Sun dogs, Solar Halos and Severe Weather... great ingredients for a Weather Enthusiast such as myself

Well, for the first time in weeks, I watched the news after a brief update from TWC (you see, I usually don't watch the news because I don't want Mini-Dew to be subjected to some of the ridiculousness they tend to "glorify" in the news), but since she was with her father this morning, I watched, and I was saddened to learn that there had been, yet another school shooting, this time at Northern Illinois University... "a skinny white guy in a stocking cap" went on a shooting rampage, shooting 21, killing 7, including himself (that is a recently updated number, as the news reported 6). What is going on? Why are these shootings occuring...? I think I'll go back on news strike. It's too depressing. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, as well as the family and friends of the victims, including the gunman... yes, even him.

Onto weather... since this blog is supposed to be about weather. Here is this morning's tree shot. I love the dissipating contrails in the background and the colors. I have some exciting news regarding my drive this morning. I only wish I had had more time to compose the shot and have a better opportunity to play with settings, but... I got a chance to experience a full solar halo, complete with sun dogs. It was awesome. Unfortunately, by the time I could get to a decent enough (yeah, just ignore the doggone eye sore of a cell phone tower) spot to shoot it, the sun dogs weren't as clear, but fortunately, I had the foresight to shoot that at the stop light (pay no attention to the horrible traffic signals in the poorly composed shot)... Anyways, enjoy them. They aren't the best shots of sun dogs, but they are my personal best, and I am proud of them. Another round of storms is setting up for it's big debut today in much of Texas, where the Storm Prediction Center has outlined an area there of slight risk for severe weather... tomorrow in southeastern Texas, they have outlined an area of moderate risk, stating that things will really get going if the cap busts, including a significant tornadic threat. Even without a weakened cap, they are expecting a squall with potential for tornadoes ahead of the line. They don't seem as confident in this as they were for the Super Tuesday outbreak, so I will try to keep an eye on this... despite the 9 little girls I am expected to entertain tonight. Sunday is the big day for me. The SPC has placed me smack dab in the middle of an area identified for a slight risk for severe weather. Currently, the conditions look ideal, that the cold front approaching from the west will interact with the rich moisture feed off the Gulf, offering ideal dewpoint temps. Now, it's just a matter of whether or not we can remain in the warm sector, keep the cloud cover minimized until that point in the day, and kaPOW... severe storms.

STORMS MAY INTENSIFY DURING THE DAY AS THEY ADVANCE EWD WITH LARGE HODOGRAPHS AND STRONG DEEP SHEAR SUPPORTIVE OF BOWS AND SUPERCELLS.

Sunday will be quite a day! Of course it will be... I will have Mini-Dew. Not a chasetunity for me, sigh.

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!
~Dewdrop