Severe Weather Possible Thu 5/1 and Fri 5/2

Severe weather is possible, including the threat of tornadoes, Thursday evening into Friday. More information will be available on Thursday as to the timing and threat levels of this storm system.

Be safe.

NOAA All Hazards Radio - Own One!

Ok, so I try to follow up each post regarding severe weather threats with a reminder to battery up and turn on your NOAA All Hazards Radio (AKA Weather Alert Radio). Some of you may not know exactly what that is, so let me do my best to explain and make suggestions. If you get bored, at least go to the end to read the suggestions I make.

A NOAA All Hazards Radio is a radio that receives transmissions free from the National Weather Service (NWS). In times of severe weather, or other hazards, a tone is sent that will activate the radio to alert you so that you don't have to have it on all the time to be warned. These can be purchased for approximately $40.

Several years ago, a technology emerged with these radios that allowed the NWS to send a special code in the alert that would activate radios for specific counties. This technology is called SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding). I could go into lots of details, but basically what this means is you can avoid being annoyed by alerts for areas you don't need to be concerned about.

Back in the day, when I had my first radio, this technology wasn't around, and my radio went off for the entire county warning area for Springfield, so that meant as severe weather moved from the eastern KS counties, all the way over to SE MO. That was bad mojo. It encouraged owners to shut them off eventually, especially those who lived on the western edge where the weather had cleared.

These radios can save your life, and at the bare minimum, offer you a peace of mind when you go to bed at night when you are expecting severe weather. Let's avoid this quote from ever being printed again - "The National Weather Service had issued warnings for the area about 30 minutes before the tornado struck, but many people were asleep and not aware of them."

I do not recommend any brand or place of purchase. But I will offer examples that will help the person with no technical abilities. These examples will cost a bit more money, and those who are capable of configuring the radios themselves, well, by all means save some money and order they online or something.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. Get a radio with S.A.M.E. technology. You only want it to go off for the areas that concern you, not for all 37 counties the Springfield NWS office warns for. That will get annoying, and you will end up shutting it off. Don't buy a radio without S.A.M.E.
   
2. If it is a pain in the butt, you won't buy it or use it. If you don't want to hassle with setup yourself, you can get one at Radio Shack, and they will program it for you in the store. They work on commission, so they are happy to help you if you buy one from them. The price difference is well worth it if this is your reason for not owning one.
   
3. Have the radio programmed for your county and the county(ies) to your W and SW. Since most storms move NE or E, this will allow you to get warnings for storms moving into your area, but not yet there. If you live on the southern edge of your county, maybe even the county to your south would be good.
4. There are radios now that not only can be set to only go off for specified counties, but you can set them to only go off for certain watches and warnings. A watch means conditions are favorable for the type of watch posted (tornado watch, severe thunderstorm watch, etc). A warning means that type of weather event is currently happening. So if you only want to be alerted for tornado warnings, for example, then you can program it to do that. The reason this is good is that you can avoid being awakened by an alarm for a flash flood warning if you don't have to worry about flash floods. I consider this feature to be a MUST have.
   

So there you have it. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions, I'll be glad to help guide you in the right direction. My contact information is listed in the right side menu. I feel very strongly about this subject, and want to encourage everyone to own one to protect themselves and their families. Be safe.

Severe Weather Possible Through 4/25

Severe weather is possible through Friday in Southwest Missouri. There aren't a whole lot of details yet. It doesn't look like it's going to be outbreak conditions or anything, but strong to severe none the less.

Now is a good time to make sure your NOAA All Hazards radio has a good battery and is set to alert mode.

Be safe.

Where Do NWS Personnel Take Shelter?

The brave and diligent souls who man (or woman) the helm during severe weather in the Ozarks are not immune to taking shelter during severe weather. During the January 7th-8th outbreak, they were forced to take shelter as a storm moved over the National Weather Service office on the edge of the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport.

One wonders, "Where do NWS employees take shelter?". After all, they always remind the public to seek shelter in a basement. Do they have one? The answer is no. But what they do have, is a concrete and steel reinforced safe room in close proximity to the forecast center.

It's not like a safe room you or I would install in our home. Theirs is special. What makes it special? Not the addition of remote radar display equipment, or backup forecast tools. What makes it special is the refrigerator and dining area. Yes folks, their safe room is their break room! It makes you wonder, if forecasters are working hours on end through an event like January 7th-8th, do they hope for a tornadic supercell to go over the office so they can grab a coffee and a doughnut?

All joking aside, I hear it's not easy to get the NWS folks into shelter, they are a very dedicated bunch. When they do take shelter for a couple of minutes, warnings are coordinated through other pre-determined neighboring forecast offices.

The Tornadoes Didn't Show...The Flooding Continues

Well, the severe weather just didn't come together in SW MO like it was expected to. That was good news. The bad news was the rain still showed up. And boy did it show...
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had to release water from Table Rock Lake, and issued this emergency message on Thursday 4/10:

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE TANEYCOUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS IS INCREASING THE WATER FLOW FROM TABLE ROCK DAM. RESIDENTS ALONG LAKE TANEYCOMO WILL SEE A RISE INLAKE LEVELS OF THREE TO FOUR FEET FROM THE CURRENT LEVELS AT NOON. RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO CLOSE VALVES ON PROPANE TANK AND SHUT DOWN POWER AT THE BREAKER PANEL BEFORE EVACUATING THEIR HOMES. A SHELTER HAS BEEN SET UP AT THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ON HIGHWAY 76 IN BRANSON.

It's not really a message you want to see if you live along the shores...

While an EF-0 tornado did touch down in Douglas County, it's certainly the flood waters that are keeping us busy. Visit the Branson Missouri blog to see great photos from downtown Branson, and the issues resulting from this water release.

Severe Weather Probable on Thursday 4/10

Updated Thursday 4/10 at 11:49am:

Forecasts for days have been suggesting a nasty weather event for Thursday 4/10. The National Weather Service expects isolated tornadoes, golf ball size hail and damaging winds in excess of 60 MPH. The timing of this is sketchy, but it's looking like late afternoon for the Springfield area, and earlier for SE KS.

Prepare now. I know the last two predictions haven't panned out for the Springfield area, however, this one isn't likely to back down.

Severe Weather Possible Mon 4/7 and Tues 4/9

From the NWS 1 p.m. Hazardous Weather Outlook:

EDIT: As of Tuesday 10:26am the risk has moved to the east. All clear until Thursday I think. More to follow.

For Monday:
WEATHER HAZARDS EXPECTED:

• GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL
• THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH

AREAS AFFECTED AND TIMING:

SOUTHWEST MISSOURI AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS WEST OF A LINE FROM CASSVILLE TO OSCEOLA MISSOURI LATE TONIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD EAST THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS AS THE LOW MOVES INTO SOUTHWEST MISSOURI

For Tuesday:
STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ONGOING TUESDAY MORNING AS THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE REGION.
WEATHER HAZARDS EXPECTED:

• LARGE HAIL
• DAMAGING WINDS
• ISOLATED TORNADOES

THE BEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE DURING THE LATE MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON AS A COLD FRONT MAKES ITS WAY THROUGH MISSOURI. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE.

The bold area in red is a great reason to own a Weather Alert radio. If you don't have one, buy one. Those who do own one should make sure they are on, backed up with a battery, and ready to go.

Be safe.

Severe Storms Possible - Thursday, April 3rd

Conditions are coming together for more severe weather on Thursday. The NWS Hazardous Weather Outlook states:

THE SEVERE WEATHER RISK FOR THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT REMAINS DEPENDENT ON JUST HOW FAR NORTH THE WARM FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA. AT THIS TIME...THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE AS FAR NORTH AS INTERSTATE 44. LOCATIONS NORTH OF THIS BOUNDARY WILL BE PRONE TO A FEW STORMS PRODUCING MARGINALLY SEVERE HAIL...TO THE SIZE OF QUARTERS. ALONG AND SOUTH OF THIS BOUNDARY...ANY SURFACE BASED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING ALL MODES OF SEVERE WEATHER...INCLUDING LARGE HAIL ... DAMAGING WIND AND A FEW TORNADOES.

Now is the time to consider safety plans and make sure your weather alert radios are on and ready. Be safe.

March 31st Tornadoes - 9 Confirmed

The National Weather Service has posted a summary of the March 31st event. There were nine confirmed tornadoes and numerous reports of flash flooding.

Read the summary here.