C.E.R.T. Presentation

Thank you to Ed Hultgren for inviting me out to speak to the latest Christian County C.E.R.T. group. It was a pleasure to present about SkyWarn and weather, which is a real passion of mine. I met Ed when I went through C.E.R.T. training last go around, and he is a true inspiration. He pours his heart and soul into giving back to the community and helping people, through C.E.R.T. and through Rural Compassion. You guys are lucky to have him.

To the group I met tonight, please don't hesitate to send any questions or comments to my email address found on the right menu of the website. Good luck with C.E.R.T., and maybe I'll see you at your training exercise.

Severe Storms Possible - Friday (6/27) and Saturday (6/28)

Severe weather is possible in the Ozarks today, especially after 6pm to Midnight. The possibility exists again on Saturday afternoon.

You should stay tuned to local weather forecasts. Make sure your NOAA All Hazards Radio is on and backed up by battery.

Funnel Cloud - June 19, 2008

This image submitted to The Springfield News Leader was taken by Bobby Stack at 65 and Division.



You can see all of the images from this storm that were submitted there by clicking here.

Springfield, MO EF1 Tornado - June 19, 2008

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was in affect this afternoon when a Tornado Warning was issued at 3:06 PM. The storm blew up north of Springfield and moved south causing damage along 65 highway. Fortunately I haven't heard any reports of injuries. The NWS has confirmed that this was an EF1 tornado.

AN EF1 TORNADO ALONG WITH THE STORMS REAR FLANK DOWNDRAFT DAMAGED SEVERAL STRUCTURES AND UPROOTED NUMEROUS TREES ON EITHER SIDE OF HIGHWAY 65 BETWEEN KEARNEY AND SUNSHINE
STREETS.

Initial reports suggested the storm would go more over near Strafford and then the Rogersville area. I work in the area of Republic Road and Glenstone, and we made the decision to set off the internal tornado alarm once it was obvious the storm was moving more south along 65 and staying in the Springfield area. We already had given a heads up and verbally moved people to the halls, but when reports were coming in about a funnel and confirmed damage on 65, we took it to the next step and sounded the alarms to make sure everyone was aware to move to the designated areas. It's the first time I remember working there over the last 13 years that we actually sounded them.

Ironically enough, I was in a car with 3 others driving down 65 in the area the tornado hit just an hour before. Guess what we were talking about when we drove by the buildings that later took damage? Yep. Storm spotting/chasing, and the dangers of severe weather. Weird.

I'll post more information about the storms when I have it available. Until then, you can view some great viewer photos at the KY3 site.

Severe Weather - Sunday June 15, 2008

I'm a little late here, but here's a picture of the storms that came through last Sunday. Here's a cool picture from last Sunday, I caught my storm chase vehicle in it. I'm kidding, this is a picture from James French (KC0TQD)from the Bolivar area.

June 13 2008 Flooding - SW MO

I'm a little late on posting this because I was camping this weekend. Yes, I was waiting to LEAVE on Friday while the rains of biblical proportions came down. Instead of reinventing the wheel, I'll point you folks to Chris Brewer's site where he did a nice summary of the event.

Camping wasn't bad at all. We were up at Lake Pomme de Terre. It was a little wet the first day, but nothing unbearable. We had a blast! We packed up Sunday and headed back home around Noon. It's a good thing I guess, the area we were camping went under a tornado warning shortly after we got home. But..that's the next post.

Iowa/Wisconsin/Kansas Storms - June 11th and 12th

What a horrible storm season it has been so far. The folks in Iowa and Wisconsin are dealing with flooding of historic proportions. Tornadoes have been in the news for several days it seems. The boy scout camp in Iowa that got hit is such a sad situation. It seems as though it's not going to let up for a few days either.

Here is a picture taken by Garry Brownlee of a super cell thunderstorm that went through the Witchita/Derby area on Thursday, June 12th.


My heart goes out to those affected. While the reports of injuries and deaths is very sad, things could have been much worse at KSU and the Little Sioux Scout Ranch.

Severe Weather Possible - June 12th and 13th, 2008

Severe weather is possible later in the day today, including the possibility of isolated tornadoes. This will mainly be along the MO - KS border. This severe threat will move further eastward into SW MO late tonight and continue on tomorrow.

You should stay tuned to local weather forecasts. Make sure your NOAA All Hazards Radio is on and backed up by battery.

Severe Weather - June 5th and 6th

Severe weather is likely on June 5th and 6th in the Midwest. At the time of this post, it looks like SW MO may be spared the heaviest. However, the National Weather Service is forecasting a tornado outbreak for Kansas and other areas that will rival the 1974 killer outbreak.

You should stay tuned to local weather forecasts. Make sure your NOAA All Hazards Radio is on and backed up by battery.

I'll be out of pocket for this round. Be safe everyone.

UPDATE: Folks along the MO/KS border may have a tornadic threat today. This will likely become an overnight/early morning event for the rest of SW MO. Please monitor weather updates.