Moore Tornado 2013

Yesterday a massive EF 5 tornado, struck Moore, Oklahoma and left behind major destruction. Reports are that the tornado reached a length of 1.3 miles wide at it's peak. The death is at 24, though that number is expected to rise and there are reports there are nearly 240  who are injured. Close to 100 have been pulled from the rubble, alive. This is not the first time, Moore has been struck by a tornado. There have been five in the past 15 years. Three, including yesterday's storm, have been of great magnitude. The first one was an EF 5 tornado on May 3, 1999, the other was back on May 8, 2003. That tornado was an EF 4.

This image from the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma shows the path of the May 20, 2013 tornado, with that of the May 3, 1999 tornado. That path is almost identical.

 At the time, the 1999 was the most costliest tornadoes in the United States to date and the death toll from that tornado was 36. In 2011 it was surpassed by the tornado in Joplin, Missouri. The wind speed of the 1999 tornado was 302 mph, and was the highest wind speed ever measured in a tornado. Yesterday's storm had winds of over 200. 

Here's the satellite image showing the rotation of the systems, as they passed over the region:

There are also reports that residents had a 30 to 40 minute warning before the tornado hit. According to CNN, "As Gov. Mary Fallin had said Monday night, Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb said he believed residents had time to prepare for the storm. 'My understanding is that the warning system was good. It was adequate,' he said."

Below is a picture of some of the destruction caused by the tornado:

 Here's an aerial photo of the path:

In looking at the destruction, many homes where completely leveled from the winds. Schools and the town's only hospital were also in the direct path of the storm. Of the 24 reported killed, 9 were children.Oklahoma is known to be tornado prone, however tornadoes can occur anywhere. May is also a very active month for tornadoes. I wrote about tornado safety back in 2011 in this blog entry and in the wake of this tornado it is important to know the difference between tornado watches and warnings, as well as tips on how to stay safe.

The Forecast Calls For Apples?

Mmm delicious. Saw this interesting story on Yahoo today.

From Eric Pfeiffer, The Slideshow (A Yahoo News Blog).

Unexplained shower of apples falls from sky over town


More than 100 apples mysteriously rained down upon a small British town on Monday night. The still-unexplained apple shower left 20 yards of city streets and car windshields covered in the cascading fruit just after the daily rush hour.

The news immediately brought up comparisons to biblical tales of raining frogs and whether such reported freaks of nature actually occurred. In this instance, no one has officially confirmed when, how or if the apple storm truly took place as described.
However, Jim Dale, senior meteorologist from the British Weather Services, told the London Telegraph: "The weather we have at the moment is very volatile and we probably have more to come. Essentially these events are caused when a vortex of air, kind of like a mini tornado, lifts things off the ground rising up into the atmosphere until the air around it causes them to fall to earth again."

Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright, a physicist at the Cavendish Laboratory, based at Cambridge University, told the BBC, "Cars and houses have been swept up by tornadoes, so apples are well within the realms of possibility. A tornado which has swept through an orchard will be strong enough to 'suck up' small objects like a vacuum [cleaner]. These small objects would then be deposited back to earth as 'rain' when the whirlwind loses its energy."

Nevertheless, witnesses report that the weather in Coundon in Coventry was reported to be stable and calm at the time of the alleged apple shower. Coventry residents have offered several competing explanations for the event, including a passing plane, roving teenage pranksters--and, yes, witches.
But regardless of the ultimate explanation, the apple storm is no stranger other confirmed, highly unusual forms of precipitation. The BBC offers a roster of pertinent examples:

Frog falls were recorded in Llanddewi, Powys, in 1996 and two years later in Croydon, south London. In 2000, hundreds of dead silver sprats fell out of the sky during a rainstorm in the seaside resort of Great Yarmouth.
There have also been maggot downpours--in Acapulco in 1967 and during a yachting event at the 1976 Olympic Games.

On the sliding scale of inconveniences, an apple storm seems more palatable than maggots. Though, depending on the state of the apples, it's possible that some areas could have experienced both brands of offbeat precipitation at once.

source

Here's a link to other things that have strangely fallen out of the sky.

source

Did They Listen?

I posted a blog entry yesterday around this time, stating the frustration I had over television stations like CNN and The Weather Channel posting pictures and videos of people driving their vehicles through flooded waters. I tweeted my entry to the Weather Channel and not too long after I tweeted them the blog entry, I saw that they tweet message relating to people driving through flood waters.  The tweets are shown below:

 

Did they listen? The tweet could be purely coincidence but the tweet was a link to meteorologist Tim Ballisty's article The Power of Water. The article can be found here. In the article, Ballisty writes about facts associated with flowing water. The facts pertain to what flowing water can do to a person, a car and a house. I took a screenshot of one of the images featured in the article: 

Underneath the picture Ballisty writes,"We see it all the time: people misjudge the force of water and drive right into flowing floodwaters. Some are rescued by first-responders; others perish." Then why Weather Channel do you show images of people driving through the waters without any type of safety tip or statement such as this?  

I commented on the article stating the article is very educational, which it is.  With all this rain and flooding it is more of a time to educate, not just show the extent of what nature can do and the situations that can make matters worse.

I also noticed that the Capital Weather Gang, addressed the issue on their blog, of people basically ignoring "Turn Around, Don't Drown."Here is the link. If we are going to report what's going on, we need to get on the same page. Educate! Don't devastate the campaign of "Turn Around, Don't Drown."

Turn Around Don't Drown: The Lost Campaign

In wake of the Hurricane Irene and the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee dumping rain along the East coast, I have seen numerous pictures and videos of people driving through the flooded waters, on major television stations like CNN or The Weather Channel. Does anyone remember the "Turn Around, Don't Drown" campaign? By showing viewers vehicles driving through the waters, some may be under the impression that their vehicle can make it. In fact, more than half of flood related deaths occur from vehicles caught in the flood waters and floods are the number one cause of weather related deaths in the United States.

A road may look like it is passable but the actual depth of the water is not always certain from behind the wheel. It's frustrating to see channels such as CNN or the Weather Channel show these kinds of images from I-Reporters without stating the safety behind the images they choose to display.

I follow The Weather Channel on Twitter and recently saw this tweet:

The first picture that pops up when you click on the tweet is of a truck driving through flooded waters. Yes this image shows the extent of flooding from that viewer's perspective but so does a clear street with no cars driving through it. That would be the more safe approach and would not make it seem as though the "Turn Around, Don't Drown," campaign has been lost. Maybe a picture like would be better to get the point across:

One thing that is very certain is that flash floods can quickly occur and even though a driver may make it through one stretch of road, a flash flood could have occurred on another stretch and their vehicle might get stuck on that one.

So next when you post a picture or a video from a viewer showing the extent of what's going on in their area, follow it up with a safety tip or so. We report the weather to help save lives not just show the extent of what nature can do.

For more information on the "Turn Around, Don't Drown" campaign, lease visit this link.

Are Forecast (July 11- July 17)

This forecast is valid for Moorestown, NJ

Fire up those BBQs because today looks like it's going to be a very pleasant day. Expect a high around 83 with mostly sunny skies. Make sure to pack everything up tonight as a cold front will be sweeping through the region, and there is a possible of some storms mainly before 3 am Sunday morning. For Sunday expect mosly sunny skies and a high near 82 as high pressure will build over our area into Monday. For Monday we can expect a high near 85 and mostly sunny skies. There is a slight chance of thunderstorms Monday night as a weak cold front moves through the region. Expect sunny skies and a high near 84 on Tuesday, and another chance for showers on Wednesday as low pressure from our west moves into the area. Expect a high for Wednesday expect around 86. Thursday that low will move in and showers are expected throughout the day. Expect a high close to 90. The low will move out by Friday, as it looks to be dry with partly sunny skies with a high near 83. Enjoy the week!

Another One :-)

There always seems to be a since of quiet after a storm, and yesterday after heavy rain and numerous flashes of lightning we got another one…A beautiful rainbow. I saw this rainbow during the Phillies game with my friend Brian, yesterday afternoon. There was a severe warning posted for Philadelphia and the surrounding areas around 5:10 that evening and the thunderstorm passed through before the game, so that it was not canceled. The forecast advised residents of of torrential downpours, penny-sized hail, and lightning strikes, but that didn’t stop the tailgaters before the game. Brian and I, drove into the storm from Moorestown which is roughly 30 minutes away from Philadelphia. The best place in our situation was to be in a car, though the visibility on the highway had diminished greatly because of the heavy rain. The rain reduced to a drizzle shortly afterward and did not completely stop until around 7:45 that evening. The sun behind our seats at Citizen’s Bank Park peaked out from the clouds and not long after that, a gorgeous rainbow appeared right in front of us and over the stadium. For a few moments, the some of the spectators took their eyes off the game and gazed at the beautiful weather phenomenon, and of course I snapped a few pictures. Though the rainbow was faint, the full arc of the rainbow could be seen over the stadium. The phenomenon remained until the sun set around 8:20 that evening, and the Phillies won against the Washington Nationals, 5 to 4!

As I study to become a meteorologist in college, and I learn more about the dynamics of how these weather events are created, the display of the atmosphere never ceases to amaze me. It is the causes and effects of the atmosphere that got me into this field. The thunderstorm which was caused by a cold front passing through the region of warmer air and this motion lead to instability of the atmosphere. As a result the thunderstorm created various effects. The phenomenon created dangerous effects such lightning and hail, but also created the pleasant effect such as that of a rainbow. It’s amusing because for the longest time it seemed that I would keep missing the chance to see a natural rainbow, but twice now in the past two months I have been able to witness this weather phenomenon. The broad range of products, which in many situations can change by a very slight adjustment, and that are displayed throughout the atmosphere, can be truly amazing. I love this field!!!!!

Below are the pictures that I took during the Phillies game. Look towards the sky, as the rainbow appears to be very faint in the pictures:

Side of the arc, from my view it appeared to be on the right side

Another view of the "right" side of the rainbow

The "left" side of the rainbow

The "left" side as the sun begin to peak out from behind the clouds

Mid-Day Storm/ Job Opportunity

I’m in Moorestown, NJ for today, I have an interview with meteorologist Glenn Schwartz of NBC 10 Philly at 5 pm today. It’s a media/weather broadcasting internship. I’m nervous but oh so excited, wish me luck!

Just a few hours ago we had a cell of heavy rain, thunder and lightning. As of now that cell has pasted but we are not in the clear yet. According to NOAA, we can expect a chance of showers tonight and new rainfall amount of a tenth to a quarter of an inch possible.

Below is a screen shot of the storm from my television:

Storm 4/3/09

Gotta love those Spring showers!

Storm Watch

Winter is still raging as a storm watch is in effect for the area until Monday according to NOAA. The coastal low which is centered near North Carolina is predicted to move Northeast bringing rain/sleet/snow to the region, with the potential for 8 inches of snow accumulation for some parts of the tri-state area. The storm could possibly bring major snowfall amounts from Virgina to New England. In viewing the GFS, the model looks ideal for wintry atmospheric conditions. The low is along to coast gaining the moisture from the ocean, as warm air blows in from the south and a high of cold air remains to the north. Looks like we’ll be getting most of it Sunday night into Monday.

GFS Model

Current Conditions (Saturday 4:53PM EST)