Good Tuesday to you all! We have for you today a quiet tropics and
severe weather in the Midwest, along with some other meteorological
nuggets.
Quiet Tropics
We are in a lull right now in both the Atlantic and Pacific. What you
see above is a satellite image from earlier today of the Atlantic basin
from NOAA, and nothing is brewing, and looks to stay that way for the
next few days. While there are a few waves out there that we would
typically watch for development, there is currently a lot of dry air and
some moderate wind shear, both factors keeping the storms from
developing. The dry air is keeping the waves dry aloft, meanwhile the
wind shear is tearing storms apart. We need to closely watch the tropics
about a week from now though. Some of the longer term models are
hinting that conditions will start becoming more favorable for tropical
development. August and September are typically the busy months for
tropical development, with the "peak" around September 11th -- no matter
what the "forecasts" for the season say. But with many analysts
forecasting a busier than normal season, I would not be surprised to see
the Atlantic become very active in a few weeks. For now, though, enjoy
the calmness of the Atlantic!
Meanwhile, today marks an important day in hurricane history. Back in
1943, Lt. O'Hair & Col. Duckworth became the first people to every
fly into a hurricane, marking the beginning of Air Force flights into
hurricanes. The readings we get from these flights are very helping in
determining the strength and likely future of these storms.
Severe Weather Today in the Midwest
We are tracking the threat of severe weather up in the Midwest once
again today. Much of Minnesota and Wisconsin is under a Slight Risk of
Severe Storms for the day today. What sticks out, though, is the tornado
threat.
The Storm Prediction center has areas from the Twin Cities into
northern Wisconsin in a 10% chance of tornadoes for today, basically
meaning that there is a 10 times greater chance of a tornado today than
on your average day. We'll be watching for the threat later today,
mainly late afternoon and early evening, look to be the peak times
today. Large hail and damaging winds appear to be a great threat today
also.
Speaking of large hail...
The largest hail stone on record was 7 inches in diameter, having a
circumference of 18.75 inches, recorded in Aurora, Nebraska back in
2003. The Aberdeen,
South Dakota Weather Forecast Office, though, has pictures of a
hail stone that could break that record.
This picture was taken in Vivian, South Dakota, after strong storms
rolled through July 23rd. According to the ruler under the hail stone,
it would appear that the stone is 8 inches in diameter and, if verified,
it would become the largest hail stone on record. It will take NOAA a
few months to declare whether this was a new record or now, but it is
certainly interesting to look at a hail stone this big! We know that
winds in the updrafts of a thunderstorm have to be
about 103 mph for softball size hail (4.5") to form, so I can't
imagine how high the winds must have been to create a stone this large.
Washington DC Storm Imagery
This is a satellite image of strong storms that rolled through the
Washington DC area on July 25, causing numerous downed trees and power
lines, and leaving hundreds of thousands without power. There was even a
report into the National Weather Service from 1 mile west of the White
House. Crews are still working frantically to restore power to parts of
the DC area. You can view more from NASA here
on these amazing satellite images of the cloud tops.
Tornado in Montana
Last night, a tornado touched down in the northeast portion of
Montana near Reserve and sadly there were two deaths associated with it.
This is an important stat for Montana though. According to the National
Climatic Data Center, there have been only 2 other deadly tornadoes
within the state of Montana since 1950, the last occurring 27 years ago
on July 9, 1983. A total of only 2 tornado deaths had been recorded in
Montana since 1950 prior to last nights deaths. Certainly a tornado that
is out of the ordinary for Montana, especially this portion of the
state.
Well, that's what I have for you today. Hope you are now well
informed! I hope you'll come back tomorrow for the latest weather
information to help get you through your day.
D.J. Kayser from WeatherNation