Severe Weather Possible Today 4/8/11

The Storm Prediction Center and the local National Weather Service office are predicting the possibility of severe weather in the Ozarks this afternoon and tonight. The risks include:

Hail - Elevated Risk

Tstorm Winds - Elevated Risk

Tornado - Limited Risk

You should stay tuned to local weather forecasts. Make sure your NOAA All Hazards Radio is on and backed up by battery. If you don't own a NOAA All Hazards Radio, you should. Click the link for a previous blog post on selecting one.

Gary Cook joins OzarkStorms.com

I am pleased to announce that Gary Cook, one of the most enthusiastic "weather weenies" I know, has accepted an invitation to write for OzarkStorms.com. I met Gary through the Weather Warrior gatherings, and I have read his weather related postings on Facebook for quite some time. He will bring another perspective to OzarkStorms.com and help keep the information fresh.

Gary hails (pun intended) from Monett, MO. I asked him to say a little something about himself so you all can get to know him better:

"I guess you could say weather is in my blood. I was first introduced to the weather by my cousin, Ken Ford, who used to the do the weather on the NBC affiliate in Joplin, KSNF. He bought me my first NOAA Weather Radio, which I used to sit and listen to for hours on end. From that point on the weather became a fascination of mine.

I interned in the KOAM weather department in 2001 and prepared to major in meteorology at Mississippi State University when my grandfather's health sidelined those plans. I instead decided to stay home at teach. I teach speech and debate as well as social studies at Monett High and have been there since 2007. I have coached numerous district champions, a state champion, and a national runner-up in speech and debate events.

Around the school I am known as the weather guy. I am a certified Skywarn Spotter and a weather watcher for KSPR."

Welcome aboard Gary!

Severe Weather Possible Today - 3/22/11

There is an elevated risk for severe weather today according the the National Weather Service's Hazardous Weather Outlook. The risks include:

• Elevated risk for large hail
• Limited risk for damaging t-storm winds
• Limited risk for an isolated tornado
• Limited risk for lightning
• Limited risk for non t-storm wind gusts over 30
• Elevated fire danger

You should stay tuned to local weather forecasts. Make sure your NOAA All Hazards Radio is on and backed up by battery. If you don't own a NOAA All Hazards Radio, you should. Click the link for a previous blog post on selecting one.

Severe Weather Possible Today

Severe weather is possible today. According to the National Weather Service, the risks are as follows:

Large Hail - Elevated Risk

Thunderstorm Wind - Elevated Risk

Lightning - Elevated Risk

Tornadoes - Limited Risk

You should stay tuned to local weather forecasts. Make sure your NOAA All Hazards Radio is on and backed up by battery. If you don't own a NOAA All Hazards Radio, you should. Click the link for a previous blog post on selecting one.

Why Tornado Forecasting is Tough

Here's a neat article from the LiveScience website describing why tornado forecasting is so difficult. It also discusses warning lead time, and improvements in the near future that should help improve them! Great read..enjoy.

Strong Storms Possible Today

Strong storms are possible this afternoon and evening. Damaging winds and hail are the biggest threat.

You should stay tuned to local weather forecasts. Make sure your NOAA All Hazards Radio is on and backed up by battery. If you don't own a NOAA All Hazards Radio, you should. Click the link for a previous blog post on selecting one.

SPC-2010 Annual Severe Weather Report Summary

Here is an interesting report for those weather weenies out there. It's the Storm Prediction Center 2010 Annual Severe Weather Report Summary. The image to the right is a summary of all of the tornado reports last year. Eighty tornadoes were reported in Missouri in 2010. Takes some time to explore this report, it's very cool, allowing you to drill down into different areas via hyper-link.

Enjoy!