Rain For Some, Clouds For Others

I'm quite impressed with StormCAST today. StormCAST is in-house model that runs within the walls of KAIT. It NAILED the rain coming in today and I had almost discounted it completely. Anywho, the rain moving through this morning is blowing some clouds over the areas that are not seeing rain. This will help us stay a "little" cooler today. It will not be drastic, BUT it will help us stay a couple of degrees cooler I believe. Some places in Region 8 are still in the 70s this morning! I probably should have kicked the rain chances up a little, but at least we had a "chance" in the forecast.

Better rain chances will come later this week.

Take care,

Ryan

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Chair Fail

Our chairs occasionally collapse for no reason. We laugh about it because it happens quite often. Tonight, my chair collapsed "just a little", but it was enough to get us chuckled. Look closely. There is a line on the set in the background. Use it to gauge my elevation!

Enjoy,

Ryan

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GOES O Launch

GOES O may launch shortly. Storms have already delayed it once. Watch here:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

Read about GOES O here. It will help the Meteorology world: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GOES-O/main/index.html

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Kids College, Paragould

I had three classes at Kid's College in Paragould today. We only had about 30 minutes each for each session, but we had time for some of my favorite experiments and demonstrations.

I added a few new ones, including a demonstration of a "reporter in a hurricane". I should have snapped some shots of that! All we needed was some water and a leaf blower! I'm going to be at Kid's College in Rector next week, so I'll take pictures of that demonstration for the blog!

In case you are wondering, that's a weather balloon... not a big brown watermelon!

Take care,
Ryan

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Teach Your Boys "Manly" Stuff!

My dad always taught me how to fix things on my own. If the toilet is broken, fix it. If the light fixture needs to be changed, fix it. If you need an oil change, do it yourself! There's no need in paying more money when you can fix it yourself. Today, I taught the boys how to change oil. I showed them what old oil looks like, compared to new oil. I told them the steps involved. And we discussed what the oil does for the engine.

My friend, Tim Dowler, once encouraged me to always make an attempt at fixing whatever is wrong on a car. The worst that can happen is.. you box up the parts you took off... call a tow truck.. and you haul it to the mechanic! It's true.

There are even more "manly" things that us guys need to teach our boys though. They need to be taught how to treat women. They need to be taught how to be gentlemen. They need to be taught how to be strong Christians. They need to be taught how to go from a boy to a man.

Let's face it. There are too many "adults" that are still boys because their fathers never taught them how to be a man.

Just remember, on this Father's Day weekend, let's not sit around waiting for our presents. Let's be fathers. I know I have a lot of room for improvement. Let's all step it up!

Ryan

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Watch NASA TV!

The Space Shuttle Endeavour should take off at 4:40 AM Central time. Click here to watch NASA TV LIVE... they are already streaming!

http://www.nasa.gov/145590main_Digital_Media.asx

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Cloud Pictures From My House

Here are some shots of the clouds as they moved through earlier. We had winds over 30 mph as a few showers passed by... It appeared that the storms were decaying. We did not even have lightning.

Ryan

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Close Call For Owensboro, KY!

I have some friends that live in Owensboro, KY and other friends that were born and raised there. As you can imagine, I was very concerned to see some strong rotation on radar within the last hour go RIGHT over the city. Take a look at the radar images above. The bright colors indicate the strong winds. (pink/blue/green)

A tornado DID touch down, but according to WFIE (Raycom Media) there has not been any damage. I guess the tornado stayed over open fields.

Ryan

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Wednesday Night Update, 11:30 PM

There are some storms in SW Arkansas that may clip Southern Region 8 later tonight, BUT it would be around 3AM. I'm sitll hanging out in the Storm Tracking Center watching the storms fizzle, but the threat for severe weather is low in the short-term.

We'll continue to monitor the storms. Justin (J-Lo) will be here later tonight to take over.

Ryan

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1:50 AM Radar Update

Warnings are in effect for Cleburne County. SVR Thunderstorm warning is in effect until 2:15 AM. I'd bet that White County will be next in line. Strong winds will be the main threat.

Ryan

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12:45 AM Radar Update

The leading edge of the storms are about 1 hour from hitting parts of Region 8. Strong winds and hail between 1-1.5" is possible. I expect to see Cleburne and Stone Counties under a Severe TS warning within an hour.

I'm still in the Storm Center tracking the storms. If I need to break into regular programing, I will. Stay tuned.

Ryan

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Hail in Oregon County

Rotation seems to have weakened in Oregon County, but the hail looks LARGE. Here's some new data we have on StormTRACK Doppler 8 that projects the maximum hail size over the next 30 minutes. Notice, StormTRACK Doppler 8 is indicating some large hail.

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11:30 PM Radar Update

I'm heading back to work tomorrow, but I'm getting back into the groove by tracking the storms coming into NEA tonight. The above image is the radar image at 11:30 PM. I have been stepping outside, looking north, and seeing some wicked lightning from my house!

I'm still not sold on these storms making it to my house, but if they get closer... I'm going to go drop some fertilizer in my yard! LOL Will I look weird spreading fertilizer at 1:00 AM?

Take care,
Ryan

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Day At The Zoo!

 Some family members were sick, so we decided to get out and about today. We went to the Nashville Zoo and had a GREAT time. The animals were cool and the playground there is the best I have EVER seen. As you will see, the boys had a great time. In case you are wondering, that's my sister with us.

Hope all is well in Region 8!

Ryan

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How Do Roads Wash Out?

Have you ever wondered how roads "wash out"? It happened last week on Highway 358. While this is not video of Highway 358, it shows you how the road can wash away in less than 4 minutes! Don't underestimate the power of water. It can move dirt, asphalt, and pipes.

Ryan

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