SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK EXPECTED TODAY AND TOMORROW IN THE PLAINS

...START OF A MAJOR TWO-DAY SVR WX OUTBREAK TO BEGIN LATER TODAY...

Well, yesterday's slight risk hatched 3 more tornado reports, and today is the day when the SPC is actually expecting a tornado outbreak. The forecast has some of the strongest wording I have seen, making this tornado threat sound almost imminent. Already a PUBLIC SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK has been issued. TWC's Marshall Seese was recommending that people in the area without weather radios, go out and buy one today if at all possible. Darn good advice if you ask me, especially when you consider that the threat will last into the night tonight.

LATE TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT... A VERY UNSTABLE AND VERY STRONGLY SHEARED ENVIRONMENT... SBCAPE TO 3000 J PER KG AND 50-60 KTS DEEP SWLY SHEAR. THUS...TORNADOES...VERY LARGE HAIL AND HIGH WIND ARE LIKELY.

THE STORMS WILL QUICKLY ORGANIZE INTO A SQLN/POSSIBLE DERECHO.

Let's not miss that very significant word at the end here... TORNADOES... VERY LARGE HAIL AND HIGH WIND ARE LIKELY!!! Wow. With the tornado count already WAY above average for this year, today and tomorrow will be interesting to watch. It bears mentioning here that April is the highest month on average for the number of tornado deaths, since most of the strong tornadoes that occur, happen at this time of year. I can't reiterate the point enough that weather radios are immensely important. If you don't have one, stop reading... RIGHT NOW... go out and buy a weather radio. Seriously, I am not kidding.

Like I said, tomorrow has a similar forecast... except they have outlined a much larger area of moderate risk. The dynamics suggest strong/long tracked tornadoes in fast moving supercells. Yes, these next couple of days include the likelihood of a tornado outbreak. So, who will be out chasing???
Steve Miller, TX or here
Steve Miller, OK... possibly
Mike Hollingshead
David Drummond
Ken Reynolds
Chris Collura
Tony Laubach
Brian Emfinger
Amos Magliocco
That is by no means a complete listing of all the chasers that will be out today and tomorrow... just the ones I check in with regularly who mentioned that they would (or might) be headed out. Please visit their sites for information on the expected tornado outbreak today and tomorrow.

I have mentioned that my dear CNN friend send me the occasional news update to spare me the ridiculousness of watching the media drama that they show on TV. In that news, she shared this story:

TWO-FACED BABY--A MEDICAL ANOMALY IN INDIA.
THIS LITTLE GIRL HAS BEEN BORN WITH TWO FACES, A RARE CONDITION CALLED CRANIOFACIAL DUPLICATION. SHE IS BEING WORSHIPPED AS A HINDU GODDESS. SHE HAS TWO MOUTHS, TWO NOSES, AND FOUR EYES - BUT ONLY TWO EARS.

Interesting... I will leave you this morning with a lovely shot of my sunny pre-sunrise sky.

2:30 UPDATE: The SPC just issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation Tornado Watch covering much of central Texas. They explain that dangerous tornadoes and extremely large hail to 3 inches and wind gusts to 80mph.

Happy and safe chasing!
~Dewdrop