Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Damaging Winds Our Main Threat Wednesday & Wednesday Night

Here is an awesome picture of the full snow moon sent in by Brow that was officially full on Monday. It is the calm before the storm and usually we would be talking a huge snowstorm this time of year but instead with April temperatures we have a spring-like storm that will include everything from heavy rain to thunderstorms, high wind gusts, and even some snow flurries on its backside.

There is good news and bad news. The good news is that the latest models do verify our weather team forecast of keeping rain amounts under two inches. This is critical for our area and means that only minor flooding is expected. But remember all flooding needs to be taken seriously and we will still need to keep an eye on thunderstorm activity late tonight and tomorrow morning to make sure we do not have any training. I will have the forecast water levels posted here shortly along with the flood watches. The Wabash will not go above flood stage until tomorrow evening.


The bad news is that I had to put 65 mph wind gusts in our forecast from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow. Keep in mind these are outside of thunderstorms. I think the main squall line misses us well to the south and east but the high winds will not. I will have your wind graph posted here shortly as well. I am worried about our soft, saturated ground. This means it will not take much to topple trees which could fall on power lines creating a big mess. We have also seen some roof and shingle damage in this type of set-up as well. Please secure all loose objects tonight before you go to bed. Our high wind warning goes into effect Wednesday at 10 a.m. through Thursday at 1 a.m.

Snow update: Two to four inches of snow on the way for Saturday. While we will not see a big storm, it will be enough to get your attention. I will keep you updated and talk more about this hurricane-like storm system on the way.


75 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mike, please update us on how dangerous driving may be tomorrow, espcially for large profile vehicles.

Anonymous said...

I posted this as Mike was giving us an update, Thank you Mike!

OH my Goodness, enough is enough! I hope all will stay safe, and be prepared for what nature has to blow at us.

Hold to your hats with this wind..I can understand all the worry about the winds and our childrens safty,..

This is a friendly blog folks..please keep it that way!

Cheryl in Brookfield Heights
Thank you for your kind words..we have not heard from family, and cell phones are busy can not get through..

Also Cheryl I looked at your blog, very cute!

Teri

Anonymous said...

I should have checked for spelling errors:( sorry about that.

T

Anonymous said...

In the aftermath of a major storm, be aware of hazards presented by downed power lines. If you see a power line on the ground, don't assume that it is insulated. Stay at least 10 feet away from the wire and secure the area to keep others away, too. If you discover a low or fallen line, do the following:

Consider all wires ENERGIZED and dangerous. Even lines that are de-energized could become energized at any time.

Observe the minimum approach distance of 10 feet.

A live wire touching the ground can cause electricity to travel through the ground, radiating outward from the contact point. STAY CLEAR!


DO NOT attempt to remove a tree limb or other object from a power line. Electricity can travel through limbs, especially when they are wet. When cleaning up after the storm, make absolutely sure that no power lines are near before cutting or trimming damaged trees and removing debris from your property. Read more about the tree trimming services provided by Dominion and your responsibility as a customer.


If a broken power line should fall on your vehicle, stay inside the vehicle. Use your cell phone to call for help. The vehicle can become energized and you are safer remaining inside until help arrives. Things like fences and guardrails can also become energized if a downed power line contacts them. Warn others not to approach or touch the vehicle and have them call for help.


If you MUST get out of the vehicle because of fire or other life-threatening hazards, jump clear of the vehicle so that you do not touch any part of it and the ground at the same time. Jump as far as possible away from the vehicle with both feet landing on the ground at the same time. Once you clear the vehicle, shuffle away, with both feet on the ground, or hop away, with both feet landing on the ground at the same time. Do not run away from the vehicle as the electricity forms rings of different voltages. Running may cause your legs to "bridge" current from a higher ring to a lower voltage ring. This could result in a shock. Get a safe distance away.


If someone makes contact with a downed power line, don't try to rescue them because you risk becoming a victim yourself. Call for help (911).

Sam

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your update Mike.

Teri here is the report from the tornado in Oklahoma.

Location County OKLAHOMA OK, 3564 9753 TORNADO LASTED APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES. TORNADO WAS CONFIRMED BY BROADCAST MEDIA. TORNADO APPEARED TO TRAVEL THROUGH THE NW SIDES OF EDMOND. RECEIVED DAMAGE REPORTS ON (OUN)

Justin.

Anonymous said...

Aw man, I just set these up in my backyard...do you think that they will be ok? :)

Well that is indeed good news and bad news.

Although we shouldn't be in the main threat area, be sure to keep your wx radios on tonight.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Justin And Mary Anne, I have been watching the news and checking other sites.

Teri

Anonymous said...

I have to chuckle at myself! When I go to the blog I keep open and only see MY postings, I know there is an update to Mike's blog! So..I will ask here as well...

Justin, or anyone, do you have a zulu time site that tells you when it is noon what time it is zulu? that Z time confuses me. If I knew when noon or midnight was maybe i could keep it straight.

thanks!

MA in REM

Anonymous said...

Now Brow, I would bring them ALL inside if I were you! Could end up in Pulaski County, LOL!

MA

Anonymous said...

Here you go Mary anne, This should help you nig time.

http://hurricanes.noaa.gov/zulu-utc.html

Hope this helps.

Justin.

Anonymous said...

Make that BIG time lol..

Justin.

Anonymous said...

none of that slang on this blog Justin! Keep it clean... lol

Anonymous said...

Well I sure am glad that we won't have to worry about school cancellations tomorrow. With the highest wind gusts being from 4-8 pm, the children will already be home.

-John

Anonymous said...

Take a look at the radars bloggers we can see the storms starting to move into MO, right as we speak!

Justin.

Anonymous said...

Not looking towards this nasty weather. I hope this is not as bad as it looks.

Anonymous said...

Justin do you see any tornadic activity coming up this way

Anonymous said...

My heart and prayers go to the ppl in the path of these storms tonight. Thank goodness there is nothing like here tonight.
Hold on to your hats everyone looks a bit windy tomorrow.

Sam

Anonymous said...

Hey richard here is the latest I have.

I still think the worst will stay to our south and the heavy rainfall will miss us. However we can expect rainfall around 1.25 with the slight chance for rain to reach 1.30" inches. We will watch this closely. Now main things we will really need to be watching is HIGH WINDS This is the Big part of this storm. We could see gusts to 55 mph or higher by tomorrow.

And as with any storm Lightning will be a thing to watch as well. Here is the chances for Hail Tornadoes and Wind I have posted below.

Tornadoes we will keep at 2% a slight chance.

Hail We will keep at 15%

Winds a good chance at 30% This being the main cause.

Remember this high of winds can do a LOT of damage so anything that can get picked up you should store away in the garage and tie down while you can. I still look for the storms to move into our area after midnight closer to 1:am tonight. This will be a long night for all weather lovers.

Justin.

Richard said...

My stepson lives down in Morgantown IN. that's south of I70 near Mooresville and Martinsville my wife was wondering if it was going to be bad there tonite or tomorrow.

Richard said...

Sorry about the pic trying to figure out this blogger thing.

Anonymous said...

Richard around that area does have a better chance for severe weather so If anyone was to travel down that way tomorrow I would watch things closely. Tonight into tomorrow is when most of it will be moving through.

But they have a better chance for severe weather. Winds will be a problem all over the state.

Justin.

Richard said...

Thanks for the info, its the wifes turn on the computer ;)

Anonymous said...

Drama, Drama!!! I am always the lucky one!

I have family who lives in OK who I think are bunkerd down. (no word on them as of yet) My daughters father who is an Over the road truck driver just called. He is in Tulsa OK.. he stated large hail very windy, a lot of lightning...truck rocking all over the place, scary!!!!

He met up with a man at at gas station who is a storm chaser.. he told my ex husband to take cover and to get out of his truck, a tornado was on the ground at Bartlesville, Ok 3 miles from their location..he is pulled over, and I could hear the hail hitting his truck over the phone....

T in Laf...

Anonymous said...

WOW Teri what a night!

Justin.

Anonymous said...

Here is another tornado report in OK,

PAWNEE PAWNEE OK 3629 9680 TWO BARNS COMPLETELY DESTROYED. DEBRIS SCATTERING SEEMS TO BE CONSISTENT WITH DAMAGE CAUSED BY A TORNADO. (TSA)

Justin.

Anonymous said...

I am sorry to have posted the info..just thought all should be aware things could be much worse! We are lucky so far..

Anonymous said...

WOW... sounds like a wild night ahead.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone else noticed that the storm track appears to be more north?

Richard said...

isnt OK in tornado alley? I wouldnt want to live there. I have been through some rough storms and anymore I get a little edgy when we have High winds and see wall clouds. I used to chase the storms here and got caught in one. So needless to stay I keep my distance when out visually observing. Back in the summer of 05 I believe when Attica sighted a tornado and Rob Roy had some damage. I was out chasing that and got caught in all the wind and rain. I drove for cover and could not find the street that I lived on..It was very scary at that time.

Richard said...

I just got done looking at some maps. It does look like it has shifted north. To far off to tell but my opinion looks like we maybe the Fountain and Tippecanoe Counties. It could be Benton also.
Just my guess, will have to wait and see what it is gonna do.

Richard said...

Right in the bulls eye

Anonymous said...

Hey everybody here is a few good high wind safety tips for around the house.

Safety Tips for High Winds

Move or secure lawn furniture, outdoor decorations or ornaments, trash cans, hanging plants and anything else that can be picked up by wind and become a projectile. During the storm, draw blinds and shades over windows. If windows break due to objects blown by the wind, the shades will prevent glass from shattering into your home.

Just thought this would be helpful!

Justin.

William said...

Lookd like rotation or an actuall funnel east of Tulsa..

William said...

Looks to hit mountain home directly. Oklahoma is not out of the woods and MO is in for a long night.

William said...

The line of storms east of Tulsa running E/NE has tremendous wind shere and lots of rotation. Rain 1-2" per hour. Microbursts are creating issues.

Anonymous said...

i wonder if i should delay my start time at 2 am ??? Becky from monticello

Anonymous said...

Justin,
What is your opinion about the track of this storm? Does it look like it is shifting more north?

-InClintoCo.-

Anonymous said...

typo...

InClintoNco- :-)

William said...

becky a delay would be bad but you make your case. saftey is always a concern.

Anonymous said...

Well Looking at the maps and radars I still feel thigs are on track! And looking good. We will have storms I will not say we wont! But I say the worst will be south of us.

Justin.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Justin. I don't mind regular thunderstorms. But, the severe ones scare me, i'm nervous about this storm.

-InClintonCo-

Anonymous said...

It will be someting ti watch closely. We could very well see some strong storms however I feel the main things to worry about with this storm is in fact the High winds and with any storm Lightning.

No matter what we will keep watching it all night if we have to!

This way everybody will be updated!

Justin.

William said...

storm rotation showing up just north of Saint louis MO.

William said...

Woo hoo I am blogging, watching pinks on the DVR, and Talking on facebook.. This is a great night..

William said...

Justin
picking up another cyclone south and east of tulsa? I are lovin this or what??

Richard said...

what site are you using William

Anonymous said...

Thanks to all for the info on the tornado out breaks in OK I have been watching and checking all radars..WOW, now watching the news this is bad!!! I have not heard from family since I last posted... I cannot get though by cell phone! Getting very worried.. TX is getting hit I hard..pray for all

T

Anonymous said...

this is not fun!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I am loving this so much. I love thunderstorms with a passion. =D Will be pretty interesting tomorrow because of the severe storms?/high winds. Last time I believe we saw very windy conditions was back in September when the remnants of Gustav came up.

Anonymous said...

I agree. It's not fun. It's scary!

Anonymous said...

and dangerous!

Anonymous said...

I pray for everyone in those areas getting hit by these storms and hope that everyone up here stays safe. I am thankful that my brother doesn't live in Tulsa anymore.

Lanna in Frankfort

Richard said...

I guess we are going to get a taste of FL in otherways than temps. If this storm doesnt fall apart and gets stronger. I am really worried about us here in Indiana.

William said...

My fun is not in others demise just the storm potential. I want others to be aware as well.
Here is a site i am looking at:

http://www.intellicast.com/Storm/Severe/OneKM.aspx?location=USMO0828&animate=true

I use several. Plus some software on my computrs. I have 3 Pcs running different sofware and models.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Justin!! I wil go there now!

MA

William said...

Justin

check this out..

http://www.newson6.com/Global/category.asp?C=158741

Anonymous said...

Okay you guys are doing a great job storm tracking ! Please keep us safe here in Dayton, we have had our fair share of tornadoes, so I am always watching WLFI and blogging to see what you guys are up to !
Thanks again !
Lovin' ya here in Dayton :)

Anonymous said...

Night bloggers have fun tracking the storms.Hope you all get a chuckle out of it,,we shall see how much fun it is when the storms/winds hit Woo Hoo

Anonymous said...

Cool Thanks William

Justin.

William said...

I appologize for my excitement as some have family in OK. But I count 5 possible rotations following I69 on OK E/NE.

Anonymous said...

Becky in Monty--this is just my opinion but the worst storms are to be here tomorrow for us. You may run into some rain/storms on your route but not the real bad ones, I dont think. What time do you usually get finished with your route? You can actually report in to US about what you have seen, etc. Remember when you look at radar the darker colors of green, plus the yellows, and God forbid the purples are HEAVY precipitation, not wind. We also have to watch for bowing out in the line of storms. Ah, I am getting too technical here..i must be sleepy LOL..and with that I am going to bed until or unless I get rocked out of bed!

MA in REM

William said...

MA have a goog night

Anonymous said...

Just watched Mikes forcast, he has upped our rainfall amounts, sounds bad for the rivers..all be safe.

I wish I could follow the blog tomorrow..

going to try to get some sleep.

Night Prang Gang

Teri

Anonymous said...

With Mike giving higher rainfall amounts does this mean this storm is tracking further north?

Lanna in Frankfort

William said...

This is gonna be a long night for everyone. I will be back later..

Anonymous said...

I'm never going to be able to sleep tonight. I hate severe weather :-(

Anonymous said...

Nighters

Anonymous said...

from what i am looking at it should be ok until around 1-3 am.storms moving faster then ppl thought and still holding together.

Anonymous said...

from my radars just go to bed and rest nothing bad tonight
get a good nights sleep tomorrow might be a different story. hagn tc

Anonymous said...

I think the most severe weather hits our area from 2:30-4AM and again from 6-7:30.....I think that there will be a skinny line of storms moving through near 11AM....and then it will be over. I think the most MOST severe weather will be to all of our SOUTH....near I-70..... Biggest threat...hail, lightning and WINDS....winds outside of Tstorms will be amazing....creating damage and havoic. (Did I spell that right?) YES....a long 12 hours ahead of us....

Chris in Tipton

Anonymous said...

havoc

Anonymous said...

Sleep well everyone!

Anonymous said...

Hi all,

I am a Catastrophic Storms Adjuster currently working in the Evansville, In, Owensboro, KY area. The ice storm definitely caused significant damage here. The idea of huge winds with the large piles of tree debris down here is truly a nightmare! The ground is saturated, many large limbs hung up in trees, huge piles of debris already on the ground ready to fly! .... yikes!

Mostly I am posting to say thanks. I often read the blog when I am on storm site and it helps me feel connected to home! Actually, I often read it at home too - just rarely post ... my family thinks I am nuts with my weather obsession - it has been very nice to realize that I am not the only one!

Anonymous said...

Mike,

I really enjoy the weather pictures each week, but I have a request. Can you post the name of the person who took the photo in another place, say below the photo or to the side? If there is a photo I really like, I send it to myself in an email and use it for a desktop picture on my laptop. The name in green over the photo ruins the effect. Without the name, I can continue to enjoy the photos for months to come.

Thank you, Lela Johnson

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone
My name is Tom, Im 38 yrs old, living in Fort Worth, TX.

I'd love to make good close friends here.

Keep smiling!