Expect some weather ahead

Well, well, well... with severe weather season finally upon us, and today having the potential to be the most active day of the season... you can bet, I have an eye on things today. Yesterday was an active day, as predicted, with a whopping 32 tornado reports.... and apparently, that was just an appetizer. Now, we're cooking with Crisco! Today's moderate risk for severe weather and public severe weather outlook present an ominous picture of what's to come today.




Anyone in the outlined area should be vigilant and mindful of rapidly changing conditions. Keep your weather radios nearby and be ready to seek shelter in a safe place. It is very likely that there will be tornadoes today.

REGIONAL SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK INCLUDING THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG TORNADOES IS POSSIBLE TODAY. HIGH HELICITY VALUES GIVE CONFIDENCE IN MAINTAINING THE FORECAST OF MULTIPLE TORNADOES /SOME STRONG/ TODAY OVER THE MODERATE RISK AREA. THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE:

ARKANSAS
NORTHERN LOUISIANA
NORTHERN AND WESTERN MISSISSIPPI
WESTERN TENNESSEE
NORTHEAST TEXAS

For tomorrow, the threat shifts eastward and confidence increases. I would not be surprised to see this moderate threat for tomorrow increased to a High Risk PDS situation, with a high likelihood of a significant tornado outbreak. I've got several friends who will be chasing the event in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee... Be safe, Mike, Rick, Jenn (the other storm chasing Jenn, not me) and Jeff (from what I hear)... sorry JB, sounds like Dew timing to me on your brother's wedding. Be safe to all of you chasers out there!!! Live to chase another day.




If the system accelerates, I can possibly chase some of the evening if it makes it into SW Georgia, but I have my sights set on chasing Sunday, wherever the weather happens. Stand alone statement in the discussion regarding tomorrow's weather:--TORNADO OUTBREAK POSSIBLE OVER PARTS OF THE LOWER MS AND TN VALLEYS INTO CNTRL GULF STATES SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT--

SET THE STAGE FOR A SIGNIFICANT...AND WIDESPREAD OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY TWO PERIOD. THE GREATEST THREAT FOR CYCLIC SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF SIGNIFICANT TORNADOES WILL EXIST FROM THE VICINITY OF THE SECONDARY LOW TRACK SEWD INTO THE WARM SECTOR /I.E. LARGELY DELINEATED BY MDT RISK AREA/. ENVIRONMENT WILL BE CHARACTERIZED BY DEEP EFFECTIVE INFLOW LAYERS YIELDING EFFECTIVE SRH IN EXCESS OF 200-300+ M2/S2...MODERATE INSTABILITY AND 50-70 KT OF DEEP-LAYER SHEAR. SEVERE STORMS CAPABLE OF MAINLY DAMAGING WINDS AND TORNADOES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT WITH THE THREAT EXTENDING NWD THROUGH THE OH RIVER AND AS FAR E AS THE CNTRL/SRN APPALACHIANS AND ERN GULF STATES.

The Final round arrives Sunday, where a slight risk for severe weather exists in my neck of the woods, and the Southern Weather Brigade in south Georgia is gearing up. My plan is to go wherever the weather presents itself. I suspect afternoon, well east of here, closer to the coast, and I plan to chase it over there.

A TORNADO AND DAMAGING WIND THREAT OVER THE SERN STATES SUNDAY MORNING INTO EARLY AFTERNOON MAY TRANSITION TO PRIMARILY DAMAGING WINDS THROUGH THE PEAK OF THE DIURNAL HEATING CYCLE ACROSS THE PIEDMONT AND COASTAL PLAIN.

Looks like they are doing a good job of forecasting the Dewvoid, already turning it into a mainly wind event. Sigh... I'm on stand-by. Wish I wasn't busy on Saturday.

~Dewdrop

Pretty skies and severe weather

I would like to start today's message by saying the Vonage is a company of crooks. They have immoral business practices, and I am at my wit's end with them... if anyone can dispute that with credible facts, I welcome that. I have just filed my dispute with the Better Business Bureau. Grr...

Aside from that, we had some amazingly beautiful skies last night. I was returning home from picking the doggone dog up from Mini-Dew's dad's house, and I looked into the southern sky to see and amazing and largely swelled cumulonimbus cloud. Its western side, as it towered into the sky glowed a brilliant golden hue. It was quite impressive, and I just knew that it was producing hail. With updraft like that, it couldn't help but... it was well enough to my south southwest, and I had some super yummy white chocolate key lime cookies to bake for my wonderful groom, so I didn't bother. We've had plenty of thunderstorms lately, and I am holding out for the real mccoy. As I was gathering ingredients, my weather radio sounded... Severe thunderstorm warning for the county to my west.... hail and wind. Yeah, no doubt. I pulled up radar, where the VIL supported 1.25" hail. Ugh. Incidentally, there was a hail report of penny sized hail yesterday in Quitman, GA.Pretty random, eh? (No, I'm not Canadian.) Anyways, I don't have the radar capture, so you'll just have to trust me. Well, then, this amazing thing happened in the southern sky... the clouds lit up with all this amazing texture and an array of colors, and brought about this truly heavenly scene... God is a masterful Artist.

As the evening wore on, and we were about to sit down to eat, I put the doggone dog outside, and I looked up to see an amazing explosion of cloud to cloud lightning, in that amazing structure now to my southeast. I mean, the whole cloud had streaks of lightning lacing through it, brilliantly shining through in a lavender glow. I did the only thing I could do... I raced inside for my camera. Unfortunately, it had slowed down in frequency, and our mosquito population prevailed. I only got the tail end of one strike, not even worth posting, which is a downer, but... oh well. It was incredible to watch. So no, we're not getting all the severe weather that others are getting, and yes, we are dealing with heat indices approaching 110°F (yes, you read that right), but we still have AWESOME skies! I'll take it.

Speaking of severe weather, the Storm Prediction Center has outlined an area of moderate risk for severe weather once again.

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF...LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND A FEW TORNADOES OVER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT.
SOUTHWESTERN IOWA
EXTREME NORTHERN KANSAS
NORTHWEST MISSOURI
MUCH OF NEBRASKA

Once again, geographically misplaced, and a slight risk extends into ALL of Georgia... hey, it expanded, I am in the slight risk! :D

Toodles,
Dewdrop

Have a dew fresh Six Flags Day!

Well, things have just gone crazy for June weatherwise after Ma Nature took a little nap in May. Today presents, yet another moderate risk for the southern plains, with about a 50% shot at some tornadic action. Yesterday was an active weather day, with 11 tornado reports, and a great deal of wind damage, especially in Alabama, where it looks like wind sort of took over the state. I was on my way back from north Georgia at the time... so I missed out on seeing the system that caused the amazing number of wind reports. (The blue dots are the wind reports.)

We had a wonderful weekend. We were scheduled to head up to north Georgia to take Mini-Dew to camp, so we planned a mini-vacation with the cousins up there. In fact the aunts wanted my wonderful groom's children to stay and play with the cousins... and as it turned out, one of Mini-Dew's friends needed to come along, so we carried luggage for a week for 4 kids, plus supplies for a trip to Six Flags White Water. It was a FULL VAN!!! We had a wonderful traffic less drive up, stopping once for dinner at Chick Fil A where the kids got to visit with the famous "eat more chicken" cows, who were... mowing the lawn... ... bizarre, eh?

Continuing on our quest to Atlanta, we encountered lots of instability as the sky began to haze and towers boiled and rolled high up into the atmosphere. Fortunately, we arrived at my dear sil's just before the bottom dropped out. We sat back and enjoyed a lightning filled thunderstorm, with flashes hitting at approximately every 3 seconds. AWESOME!

On Saturday, we had a wonderful "Six Flags" day at White Water. Everywhere you go, they ask if you are having a Six Flags day... not sure if that means that we have encountered grouchy, disinterested lifeguards, extremely overpriced food and stupid lazy river rules, but if so, we did. Aside from that though, we all had a great time on the water rides!!! I (and incidentally Mini-Dew and her friend) finally got to ride the White Water equivalent of the Wahee Cyclone, the TORNADO! What an intense thrill ride that was. You shoot out of a water tunnel down a steep slide and get launched into an open sideways funnel with no outer lip, swinging high up onto the side of it and subsequently swing side-to-side until sliding out the other side. I am not going to lie to you, I screamed like no body's business and my eyes were tightly sealed shut until things settled down a bit. OK, so I was scared by the tornado, so? I didn't take the camera into the water park for obvious reasons... Unfortunately, because we stayed until close and I was outnumbered by non-weather geeks, we missed the Hurricane Hunter which was on display at the Peachtree City airport... sigh... maybe next time.

Heading home, we took the scenic route through most of Georgia, driving through lots of small towns along the way and seeing places we haven't seen before. It was a nice adventure, and came across this sign, which my wonderful groom was kind enough to stop for... Have a Dew fresh day!!!
~Dewdrop

Strong tornadoes in the forecast today

Tropically, there is nothing going on... but in the plains, chasers are gearing up for a potential wallop of a day. A moderate risk for severe weather has been offered for prime chase area in Kansas and Oklahoma.In conjunction with the moderate risk, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a Public Severe Weather Outlook citing that a few strong tornadoes are expected with the severe weather outbreak today.

POTENTIALLY LONG-TRACK SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A STRONG TORNADO OR TWO THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.

Tornado likelihood:Hail likelihood: Wind likelihood:
Incidentally, the northeast has been highlighted for some potential for tornadoes and hail. Folks in those outlined areas should be mindful of the weather, keep weather radios on, and be ready to get into a safe spot.

A big thanks to sis, for this link to the Vortex2 Wyoming tornado nab.

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

Tornado outbreak "scheduled" in the plains today...

Well, my friends, the unfortunate news for the central plains is that... they have expanded the area of moderate risk...

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADOES... LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS FROM THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN PLAINS TO THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT.

You'll note on the graphic posted above that there is already a significant area of strong thunderstorms presenting itself over Illinois and Indiana. Well, that's just the opening act. The main event is expected to unload some STRONG TORNADOES. A public severe weather outlook has been issued for

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
ILLINOIS
SOUTHEAST KANSAS
MISSOURI
OKLAHOMA

It looks like TWC's Vortex2 (The Great Tornado Hunt) will have it's first real opportunity to substantiate their presence in the plains today. Mike Bettis, on Twitter, is complaining about lousy cell and internet connections... welcome to the plains. Jim Cantore, on Twitter has been asking where people think they will bag a nader. The largest probability exists in Missouri/Illinois, where they have hatched a significant area with a 10% or greater probability for EF2-5 tornadoes. Bottom line is that the people in the outlined areas need to be aware of what's going on around them, ready to take shelter, and have their weather radios turned on...

Speaking of weather radios, I am working on an exciting project for my county's emergency manager, involving weather radios. More details to come, but for now, keep those weather radios on and an eye on the sky!

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

Things expected to get rough in Georgia and Alabama tomorrow

Well, last night was yet another indicator that the Dewvoid is alive and real. It seems that people are very safe in my midst, because where I am, severe weather is not. Alabama Mike did a great post on the Southern Weather Brigade team site, which is further proof that the Dewvoid is not just some myth. I was positioned in line with the storm, so that I would have had perfect placement for a good shot at FINALLY seeing some hail yesterday.(Thanks, Mike for the Nexrad screen shots!) You see that road, just north of Remerton, the yellow line feeding into the red line... that's highway 41 and I-75... well, this is what happened...... despite the severe thunderstorm warning, heavy rain, crazily frequent lightning, and green tinged sky, I got nothing... well, I did get 2.6" of rain, which is not good because we are looking at rain all day today and tomorrow, and the river is ALREADY flooding.

7AM EST / 8AM EDT FORECAST
WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER VALDOSTA
FLOOD STAGE: 13' OBSERVED TUE 8PM: 20.3' WED FCST: 19.7' THUR FCST: 19.4' FRI FCST: 19.1' SAT FCST: 18.6'

There was a tornado reported, just to my northeast in Norman Park, GA, and there was some wind damage in the area, and Rick saw pea sized hail. As for tomorrow, we are not just looking at a rain chance, check it out.That's right, moderate risk close to home, I am under a 30% chance of severe weather, just riding the edge of a 45% chance of severe thunderstorms tomorrow.

SVR POTENTIAL TO CARRY OVER INTO MORNING HOURS AND SHIFT EWD ACROSS THIS REGION. LARGE HAIL SHOULD BE MAIN INITIAL THREAT...WITH DAMAGING WIND/TORNADOES BECOMING INCREASINGLY PROBABLE THROUGHOUT DAYLIGHT HOURS AS FOREGOING BOUNDARY AIR MASS DESTABILIZES FROM COMBINATION OF WAA... ACCORDINGLY MODIFIED FCST SOUNDINGS YIELD MLCAPES 2000-3000 J/KG FROM MID-DAY THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON AHEAD OF COLD FRONT. ANY DISCRETE/SUSTAINED STORMS MOVING THROUGH WARM SECTOR...OR INTERACTING WITH BACKED WINDS ALONG WARM FRONT...MAY POSE SIGNIFICANT TORNADO RISK.

Tomorrow (a Thursday, of course!) is a day to watch.

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

Powerful wording out of the Tallahassee Weather Service

It's all just going nuts... as expected, storms popping up all over the place, being tornado warned. Alabama Mike is near Tuscaloosa, AL, awaiting a cell coming out of MS and whatever else pops up... currently, a cell just east of his house is tornado... go figure.Tallahassee's National Weather Service Office has issued a revised outlook for my area. The whole thing is cool, so I will share it here... though our overcast skies seem that they would inhibit sufficient instability. We would need a decent dry slot for anything to initiate.

147 PM EST WED FEB 18 2009

...MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT WITH TORNADOES POSSIBLE...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST ALABAMA... SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA...THE FLORIDA BIG BEND AND PANHANDLE...AND THE ADJACENT GULF COASTAL WATERS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...
THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS PLACED SOUTHEAST ALABAMA...AND MUCH OF SOUTHWEST GEORGIA AND THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE UNDER A MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE STORMS FROM THIS LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA IS UNDER A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE. MODERATE RISK ASSIGNMENTS ARE A FAIRLY RARE OCCURRENCE...AND GENERALLY OCCUR ONLY ONE OR TWO TIMES A YEAR IN THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY.

MOISTURE HAS BEEN RAPIDLY RETURNING THROUGH THE DAY TODAY ACROSS THE REGION. THIS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS WILL THE INSTABILITY. WITH VERY FAVORABLE WIND PROFILES... THE FORECAST AREA IS BEING PRIMED FOR A SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK... POSSIBLY A MAJOR ONE. INITIALLY DISCRETE SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP WELL AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THESE WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES...PERHAPS EVEN A STRONG TORNADO. ONCE THE COLD FRONT CATCHES UP TO THE STORMS... THE CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP INTO A MORE LINEAR MODE...IN OTHER WORDS A SQUALL LINE. THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL SHIFT TO DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS AT THIS TIME...BUT ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP OUT AHEAD OF THIS LINE COULD BE TORNADIC SUPERCELLS. THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL END FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST OVERNIGHT.

THE FORECAST AREA IS BEING PRIMED FOR A SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK... POSSIBLY A MAJOR ONE... DISCRETE SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP WELL AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THESE WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES...PERHAPS EVEN A STRONG TORNADO. WOW! Spotter training should be interesting.

Also, it hasn't been updated yet, but we are under a tornado watch...

TORNADO WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WT 25
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
335 PM EST WED FEB 18 2009

... including Lowndes County, which is where I am.

3:49EST Funnel Clouds being reported on the cell Mike didn't go after... Tornado warned in Birmingham...This is the cell Mike is going after. Should be warned any minute...
Rick is in Bainbridge... chasing.

~Dew

Moderate risk for severe weather close to home

My, how quickly things change around here. The hatched moderate risk area has greatly expanded since last night's outlook, and apparently, the probability of tornadic activity has gone down. I have been told by Alabama Mike (who has gone south to chase this "beast" as TWC is calling it), "You HAVE to chase now. MOD risk there!!!!" Well, we shall see. I am thinking night. I am thinking explosive. Night and explosive is not my favorite combination.
Who's chasing?
1. Alabama Mike - central Alabama
2. Rick Lipscomb - southwest Georgia
3. Meso Mike - south central Georgia
4. Jim Edds - FL panhandle/Alabama
Who might be chasing?
1. Dew - south central Georgia
2. Jeff Gammons - north FloridaI expect that by the time the storm reaches my neck of the woods, it'll be solidly lined out with bowing line segments producing damaging winds and perhaps some large hail (large hail would be a first for me). Unfortunately, I can't just leave today and go after the most tornado prone area today, as I have to manage my time off closely right now and then, there's Mini-Dew, since her dad will be busy chasing stars shooting a zombie movie (seriously)... though the weather might put that on hold. I might just have to settle with the hail and wind leftovers tonight. Wouldn't it be cool if my weather radio went off in the middle of spotter training tonight... sorry guys... gotta split. Gotta put my training to good use. What? It could happen...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TODAY... FROM NOON UNTIL 10 PM AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT. ISOLATED SUPERCELLS WITH LARGE HAIL... DAMAGING WINDS...AND TORNADOES ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS MUCH CENTRAL ALABAMA... ROUGHLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20...FROM NOON UNTIL 6 PM. AFTER 6 PM...THUNDERSTORMS WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL ARE LIKELY IMMEDIATELY AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT AS IT CONTINUES TO PUSH SOUTHEAST.

This is what Mike is going after. Birmingham hardly ever forecasts tornadoes in their hazardous weather outlook products.

11AM (my time): A misplaced TVS makes an appearance in Mississippi near Forest. Alabama Mike is headed sw on I-59/20. Finally a Public Severe Weather Outlook has been issued.

12:15EST: MD120 for Mike's area...

THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS CAPABLE OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND PERHAPS A FEW TORNADOES IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON. CONVECTIVE TRENDS ARE BEING MONITORED FOR A POSSIBLE WW. LATEST TRENDS IN VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATE DEEPENING CUMULUS BANDS.

ONCE STORMS DEVELOP AND BECOME SUSTAINED...THE PRESENCE OF 60-70 KT DEEP LAYER SHEAR AND LONG...STRAIGHT HODOGRAPHS WILL SUPPORT SUPERCELL DEVELOPMENT /SOME SPLITTING/ WITH THE THREAT FOR DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND PERHAPS A FEW TORNADOES.

vivisble... 12:45PM EST:Be safe!
~Dewdrop

Moderate risk for Severe Weather in Arklatex

Well, today's the day! Looks like we are facing the first severe weather outbreak of the season! The spotter chatter is going crazy with a moderate risk for severe weather covers an expanding region where Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas (Arklatex), and Louisiana come together.

...A SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK -- INCLUDING SUPERCELLS WITH STRONG TORNADOES -- IS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT FOR ERN OK/NE TX...INTO WRN/CENTRAL AR AND NW LA...

This is an amazing set-up for mid-February (as a general rule, last year being an exception) and chasers are chomping at the bit to see some action with this early season event.

THE COMBINATION OF INSTABILITY AND VERTICAL SHEAR WILL FAVOR DISCRETE SUPERCELLS WITH THE INITIAL DEVELOPMENT...WHILE THE STRONG LOW-LEVEL SHEAR AND MOIST LOW LEVELS WILL SUPPORT THE POSSIBILITY OF A FEW LONG-TRACK SUPERCELLS WITH STRONG TORNADOES LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY TONIGHT ACROSS THE MDT RISK AREA.

get this...

OBSERVATIONAL TRENDS COULD STILL NECESSITATE A HIGH RISK UPGRADE FOR A PORTION OF THE NE TX/SE OK/WRN AR AREA IN THE 1630Z OR 20Z OUTLOOK UPDATES

The only possibility lies in the current low level clouds in that area inhibiting heating and, therefore, instability, but they are airing on the side of caution at the Storm Prediction Center, understandably. This is not a drill. Folks in the Arklatex and surrounding region should remain vigilantly mindful of what's going on around them this afternoon and into the night. Weather radios should remain on! This could be a horribly nasty afternoon and night!

THIS IS POTENTIALLY A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.

God, bless them. Oh, how I hate nighttime tornadic events!! The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Public Severe Weather Outlook (as is the norm when a moderate risk for severe weather exists). As the night rolls on, the possibility of strong,long-tracked tornadoes from the potential dry line supercell outbreak will transform into a squall line thunderstorm event with a few embedded tornadoes possible from the remaining instability; however, at that point, its the damaging outflow winds will pose the greatest threat, which will likely cause more widespread damage. Unfortunately, as the energy shifts eastward and the heating occurs through early hours tomorrow, the squall line danger translates to a slight risk for severe weather through a large part of the east and southeast including much of the area east of the Mississippi valley and well into the Appalachian Mountains, including a significant part of Georgia, including the Atlanta area... not me. Due to some model inconsistencies and some uncertainty regarding the instability magnitude, they are sort of understating the categorical risk... from what could "ACCOMPANY A SYSTEM OF THIS STRENGTH", but based on the wording, I feel like it won't take much to change their minds. It appears that the greatest chance at tornadogeneis, if any, would exist later in the afternoon...

AN ISOLATED SUPERCELL MAY BE POSSIBLE... PARTICULARLY FROM THE ALABAMA/FLORIDA PANHANDLE COASTS INTO THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS.

... from about Mobile to north Georgia. Again, weather radios, folks.

As you see from this shot of this morning's sky, not much going on here...They are some nice billowing altocumulus clouds though.

Have a great (and SAFE) day! (WEATHER RADIOS ON!!!)
~Dewdrop

Dreaming of tornadoes

Proud mommy moment... Mini-Dew woke up this morning and asked, "You know what I dreamed about last night?"
I was intrigued... "What?"
Mini-Dew: "I dreamed that I was in Atlanta, and I saw 8 1/2 tornadoes."
Me: "8 1/2?"
Mini-Dew: "I could only see part of the other one."
Me: "Oh, so it was more like a funnel cloud?"
Mini-Dew: "No, I could see the top, and I could see the bottom, but the middle, I couldn't see." (9 tornadoes!!!! What a dream!!!)
Me: "So, was this a good dream or a scary dream?"
Mini-Dew: "Oh, it was cool!"

My little budding storm chaser... dreaming about tornadoes. How cool is that?! Speaking of tornadoes, several folks in Louisiana early were awakened this morning by the sound of their weather radios (I sure hope!) blaring warnings of tornadoes, as the tail of the snow storm up by the Lakes has been generating some rotating storms with large hail and strong winds on the southside, with Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi falling within an are of moderate risk for severe weather today and into tonight in Mississippi. A public severe weather outlook has been issued by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC).

BASED ON GREATER INSTABILITY THAN EARLIER EXPECTED A SMALL AREA OF LA AND MS HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO A MDT RISK. VERY STRONG SHEAR PROFILES EXPECTED TO REMAIN IN PLACE MUCH OF LOWER MS VALLEY THRU THE DAY...SUPPORTIVE OF ORGANIZED THUNDERSTORMS INCLUDING POTENTIAL TORNADIC SUPERCELLS.

WITH DAYTIME HEATING AND CONTINUED INCREASING GULF MOISTURE...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN NUMBER AND INTENSITY. SUPERCELLS INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONG TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE GIVEN THE STRENGTH OF THE WINDS FIELDS ALONG WITH THE EXPECTED INSTABILITY.

Despite tornado warnings this morning, the only reports so far are for large hail that occurred in Texas. Should be an interesting day.

11:00AM tornado warning headed toward Alexandria, LA...
Update 1:27PM

1727 ALEXANDRIA, RAPIDES PARRISH, LA
TWO TORNADOES ON THE GROUND. REPORTED BY RED CROSS.

1645 ALEXANDRIA, RAPIDES PARRISH, LA
ACME REFRIGERATOR ON EMPRIRE DRIVE HAD A CINDER BLOCK WALL ALMOST COMPLETELY BLOWN OUT. REPORTED BY KALB TV5 IN ALEXANDRIA.

Still going too...Try to have a lovely day!
Dewdrop