difficult recovering from such a traumatic experience. The horrible reality is striking me... it ain't over. (I am not usually one to use the non-word ain't, but it seems so appropriate here.)

This beast of a storm is forecast to kick back up today, with a moderate risk for parts of Kansas, Nebraska, and yes folks Colorado... AGAIN. I know residents in the areas destroyed probably have frazzled nerves. I can't imagine digging through debris of what used to be my home or my business, trying to wrap my mind around the loss, while all the while knowing that more is yet to come. How awful! Wall to wall storm chasers are once again watching this event, converging throughout the plains, ready to capture photographs, videos and offer valuable feedback and real time observations for the National Weather Service to use to help protect life and property. Of course, with the moderate risk comes the Public Severe Weather Outlook. The Storm Prediction Center anticipates a few strong tornadoes.
Slight risks hatched out for the next few days... at least the location is shifting... some.

1525 EDT Update: PDS Tornado Watch... again.

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF:

PARTS OF EASTERN COLORADO
LARGE PART OF WESTERN KANSAS
PARTS OF SOUTHWESTERN NEBRASKA

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 215 PM UNTIL 1000 PM CDT.

...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...

DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

Happy Friday! Have a great one!!!
~Dewdrop

Colorado tornado outbreak currently underway!!

Boulder County... Fort Collins, CO... Milliken, CO... tornadoes being reported... Windsor (SE of Fort Collins) has reported SEVERE damage and baseball sized hail... Wellington, CO... Folks, this is bad.EXTREMELY LARGE TORNADO in Milliken... wow. There is one fatality reported, but that is not confirmed. Some fatalities (more than one) reported by the Weld County sheriff. He is sharing an emotional discussion of his encounter with the complete demolition of the Windsor area on this live stream (thanks, Paul). Schools on lock down... trouble responding because street signs are gone... another tornado warning up... God, be with these people...

Mikey (thanks, Mikey) sent me a link to this story... and it had a link to this... as part of a video stream of the Milliken tornado which appears to have been a LARGE WEDGE TORNADO... Greeley, CO... here is the report...

DIRECT HIT ON STATE FARM BUILDING. CARS TOSSED OFF OF ROAD. TREES DOWN. SWIFT COMPANY ROOF TORN OFF. TORNADO 3/4 TO 1 MILE WIDE

Better video capture of that wedge. Thanks, Mikey... for the link.

Unfortunately, it seems that it is Kansas and Nebraska's turn... a Particularly Dangerous Situation Tornado watch has been issued for the area outlined.1636EDT: My heart just sunk as I read the updated outlook for today issued by the Storm Prediction Center, with Kansas being placed in a HIGH RISK for severe weather. People need to be ready for extremely dangerous weather. I am still watching the live stream out of Denver. It's tough to watch and listen to people's reactions and just know how devastating it was.
1706EDT Update: More incoming.Tornado in Gove... 1712EDT

GOVE, KS REPORT RELAYED FROM SPOTTER NETWORK

1733EDT: Looks like another tornado warning for around the Windsor area... Denver/Boulder radar went down as I was going after a capture. Here we go... Nunn, CO under fire...1818EDT Update: I just noticed that Steve Miller TX is en route to a cell that I expect will be tornado warned momentarily. I guess he didn't have to work so much after all... it lured him away... I can understand. Go Steve, go!!!1900EDT Update: Steve Miller, TX is making headway and it has held together and been tornado warned...2209EDT Update: 36 tornado reports...so far...Tornado warnings ongoing, as I type... Kansas is getting hammered...~Dew

Storm Chasing Dew Style... in south Georgia...

Are you ready for this story...? It all starts with a stalled frontal boundary that basically set up shop in the south... you know, down in my neck of the woods... well, all morning it just sat there, no interaction whatsoever with available moisture feed. There was a solid stratus deck most of the morning. I was beginning to think... D--v--d. I even went to get my hair cut. To quote Mikey, "I always get my hair done before I chase :)" Yes, folks, he fits into the team perfectly... picks on me just as hard as the rest of them. lol. Well, after my hair appt is when things started to pop up, so I finished up some necessary business and headed out the door hoping to catch some hail, as the cells were firing with potential hail cores when they hit my county. Cool. Bf and I sat at a spot facing northwest, watching a baby cell approach, which according to Mikey, produced a potential hail core just to our east... problem. We both had somewhere to be within the hour, so our hands were tied. Grr... Alabama Mike let me know of a much larger and impressive cell approaching in the next 45 minutes. No good, I had pain and torture in 20. UGH! How could it be?! A great hail potential, and I HAD TO LEAVE IT?!? Alabama Mike was trying to convince me that I "didn't necessarily need to show up" at my appointment. I didn't feel right just not showing, and I really needed therapy... so, I drove to my appointment, but on my way, sat facing north at an interesting structure off to the west, the beautiful cell that Alabama Mike had told me about. I let that overtake me as I raced to my appointment.

While I am at the appointment, I am steadily talking with Alabama Mike, texting Meso Mike, Storm Chasing Mikey and even got a call from someone who lives 1/4 of a mile from the spot that bf and I were parked in to tell me that she had 2" HAIL at her house!!! UGH! Doesn't it figure? I continue talking to Alabama Mike throughout the appointment getting updates on the ferocious cell that is headed my way. He can't understand why it hasn't been warned because it seems more than worthy, showing a meso and strong VIL. For almost 20 minutes he talks about how this cell should be AT LEAST severe warned. Finally, my weather radio goes off... significant weather statement... then, many minutes later, severe thunderstorm warning... FINALLY! Well, he is still telling me how unbelievable the cell is on radar, when all of the sudden, my radio goes off again, TORNADO WARNING!!! (Thanks to Rick for this really cool grab of the hook that I was after...) Despite the fact that I am in the middle of hands-on therapy, I sit upright, like a bolt, and my therapist looked at me and said... "I know, you've got to go, right?" I said, "I have to." He told me to go on. I was out of there! I already had text messages from Meso Mike telling me of a "tornado (warning) ten miles south of valdosta" (4:46PM) to head to Lake Park (4:53PM--I was there at that point), asking if I was on it... one from Rick saying "you aint missing nothing..." (4:42PM raised eyebrow-you were kidding, right? maybe the double negative meant that I needed to get off my booty and chase), text from Mikey (4:37PM) telling me of the rotation over I-75 and a "tornado warning right at 41!!!!" (4:49PM) and of course from Alabama Mike at 4:50PM saying "go south fast"... no kidding! So I hauled tail south on I-75 racing to beat this storm and get a look, no longer thinking too hard about hail, just wanting a look. I was doing a little low flying, apparently not too fast though, breezed right on by the county deputy, who did nothing... thankfully.

Then, I see it. I see the wall cloud, over the interstate. OH MY! It had scud like you wouldn't believe.It was amazing and turbulent, and I was racing down the interstate trying to get into a better viewing spot, all the while getting advice and direction from the awesome members of the Southern Weather Brigade, including Jay now (4:57PM), who was reporting on the "Hail to 3" on AE (GR Analyst, lucky dog). hook-like formation with sl rotation." At that point, I could see what looked like a hail core and could see where there might be very slow rotation, but I wasn't picking it up well moving however fast I was moving down I-75. Let me take a minute to thank the incredible guys who were wonderfully supportive during my first real solo chase! Thanks Alabama Mike, Storm Chasing Mikey, Mr. Rickster, General BS (Jay), and Meso Mike. You guys are incredibly awesome, and I am so glad to be on a team with you!!! Kudos, guys. Back to my story, though. Well, as the "rotation (was) traveling right next to 75" as Mikey said at 5:00, and I could see the wall cloud clearly; I chased it all the way down to Jasper, FL, where I pulled off on the side of the interstate and started snapping pics of this amazingly awesome supercell off to my east, which I could see in its entirety. AWESOMENESS! I watched as it drifted away since I had to pick up Mini-Dew and her friends way up in Georgia within a half hour... more low flying. All in all, awesome chase. I even shot a bit of video...
I have spoken with Rick and Meso Mike tonight, both of whom are chasing the lightning in the storms firing up tonight. I can just barely see the tops lighting up, a brilliant light display, but only sporadic bolts shooting out the top... but it was cool talking to Mike about 40 miles to my north shooting the same flashes I was seeing. He and I would say, "Oh WOW!" during the exact same moments at the same flashes. I can't wait to see what he got. I tried shooting some, but it wasn't working for me. It was just the cloud tops lighting up for the most part, but the flashes were happening EVERY SECOND, no kidding. I'm sure the guys got some terrific lightning shots from where they were. It was a magnificent show for me, just not photographable.

A couple of quick updates... first, my friend down the road from where I was that had the severe hail sent me some pics. Here is one. Thanks, Teresa!!! Apparently, the hail hit 15 minutes after I left my location. Grrr. I also got a call from JJ, who lives near Teresa, telling me her yard was covered in hail. Then, I walked into the office to be told that just after I left yesterday (you know, in pursuit of hail), it hailed at the office. Double Grrr...

Today... we are looking at a moderate risk for severe weather in the central plains with talk of tornadic action later today. MANY, MANY chasers will be out chasing this multi-day severe weather outbreak in the plains. What stinks is that this is the weekend that the Weather Brigade was planning to head out there. Figures. It being a holiday weekend, I'm sure they are all pumped. There has been a public severe weather outlook issued.

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS OVER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

For the southern high plains...

ENVIRONMENT SHOULD BE MORE CONDUCIVE TO LONGER-LIVED SUPERCELLS SHOULD CAP BREAK GIVEN GREATER STEERING FLOW ACROSS THE DRY LINE. ANY SUPERCELL WHICH DEVELOPS COULD PRODUCE A STRONG TORNADO ALONG WITH VERY LARGE HAIL INTO THE EARLY TO MID EVENING.

As I mentioned, there is more forecasted where that comes from, so stay tuned.

Update on Woodstock event, May 20th... UPDATE: It has been confirmed by the National Weather Service-Peachtree City that the damage in Cherokee County on May 20, 2008, was the result of an EF-1 tornado. The report is available here (click here). The governor has declared a state of emergency for Cherokee County, as a result of the tornado. Also, according to the Augusta Spotter newsletter:

From Tuesday’s event, we had two confirmed tornadoes in our viewing area.

Vidette, Ga. (Burke County): EF-0. Path was nearly 12 miles long and 1/3 mile wide!

Olar, SC (Bamberg County): EF-1. Winds near 90mph. Tornado on the ground from 1 mile north of Olar to 2 miles ENE of Ehrhardt. Several homes and mobile homes were damaged. Baseball size hail damaged crops.

We also had numerous reports of hail of various sizes all over Georgia-Carolina. Some of the other areas hit hardest with the hail include south Augusta near Diamond Lakes Park, North Augusta, Girard, and Keysville.

Did I mention that I caught a cool wall cloud?!!!
~Dew

A local slight risk on the heels of crazy weather

Well, yesterday was certainly an interesting day, with a few tornado reports including one reported in the Woodstock/Holly Springs area in North Georgia, where radar showed a strong indication of something major going on, the one I showed radar images of yesterday, and people wrote in about what they heard about the area. The most impressive factor about yesterday's storm was the number of storm reports, 330 at this time. Fortunately, despite the large hail, significant wind and possibility of tornadoes, no critical injuries or fatalities were reported. I heard many reports of people getting in closets and basements.

Speaking of tornadoes and such, I found this graphic posted on the Peachtree City's National Weather Service site that gives a good glance at the 15 tornadoes now confirmed in that CWA alone during the Mothers Day tornado outbreak. You can click on the graphic for a link to the report... Also, the Darien, Georgia monster EF-4 tornado that occurred that same day is reported about here, which includes photographs of some of the damage in that area.

Today, has become an interesting day for me... as the SPC has hatched out a slight risk for severe weather over a small section of south Georgia and north Florida, right on top of ME! This places a whopping 2% chance of tornadoes and a better 15% shot at some hail, which I have my sights set on these days. If the timing is right (looking like this afternoon), I should be able to go out and play some. Mikey has already offered radar support, so here's hoping. Mikey caught some "wicked skies" yesterday as the system moved over southeast Virginia and a really awesome video capture of a close CG strike. Locally, the current environment is capped, but things should bust up later. Right now, there is a solid stratus deck destroying the process of potential destabilization... however, for early to mid-afternoon:

STRAIGHT-LINE HODOGRAPHS WOULD FAVOR SPLITTING SUPERCELLS...WITH POSSIBILITY OF SMALL BOWING SEGMENTS AS STORMS MOTIONS PARALLEL STALLING SURFACE FRONT.

I just want to see hail before the 4th of July so Meso Mike's dad (when I see him that day) doesn't continue to pick on me about my NEVER having seen hail. It's good to have goals. :O)

Looking ahead... the plains are about to get slammed as a system moves in and basically plants itself in the midsection of the country. Here are the outlook shots. Thursday:Friday:Saturday/Sunday/Monday (looks like a wet and messy Memorial Day for some):Talk about bam... bam... bam bam bam. Craziness.

Well, in keeping with the typical afternoon excursion tradition, during my lunch yesterday, bf and I took a little trip to a nearby tilapia farm, managed by a friend of his. It was really fascinating seeing so many fish in one place, and it was amazing how high-tech the system was, with all the variables being sorted out by a computer for regulating feed, oxygen and bacteria. I learned so much. In each of 12 tanks, except one or two, there were approximately 8,500 tilapia at various stages of development. It was a fun and informative experience, and I was thrilled to go there... in true Dew fashion...I'll let you know if I go out... (big cheese grin)

1450EDT Update: We've got a severe thunderstorm watch and cells popping up in south Georgia... looks like show time.

Toodles,
~Dewdrop

Potential Tornado in Woodstock, Georgia

6:38EDT: Looks like a potentially large tornado by radar which was in Woodstock, Georgia, and is headed between Alpharetta and Roswell, then onto Duluth. A tornado warning has been issued and this cell has persisted for some time at points indicating a hail core of potentially 3.5" and cloud tops at over 40,000 ft.

7:23EDT Update: Now a tornado warning in Cobb County for Marietta... One of the folks who stumbled upon my blog, Kelly Fernandez sent these pictures to me of the damage in her "brother in laws subdivision in Woodstock, GA. [She] thinks the name of the subdivision is River Oaks." According to Kelly, her friend passed by this morning and took these pictures. Furthermore, she asked..."Do you think it was a tornado by the looks of the pics?" Well, Kelly, the pictures are not showing a wide area of damage, so it's hard to determine from the pictures alone, but what I would look for is the way the damage path is laying. For example, if all the trees are generally falling in the same direction, I would say that it was a straight line wind event, a very powerful one. If damage and debris is generally scattered everywhere, in every direction and follows a general path, you are most likely looking at tornado damage. As I mentioned in the post that night, it looked like it COULD be a tornado on the radar... but it's hard to know at what point that might have been and the accompanying wind in the outflow boundary (the leading edge of the storm) could have been strong enough to do the damage seen in that picture. Thanks so much for sharing those pics, Kelly.

UPDATE: This damage has been confirmed by the National Weather Service-Peachtree City to have been the result of an EF-1 tornado. The report is available here (click here).The governor has declared a state of emergency (if you were impacted by the storm, click here for imformation about that declaration) for Cherokee County, as a result of the tornado.

Please visit my main blog page (click here) for updates if you found this on a search.

~Dew

Chinooks and such...

Well, I am experiencing a degree of blogger's block today, so I solicited one of the many Mikes of storm chasing for an idea to blog about. Yes, yes, I know there are 90 wildfires in Florida that I could blog about (and I will...). Yes, yes, I know that there is a slight risk for severe weather just 100 miles to my north that I cannot chase because I have a meeting in a short while (and I'll get to that...), but why would I discuss all that when I can ask the age old question...

What's the name of a North American wind that's also known as a "Snow-eater"?

I know you've been wondering, so here I am with the answer... CHINOOKS.

Chinook winds, often just called chinooks, is now normally a reference to Föhn winds[1] in the interior West of North America, where the Canadian Prairies and Great Plains meet various mountain ranges, although the original usage is in reference to wet, warm coastal winds in the Pacific Northwest. Chinook winds are so named because they come from the country of the Chinook Native Americans: the lower Columbia River, west of the Rocky Mountains. The term originated in the local argot of the fur trade, which spread it to the prairies.

A popular (but entirely false) myth is that Chinook means "snow eater", as a strong Chinook can make snow one foot deep almost vanish in one day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. ~source

Now, you know. Thanks, Mike.

Onto current weather... as I mentioned, there is a slight risk for severe weather... not here, but up to my north and into Mikey's neck of the woods. Mikey will be testing out his live stream, so I am anxious to see how that works out. It's actually anticipated as a quite active next several days... just not here. I will keep an eye out on Mikey's doings and shift my focus westward for the remainder of the week. Should be an interesting weather week. Stay tuned.

Onto fires... Red flag warnings abound all over Florida as the extremely dry conditions meet higher winds and elevate the chance of wildfires growing and quickly spreading. There are currently 71 official fires in Florida with 43,181.8 acres ablaze. Here is the official report from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (weird combo), Division of Forestry. Always something...

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

Just another manic Monday...

Another Monday, another "Odd Shots Monday" shot. In order to participate in "Odd Shots", visit Katney's blog. Today, I am posting a pic from a pool party that I attended this weekend. I was taking pics of the kids playing and diving at the pool, and I turned around to see this...Someone had left their goggles in the flowerpot. I found it odd. It was certainly my first time seeing it. Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the pool party (the child is just an arbitrary child who I found precious... that itty bitty actually dove in...)I also took several shots of the sky between Friday, when I was privileged to have the base of a flanking line approach and pass over... I watched the whole process, totally mesmerized by it, taking pic the whole time... very cool. Then, on Saturday, bf let me know that he was on the look out for sun dogs within the significant cirrus patch that was setting up around the sun... never did see a sun dog, but it was a terrific sky. Thanks, bf, for pointing that out to me... I was so engrossed in the pool party, I almost missed it. Then, on Sunday, offering the most magnificent sunset illuminating a flanking line off to the west northwest. Bf also sent me a note and some supporting pics on his phone of this one... It was picturesque, and lucky me... I had my camera ready, so I set myself up for some shots on the way home from Mini-Dew's friend's house.That was my favorite, but there were some others that I have decided to share, as well...Revisiting the Mothers' Day tornado outbreak... I got this note about one of the tornadoes that day. I watched this one on radar...

The most amazing tornado occurred in Darien, Georgia in McIntosh County. Darien is the city with the big outlet mall you see along I-95 when you’re driving to Florida. An EF-4 tornado with winds of 170-180mph was on the ground for 5.5 miles and injured nine people as it moved from west to east.

No weather here for a few days, but a slight risk appears in central Georgia through North Carolina tomorrow.

Happy Monday!
~Dewdrop

Crepuscular rays and severe weather... no, they aren't related.

Sky Watch Friday post time!!! (Please visit Tom's blog to participate.) Today, I want to share with you my shot of Crepuscular Rays... Sun rays... God's rays... I think that's an important point... God's rays. Let me share with you a story. One day, while I was taking Mini-Dew to school, we happened upon some of these crepuscular rays falling from the risen sun down to the ground below, and she shared with me that they were the souls of the deceased being lifted up into heaven, so when she sees them, she is sad for the people on earth left behind but happy for those who are being lifted into heaven... how profound for an, at the time, 7 or 8 year old. Anyhow, here is the scientific explanation, but I am perfectly content with Mini-dew's explanation.

Crepuscular rays, in atmospheric optics, also known as sun rays, God's rays or the Fingers of God, are rays of sunlight that appear to radiate from a single point in the sky. These rays, which stream through gaps in clouds or between other objects, are diverging columns of sunlit air separated by darker cloud-shadowed regions. The name comes from their frequent occurrences during crepuscular hours (those being dawn and dusk), when the contrasts between light and dark are the most obvious. Various airborne compounds ("dirty air") scatter the sunlight and make these rays visible, due to diffraction, reflection, and scattering. ~source

Well, onto more current and local things. Looks like yesterday's weather fell apart... completely... no comment. Today, the Storm Prediction Center has only offered a "see text" section on the map to describe my area... could see some thunderstorms. The sporadic potential exists for severe weather as a mesolow (same type of storm that passed through Georgia during the Mothers Day outbreak that resulted in one death in Georgia when a tornado destroyed a mobile home) passes through... Already, a mesoscale discussion has been issued for my area suggesting that a watch may be possible as

STORMS WILL LIKELY INCREASE ALONG THE NERN GULF COAST AND INLAND ACROSS THE FL PNHDL TO PARTS OF SRN AL AND SWRN GA THROUGH THE MORNING AS LIFT AND DESTABILIZATION GRADUALLY STRENGTHEN OVER THESE AREAS. CURRENTLY...SEVERE POTENTIAL APPEARS LIMITED. HOWEVER... WITH TIME...THE SEVERE WIND THREAT FROM SOME OF THIS ACTIVITY MAY INCREASE. CONVECTIVELY INDUCED MESOLOW HAS RECENTLY FORMED ALONG PREFRONTAL CONVERGENCE ZONE LOCATED ACROSS SRN AL/MOBILE AREA. ENHANCED INFLOW OF VERY MOIST AIR FROM THE NERN GULF...AND INCREASING LARGE SCALE ASCENT AHEAD OF GULF MCS...WERE CONTRIBUTING TO ADDITIONAL TSTM DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE PREFRONTAL CONVERGENCE ZONE ACROSS THE FL PNHDL. THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD CONTINUE TO INCREASE THROUGHOUT THE MORNING GIVEN LACK OF INHIBITION AND PERSISTENT FORCING FOR ASCENT.

A GRADUAL INCREASE IN WET MICRO-BURST/DAMAGING WIND POTENTIAL MAY EVOLVE AS THE MORNING CONTINUES AND A WATCH MAY BE NEEDED.

If it comes to fruition, I am all over it. I am currently eye-balling a cell that is moving VERY SLOWLY from the area southwest of Tallahassee. If it holds on, I will set myself up for a possible intercept in south Georgia. If nothing else, it'll be good practice. Is it obvious that I am hungry for a chase?! lol I will update as the day progresses.

1100EDT Update: Well, the on again/off again slight risk was just placed back on us, as the mesolow apparently has raised a few eyebrows since we're getting a little rotation out of those cells in the Pensacola area. I guess I will just keep a CLOSE watch on the activity and decide whether or not it's worth my gas. I beat their supporting text, so I don't have their thoughts yet, but thanks to Rick for catching that updated graphic.

1116EDT Update: Tallahassee is looking interesting... Severe thunderstorm warning issued in Pensacola and FWB areas. Finally, they have updated the text to match the graphic for the slight risk for severe weather in my neck of the woods...

RICH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE ALREADY IN PLACE WITH LOWER 70F DEWPOINTS WILL RESULT IN AT LEAST MARGINAL INSTABILITY WITH ANY AMOUNT OF HEATING. A THREAT FOR ORGANIZED STORMS AND MAINLY ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND AS POSSIBLE MCS TRACKS NEWD ACROSS SRN GA INTO FAR SRN SC THROUGH THE DAY.

1530EDT Update: Well... it looked like we were about to have a ferocious wind event.Then, it approached my neck of the woods.... and fell to pieces. Alas, though...... it redeveloped on the other side!!! UGH!

Happy Friday!!!
~Dewdrop

Update on worldly catastrophes and local weather...

AP Photo... A man sits near the site of a collapsed school building in Wenchuan, Sichuan province, May 15, 2008. More Photos are available at this link. Just to warn you, some of the photos are extremely graphic, and they will impact you. It is an amazingly shocking view into the devastation there. Unfortunately, reports now indicate that the current death toll of 19,509, could soar to 50,000. Desperate appeals for rescue equipment are being made by the government. It's a dire, grim scene. Given that though... you just have to wonder about the situation in Myanmar. We know it was devastating there, but they are not requesting help. They have it under control, a pride which most likely cause that country many thousands of lives. The junta is placing the official death toll around 38,500, but suspicions are that fatalities exceed 200,000. Here is a link to a video about this. Again... I warn you of its potential impact on you.

Onto local weather... yesterday saw an additional 6 (per SPC)- 9(per TWC) yesterday in Texas, but the big story has been the BIG hail over there. This morning, there were reports of grapefruit, softball and baseball sized hail stones near Austin, TX. Currently, the map is lit up with a powerful storm tracking across the Gulf States at the moment. This is heavily a hail, wind and rain event, though there is a slight risk of tornadoes in the southern portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.The slight risk for severe weather, which included my area yesterday has been moved westward, as the storm didn't make as much eastward progress as was expected by this point in time, but our chance for severe weather has been added for tomorrow... another mostly wind event.

1247EDT Update: Tornado watch for the FL panhandle. The MCS approaches from the west... now beginning to take a more northward turn. I see significant moisture feed in off the Gulf. If that keeps up, we might have a squall to contend with... Gee, I love squalls... not. It is very possible that Andalusia, AL has something (tornadic) happening there. There has been persistently strong rotation on radar for some time now. It doesn't seem to be moving on...

1336EDT Update: Just checked SPC... Oh my...

1654 ANDALUSIA COVINGTON AL 3131 8648 TORNADO REPORTED ON THE GROUND JUST WEST OF ANDALUSIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Yikes.

1700EDT Update: I'm not saying that the D--v--d exists (since I am not allowed), but this is the early shot of the activity on the left, and the current scene in my neck of the woods as it approaches.





I'm just saying...

Toodles,
~Dewdrop

Cyclones, Earthquakes, Tornadoes and Wildfires... weather around the world

Of all the horrific news... this has to be among the worst... Cyclone devastated Yangon, Myanmar (Burma), with their militaristic junta preventing outside relief because they "have their own team to cope with the situation", a situation that has resulted in a tragic loss of life on top of the already high loss of life resulting directly from the cyclone itself, has YET ANOTHER tropical cyclone expected to head toward the same region. Thanks, Mikey, for sharing the story with me.

Reports a tropical depression was swirling southwest of Yangon and that it could develop into a major storm sparked concerns that a new tragedy could follow the early May cyclone that left up to 100,000 people dead or missing in the Irrawaddy delta. ~Source.

At this time, I am getting conflicting reports about the situation with a potential new storm... according to one story...

A.R. Subbiah, director for the climate risk management team at the U.N.'s Bangkok-based Asia Disaster Preparedness Center, told Reuters later:

"It is part of the monsoon system... Nothing to worry... It is very unlikely to develop into some kind of Nargis." ~Source.

... however, the more recent article, as well as the Naval Research Laboratory, present a differing view. It appears that it is not only possible, but most likely. (Update courtesy of Mikey... doesn't look like it will happen... whew.) That area is already ravaged with a tremendous amount of loss of life. A secondary strike in the same area would be catastrophic. The outcome is unbearable to consider. What can you do? Pray. (Prayers answered)

As for other news... I never did report on the major earthquake in Dijiangyan, China that took the lives of about 15,000 people, including 100's of children within a school that was completely destroyed, when an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale, took a horribly deadly toll. Effects and damage were noted 980 miles away in Beijing, so that speaks to the destructive power of this horrible quake. Fortunately, a big difference is the relief effort underway... rescue and relief are freely being accepted.

The Party's swift action to mobilize a massive rescue force has made a jarring comparison with that of Myanmar, whose government's slow response to a devastating cyclone has infuriated aid and rights groups ~Source.

Today, we are facing YET ANOTHER slight risk for severe weather in the plains... Texarkana is under fire today with a threat of tornadoes and large hail. Tomorrow, the slight risk shifts (barely) into my neck of the woods, during a time (Thursday) where I am not available to storm chase... frustrating. The scene in Texas seems like a 1,2 punch as conditions are ripe now, but afternoon heating is expected to spark round two... Crazy weather. Interesting discussion associated with the day 2 (Thursday) outlook:

THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD READILY DEVELOP...ALBEIT IN A SEEMINGLY RANDOM FASHION...AHEAD OF UPPER SYSTEM AS THERMODYNAMIC PROFILES WILL BE EXTREMELY MOIST AND UNDOUBTEDLY UNCAPPED.

With all these wildfires in Florida raging dangerously close to my neck of the woods, words such as, EXTREMELY MOIST, really offer a glimmer of hope. I have heard a few stories talking about the hundred plus homes consumed by the flames, which were started by arson. How awful is that?! Currently, there are 108 wildfires blazing with 17,131.2 acres of land on fire. Here is a current report. Another one of those years...

As an aside, I would like to welcome the newest elected member of the Southern Weather Brigade storm chasing team, Storm Chasing Mikey. He was terrific support for bf and I when we went out on our busted chase... thanks, Mikey and welcome aboard!

God be with everyone suffering...
~Dewdrop

An update on the Mothers' Day Tornado Outbreak

Meso Mike, who was up near Macon when the tornadoes ripped through that part of the state sent me some information regarding the Mothers Day tornado outbreak. I was on the phone with Mike while everything passed, just to his north. The tornadoes were embedded within a bow echo, which produced straight line winds in excess of 100mph, so the damage not caused by one of the now confirmed 11 tornadoes all over central Georgia was caused by straight line winds. Mike shared these two linked articles with me regarding the Central and North Georgia impact of the outbreak (Just as an aside, tornado reports for Sunday have been increased to 25, and Saturday's were increased to 68!).

Article 1 about the Mother's Day Tornado Outbreak

Article 2 (with video and picture links) about the Mother's Day Tornado Outbreak.

I know that I mentioned yesterday that I would not be linking all the survey reports from the weekend's events, but the Peachtree City actually has a very thorough survey report (click here) up for the event. This is a shocking report. So many lives have been impacted.

PEACHTREE CITY HAVE NOW CONFIRMED THAT AT LEAST 11 TORNADOES AFFECTED WEST CENTRAL...NORTH CENTRAL...AND CENTRAL GEORGIA EARLY SUNDAY MORNING.

Just to summarize some of the report...

**TORNADOES NO. 1 AND 2 (RATED EF2):CARROLL AND DOUGLAS COUNTIES/410 AM EDT...WIDESPREAD 25-MILE LONG PATH OF DAMAGE...UP TO THREE MILES WIDE AT SOME SPOTS...

**OUTSIDE THE TWO EF2 TORNADOES...WIDESPREAD TREE AND ROOF DAMAGE FROM STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS WAS NOTED... DAMAGE EXTENDED UP TO THREE MILES TO THE SOUTH

**TORNADO NO. 3 (RATED EF2):TROUP COUNTY/410 AM EDT... ABOUT 5.5 MILES NORTHEAST OF LA GRANGE. THE PATH OF THE DAMAGE WAS ABOUT 1 MILE LONG AND 150 YARDS WIDE.

**TORNADO NO. 4 (RATED EF2): TROUP AND MERIWETHER COUNTIES/415 AM EDT... THE TOTAL TORNADO PATH WAS ABOUT 1.75 MILES LONG. THE PATH WAS 300 YARDS WIDE IN TROUP COUNTY AND 100 YARDS WIDE IN MERIWETHER COUNTY

**TORNADO NO. 5 (RATED EF2): CLAYTON...HENRY...ROCKDALE (My home county, where a lot of my family resides... My brother was huddled in the hallway at his work on Highway 20 in Rockdale County, just ahead of the Newton County line... but stepped outside at one point to prove to his girlfriend (she was frantic about her babies at home in the path of the tornado) that everything was ok!!! What a dufus!) AND NEWTON COUNTIES/510 AM EDT... AS IT MOVED INTO ROCKDALE COUNTY...IT MOVED SOUTHEAST TOWARD
UNION SPRINGS AND THEN INTO NEWTON COUNTY NEAR HIGHWAY 20 WHERE IT LIFTED. THE APPROXIMATE STRENGTH WAS EF2 (120 TO 130 MPH) AT TOUCHDOWN. THE APPROXIMATE WIDTH WAS AROUND 100 YARDS WIDE AND TOTAL PATH LENGTH WAS ABOUT 13 MILES LONG.

**TORNADO NO. 6 (RATED EF2): BIBB AND TWIGGS COUNTIES/550 AM EDT... (I was on the phone with Mike at this point) THIS WAS NOT A CONTINUOUS PATH...BUT IT DID PRODUCE SPORADIC MAJOR DAMAGE FROM LIZELLA TO DRY BRANCH WITH WIDESPREAD STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SQUALL LINE. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WAS IN THE CITY OF MACON. THIS TORNADO VARIED FROM AN EF0 TO EF2 WITH THE EF2 (130 MPH).

**TORNADO NO. 7 (RATED EF2): LAURENS COUNTY/636 AM EDT...*** ONE DEATH...ONE CRITICAL INJURY...TWO NON-CRITICAL INJURIES ***
A DOUBLE-WIDE MOBILE HOME WAS DESTROYED AT 2731 U.S. HIGHWAY 441...WHERE A MALE IN HIS EARLY 50S WAS KILLED. HIS WIFE REMAINS IN CRITICAL CONDITION. THEIR TWO GRANDCHILDREN SUSTAINED NON-LIFE THREATENING INJURIES. THE MAJORITY OF THE TORNADO PATH WAS RANKED AS EF0 TORNADO DAMAGE. THE PATH LENGTH OF THE TORNADO WAS APPROXIMATELY NINE MILES...WITH A MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH OF 250 YARDS. IN ADDITION...WIDESPREAD NON-TORNADIC WIND DAMAGE WAS REPORTED THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE COUNTY...ALL THE WAY FROM THE TWIGGS COUNTY LINE ON THE WEST SIDE TO THE JOHNSON COUNTY LINE ON THE EAST SIDE.

**TORNADO NO. 8 (RATED EF1): LAURENS COUNTY/700 AM EDT... THE DAMAGE PATH WAS ABOUT 0.5 MILES LONG AND 200 YARDS WIDE.

**TORNADO NO. 9 (RATED EF3, which was the highest rating of Georgia's tornadoes over the weekend.):TREUTLEN AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES/716 AM EDT... THE DAMAGE PATH WAS 7 MILES LONG AND 150 YARDS WIDE WITH A MAXIMUM DAMAGE RATING OF EF3.

**TORNADO NO. 10 (RATED EF2): TOOMBS COUNTY/720 AM EDT... AROUND 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF NORMANTOWN. THE DAMAGE PATH WAS ABOUT ONE MILE LONG AND 150 YARDS WIDE. THERE WERE THREE MINOR INJURIES AND SEVEN FAMILIES HAVE BEEN DISPLACED FROM THEIR HOMES (The photograph above was actually shot during sunrise up in this area.)

**TORNADO NO. 11 (RATED EF1): TOOMBS COUNTY/730 AM EDT... THE DAMAGE PATH WAS 2.5 MILES LONG AND 100 YARDS WIDE.

DAMAGE SURVEY TEAMS CONTINUE TO INVESTIGATE OTHER AREAS OF DAMAGE AND ADDITIONAL TORNADO DAMAGE MAY BE DISCOVERED. THIS REPORT WILL CONTINUE TO BE UPDATED AS SOON AS THE INFORMATION FROM THESE SURVEY TEAMS BECOME AVAILABLE

Continued prayers as everyone affected by this weekend's tornadic severe weather outbreak works toward recovery. Unfortunately, for those impacted in the central plains, another risk of severe weather exists today, so recovery effects might be delayed as most of Oklahoma has been highlighted with an area of moderate risk for severe weather, including a 10% risk of tornadoes for that area.

What a year...
~Dewdrop

Nesting... and the races... and other severe stuff...

Another Monday, another "Odd Shots Monday" shot. This time, my shot would most likely fall under the rare part of odd... not really just odd. This bird's nest is located in bf's car port. We actually watched as the mommy and daddy birds worked feverishly to build the nest, and then, bf actually noted the eggs in there and wanted me to photograph that. Well, by the time we finally made it there for the shot, I saw feathers in the picture. I had to hold the camera over my head, so we climbed to get closer. About 4 baby birds filled that little nest. Bf made mommy bird sounds to get the birds to crane their necks... teasing those poor little babies. It was SO sweet though!!! In order to participate in "Odd Shots", visit Katney's blog. I will post about the very active and deadly weather weekend shortly. (Sadly, I was able to keep that sentence from last week's post... what a horrific year of destructive weather...)

First let me share a little of my weekend with you... as I mentioned, bf and I were headed to the drag races. Turns out it was a pretty big drag racing event, a televised NDRL drag race... for what it's worth. It was a first for both of us, but we were actually both quite surprised how much we actually enjoyed it. It was amazing how fast these vehicle were going! 191.02mph in 3.947 seconds! Amazing. We did witness one wreck, as the driver lost control while manually shifting since he had no 3rd gear. He fish tailed a ways and then slammed into the wall. The driver was ok. All the race fans around us were picking on me for taking more pictures of the sky than the races. lol. Who me? Here are some of my favorite shots from the races.We had a great time, and if anyone reading ever has the opportunity, I HIGHLY recommend it.

As for the weather... this weekend was a ferocious weather weekend. Ma Nature went on a rampage all through the plains on Saturday and all over Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio on Sunday. For many, it turned out to be a nightmarish Mother's Day. I have heard that there were 22 deaths attributed to the tornadoes. In addition to that, the images of destruction being shown on TWC today presented an unimaginable glimpse into the horror that lies ahead for these folks. Buildings obliterated. Vehicles crushed. Homes and livelihoods destroyed. This year's tornadoes are historic. Saturday's storms included a horribly destructive and deadly EF-4 tornado in Missouri. Reports on the Missouri portion of the storm are located here. Unlike previous storms, I will not offer a list of all the storm reports... With 52 tornado reports on Saturday and 20 on Sunday, it would be much easier just to direct you over to the NWS main page. From there, you can select the area of the country that interests you the most and get the local survey results for those areas. The Springfield, MO NWS office did do a great synopsis of the storm on May 10, which is located here. For a summary of the storm reports, feel free to click on the two graphics below.
For Saturday:For Sunday:God be with those who have been impacted by this catastrophic outbreak.

Just to revisit the trend analysis graphic that just amazes me. This puts us almost at the total number of tornado reports from the ENTIRE year last year, and we are currently only 1/4 of the way through the peak tornado season! This year is definitely making history.

Bf and I did go out and "storm chased" a little thunderhead that blazed on through the area... didn't catch anything (at all) except a little dust storm from the ferocious winds we were experiencing all day. We really didn't expect to catch anything, but having just been issued the second tornado watch of the day, we figured why not... we were headed out anyhow. The next local weather event is projected to arrive... THURSDAY and Friday. Sheesh.Have a blessed Monday,
~Dewdrop