Possibility of things going severe in the south today!!!

After weeks (gosh, almost a month) of NO PRECIPITATION, it is refreshing to see some solid rain in the forecast. Though the goons at TWC have mentioned the word "severe", there doesn't seem to be a real likelihood of that.

RELATIVELY WEAK LAPSE RATES AND WEAKENING LOW LEVEL SHEAR SHOULD ACT TO LIMIT SEVERITY OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE ACROSS THIS REGION THROUGH THE PERIOD.

Rain though, some much needed rain and appreciated thundershowers are in the forecasts of today and tomorrow. Bring it on! They do indicate a marginal severe threat along the gulf coast of the affected region, and at 10:15, my wonderful gtb called when he heard of a tornado warning in St. George Island, near Apalachicola, FL, in the Big Bend. Instability locally is most likely insufficient for that kind of threat.

Did I mention that we found our perfect wedding spot???

(tee hee--big grin!)

Yesterday, I mentioned Tropical Storm Marco... he was more of a "here today/gone tomorrow" sort of storm. Did ya blink?

I have noticed some really terrific search words that upturned my blog for folks, thought I'd share during this lull...

1. Picture of a bad hurricane (Seems I always have a "WHA?!" on my list.)
2. Deadliest Dust Devil (Sometimes, more than one...)
3. Oh my God, the world is coming to an end with Ike (they visited twice--shaking my head)
4. Jim Cantore hurricane magnet (lol!!! I wonder if he knows that...)
5. Is Louisiana a hurricane magnet (Didn't you read? Jim Cantore is!)
6. Stupid people evacuate hurricane Ike (not sure which side they're on with that one)
7. Storm Marco "little guy" (Hey, that was my name for him!)
8. Another name for storm chaser (What am I, a thesaurus?)
9. What happened to Twister Sisters of the WE channel (I had heard about re-runs for a while, but the contract was not extended. Be on the lookout for "Tornado Road" on NBC coming soon. Same company.)
10. Song Dew drop inn (There's a song?! I must have the song!)
11. Dew drops in ga (Oh no! Am I ok? OK, OK, yes, yes, I was cheesy with that one...)
12. Dewdrop storm chaser (Yes, folks, I have reached the big time. Show me the weather!)

Already... 11:15, we are hearing tornado reports out of Panama City Beach. Damage to structures... Just got a mesoscale discussion issued for the area to my west. Things are getting busy.

Thanks to Corey for sharing this great comic with me in comments.





4:45 Update: Things are really flaring up today... 4 tornado reports. One in Enterprise, AL where the school was destroyed last year, was that last year, yes March 2007? EF4.

4:15---->4:40 (still going and it was going well before then.)----> Welcome to the fall tornado season...

Have a lovely day!
~Dewdrop

Tropical Storm Marco, the little guy

An itty bitty tropical storm has formed over the Bay of Campeche. Let's all squint to look at Tropical Storm Marco, who formed yesterday, while I was basking in the glow of my euphoric weekend, thereby making me totally oblivious of his arrival. When I say itty bitty, I mean... tropical storm force winds only extend 10 miles from his center... I have a further drive to work. Anyways, here's the crazy part:

SOME STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE THIS MORNING... AND MARCO COULD BE NEAR HURRICANE STRENGTH WHEN IT REACHES THE COAST. MARCO IS AN EXTREMELY SMALL TROPICAL CYCLONE.

This itty bitty tropical storm, which could become a hurricane does not pose a threat to the United States. Even Mexico won't have a large area impacted.

Update 2:00PM: Tropical Storm Marco made landfall as a tropical storm, still as a miniature storm.

I got this in a message from Steve in Texas, where he shared with me his results from an otherwise disappointment of a chase...He found this gem in Lawton, while returning from Oklahoma. Thanks for sharing, Steve!

Have I mentioned that I am currently going through training to become a member of the local CERT team. CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team. It's exciting to consider the basic skills and knowledge that could go a long way in aiding people until better trained help can arrive. So far, I have participated in 2 meetings of a 6 week training course. Last week, they let me put out fires using a fire extinguisher. Are they nuts?! Anyways, in that first shot, I've got my partners back as she tries to tackle the fire. In my shot, I was a little too quick for the photographer. Dewdrop, Fire Fighter Extraordinaire!!! Next week, I get to pretend to do first aid... :O)

Have a lovely day!
~Dewdrop