So far this month, it looks like the Climate Prediction Center's outlook for the month of October has been fairly accurate. For a two week period, the skies were bright blue and clear of any cloud cover. We saw above average temperatures during this time frame as well. We had a blocking High centered over the Midwest. This did not allow for any weather systems to move into the area which is why we were able to enjoy the beautiful weather for such a long period of time.
A stronger Low finally moved in from the West and was able to push the High off to the East and finally break the blocking pattern. It allowed for a couple of shortwaves to move through. This brought us cloud cover and some light precipitation. As the low continues to spiral over the top of us we will continue to see the clouds and chances for some light rain. This Low will finally start to push off further to the East and another High will move on in.
The jetstream will also move and take a major dip off closer to the Northeastern US. This will bring cooler temperatures to that area, but for us a ridge will be building in. This will allow our temperatures to warm up above average for this time of the year yet again as we head towards the weekend. For a look at the extended forecast, check out our website at http://www.komu.com/
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Fall Has Arrived!
This past week, we have had some of the nicest weather. Not a whole lot to complain about here. If you have noticed in the past couple of weeks we have been experiencing several cold fronts moving through the Midwest. They don't seem to end either. They just keep coming one after another after another. Over the past few years of working at KOMU, I have learned that this is one of the tell tale signs that fall is officially here to stay and the summer weather is over. The month of September will end with an average month temperature wise with well above average precipitation (3.65" above normal).
Friday Night Fever this week is looking good. Perfect weather for football. The Roots & Blues & BBQ festival will have picture perfect fall weather. No need to worry about rain. We don't have that in the forecast. You might want a light jacket to carry around though. Temperatures will be in the 60s for highs and 40s for lows.
As for the month of October, the CPC has come out with their latest prediction for temperatures and precipitation. It appears that we will have above average temperatures for the month and below normal precipitation amounts. You can check for yourself at http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/. It also has the 90 day outlooks as well if you are interested.
Friday Night Fever this week is looking good. Perfect weather for football. The Roots & Blues & BBQ festival will have picture perfect fall weather. No need to worry about rain. We don't have that in the forecast. You might want a light jacket to carry around though. Temperatures will be in the 60s for highs and 40s for lows.
As for the month of October, the CPC has come out with their latest prediction for temperatures and precipitation. It appears that we will have above average temperatures for the month and below normal precipitation amounts. You can check for yourself at http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/. It also has the 90 day outlooks as well if you are interested.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Frying Like Bacon
With the entire state of Missouri under an Excessive Heat Warning for the next few days, it is important to remember ways to keep cool around Central MO. If you do not have air conditioning or know someone who doesn't, there are cooling centers they can go to in order to get some relief. I have listed them below.
Columbia Cooling Centers
ARC, 1707 W. Ash St., Red Bus Line
Armory Sports and Community Center, 701 E. Ash, Blue Bus Line
Columbia Public Library, 100 W. Broadway, Red Bus Line
Columbia Mall, 2300 Bernadette Dr., Green and Blue Bus Lines
Columbia/Boone County Health Dept., 1005 W. Worley, Green Bus Line
Columbia Parks and Recreation Office, 601 Business Loop 70, Blue Bus Line
Oakland Senior Center, 1301 Vandiver Dr. Ste. Q, Orange Bus Line
Paquin Towers, 1201 Paquin Street, Red Bus Line
Don't forget if you must be outdoors, or you work outdoors, drink plenty of water. Keep yourself hydrated. Wear light colored, loose fitting clothing. Do not forget to wear sunscreen. That sun has been a scorcher the past couple of days. If you have pets, be sure and check on them. Do not leave them outside for long periods of time, and make sure they have water. Also, check on the elderly, this heat is brutal.
What is the reason for the Heat? Well there is an upper level ridge over the top of us and that causes sinking air within the atmosphere making it difficult for any convective development. All you can do is hope that a pulse thunderstorm will pop up in your area helping to cool things down just a bit, but most of us are staying dry the next couple of days. Stay cool and try to beat the heat!
Columbia Cooling Centers
ARC, 1707 W. Ash St., Red Bus Line
Armory Sports and Community Center, 701 E. Ash, Blue Bus Line
Columbia Public Library, 100 W. Broadway, Red Bus Line
Columbia Mall, 2300 Bernadette Dr., Green and Blue Bus Lines
Columbia/Boone County Health Dept., 1005 W. Worley, Green Bus Line
Columbia Parks and Recreation Office, 601 Business Loop 70, Blue Bus Line
Oakland Senior Center, 1301 Vandiver Dr. Ste. Q, Orange Bus Line
Paquin Towers, 1201 Paquin Street, Red Bus Line
Don't forget if you must be outdoors, or you work outdoors, drink plenty of water. Keep yourself hydrated. Wear light colored, loose fitting clothing. Do not forget to wear sunscreen. That sun has been a scorcher the past couple of days. If you have pets, be sure and check on them. Do not leave them outside for long periods of time, and make sure they have water. Also, check on the elderly, this heat is brutal.
What is the reason for the Heat? Well there is an upper level ridge over the top of us and that causes sinking air within the atmosphere making it difficult for any convective development. All you can do is hope that a pulse thunderstorm will pop up in your area helping to cool things down just a bit, but most of us are staying dry the next couple of days. Stay cool and try to beat the heat!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
I loved that book growing up, it was a childhood favorite. I always thought it would be so cool if it would rain food. If we lived in the town of Chewandswallow at this point in time, I fear we would have a major issue at hand. If you haven't noticed. It has been raining.. a lot. As a matter of fact, I know it isn't the end of the month just yet but July looks to end well above average as far as precipitation goes. Currently, we have received 5.54" of precipitation to date for July. That is 2.34" above normal. With only 4 more days left in the month and chances for showers and thunderstorms in the forecast through the weekend, I have a feeling this number could go even higher.
Here is the situation at hand. We have the jet stream continuing to stay well to the North, close to the Canadian border with the United States. That has helped to trap the heat to the South. We also continue to have plenty of moisture moving in from the Gulf. I know Bonnie died out rather quickly but the Low pressure system associated with it shot up a lot of that moisture. Remember, moisture is one of the key ingredients for strong/severe weather. That moisture has entered a fairly warm atmosphere here in the Midwest. Temperatures have been rather warm, slightly above average for this time of the year here in the Mid MO area. That warm, daytime heating that we have the pleasure of experiencing helps to enhance the instability of the atmosphere. Pumping more moisture into the atmosphere is not going to help. It is just going to aid in the creation of convection, also known as thunderstorm development.
It is very difficult to predict exactly where the instability thunderstorms will occur so you really just have to keep an eye to the sky. Because if you take a look at the rainfall website http://www.cocorahs.org/ you will notice not all areas experience rainfall, or the same rainfall totals. Some areas, do not see any rain, and others see plenty. Just make sure that you have an umbrella handy the next couple of days, because you will probably end up needing one.
Here is the situation at hand. We have the jet stream continuing to stay well to the North, close to the Canadian border with the United States. That has helped to trap the heat to the South. We also continue to have plenty of moisture moving in from the Gulf. I know Bonnie died out rather quickly but the Low pressure system associated with it shot up a lot of that moisture. Remember, moisture is one of the key ingredients for strong/severe weather. That moisture has entered a fairly warm atmosphere here in the Midwest. Temperatures have been rather warm, slightly above average for this time of the year here in the Mid MO area. That warm, daytime heating that we have the pleasure of experiencing helps to enhance the instability of the atmosphere. Pumping more moisture into the atmosphere is not going to help. It is just going to aid in the creation of convection, also known as thunderstorm development.
It is very difficult to predict exactly where the instability thunderstorms will occur so you really just have to keep an eye to the sky. Because if you take a look at the rainfall website http://www.cocorahs.org/ you will notice not all areas experience rainfall, or the same rainfall totals. Some areas, do not see any rain, and others see plenty. Just make sure that you have an umbrella handy the next couple of days, because you will probably end up needing one.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Just When You Though Severe Weather Season Was Over..
We are in a slight risk yet again for severe weather. You can take a look at the outlook for yourself at http://www.spc.noaa.gov/. The main threats for us being strong winds and quarter sized hail according to the SPC. The organization for these storms does not look all that impressive. I would say heavy rainfall that may lead to localized flash flooding would be more of a concern at this point, something we have seen over the past couple of days.
Speaking of the past couple of days, you should check this out. CoCoRaHS is an excellent website that keeps track of the rainfall totals everyday. Logging the information into the system from local reports from volunteers around the state and in the various counties in Missouri. If you look at the data that was pulled from yesterday 7/20/10.. you will find some outrageous rainfall totals! http://www.cocorahs.org/Maps/ViewMap.aspx?state=MO. In Adair county, MO around Kirksville, they recorded a total of 9.13" of rainfall from 7/19/10. Another impressive total not too far away was Shelby county with a whopping 8.51" of rainfall on that same day. No wonder the Northeastern section of Missouri faced major flash flooding issues!
Just thought that was rather impressive so I wanted to share. So back to the weather for the rest of the day into the overnight hours.. We have some thunderstorms popping up presently because of the daytime heating that we have experience. Lots of moisture at the surface has helped to get these systems firing along with a mid level shortwave. No shearing, or turning of the winds, is present in the lower levels of the atmosphere so there is no threat for any tornadic activity. Just be careful if you will be outdoors at all, these storms are scattered about the area in nature.
After today, it appears that the severe weather will be lifting further to the North which is good news for us, we do not need anymore heavy rainfall. However, a ridge builds in over the top of us. This High pressure system will trap the hot and humid airmass over the top of us as we inch closer to the weekend. So make sure to take it easy when you are outdoors. Drink plenty of fluids and if you get overheated get indoors! It is going to be a steambath out there!
Speaking of the past couple of days, you should check this out. CoCoRaHS is an excellent website that keeps track of the rainfall totals everyday. Logging the information into the system from local reports from volunteers around the state and in the various counties in Missouri. If you look at the data that was pulled from yesterday 7/20/10.. you will find some outrageous rainfall totals! http://www.cocorahs.org/Maps/ViewMap.aspx?state=MO. In Adair county, MO around Kirksville, they recorded a total of 9.13" of rainfall from 7/19/10. Another impressive total not too far away was Shelby county with a whopping 8.51" of rainfall on that same day. No wonder the Northeastern section of Missouri faced major flash flooding issues!
Just thought that was rather impressive so I wanted to share. So back to the weather for the rest of the day into the overnight hours.. We have some thunderstorms popping up presently because of the daytime heating that we have experience. Lots of moisture at the surface has helped to get these systems firing along with a mid level shortwave. No shearing, or turning of the winds, is present in the lower levels of the atmosphere so there is no threat for any tornadic activity. Just be careful if you will be outdoors at all, these storms are scattered about the area in nature.
After today, it appears that the severe weather will be lifting further to the North which is good news for us, we do not need anymore heavy rainfall. However, a ridge builds in over the top of us. This High pressure system will trap the hot and humid airmass over the top of us as we inch closer to the weekend. So make sure to take it easy when you are outdoors. Drink plenty of fluids and if you get overheated get indoors! It is going to be a steambath out there!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Heat Wave On The Way
The heat is on Mid Missouri! Dew points are going to be climbing into the middle and upper 70s. That will make for some pretty humid weather in addition to those high daytime temperatures. We could potentially see one of the, if not the hottest day of the year tomorrow. This is going to make for some dangerous heat the next couple of days. The entire viewing area is under a heat advisory.
We will have a cold front move though late day Thursdsay into your Friday morning. The clouds will begin to increase and the chances for rain will also into the overnight hours. Some of these storms have the potential to be strong, maybe even severe. The Storm Prediction Center out of Oklahoma does not have us in any kind of risk just yet. They may upgrade it to a slight risk in the near future.
That will help drop temperatures a few degrees for Friday. But the heat and humidity will return for the weekend and looks to continue into next week as well. Check it out on our website http://www.komu.com/KOMU/Images/manual/WXPlus/WSI/5Day_full.jpg . Make sure that you are staying hydrated and drinking plenty of water over the next couple of days. Check on those pets and the elderly as well. If you have to be outdoors, take breaks in the shade and make sure you have the sunscreen on. It will be a scorcher!
We will have a cold front move though late day Thursdsay into your Friday morning. The clouds will begin to increase and the chances for rain will also into the overnight hours. Some of these storms have the potential to be strong, maybe even severe. The Storm Prediction Center out of Oklahoma does not have us in any kind of risk just yet. They may upgrade it to a slight risk in the near future.
That will help drop temperatures a few degrees for Friday. But the heat and humidity will return for the weekend and looks to continue into next week as well. Check it out on our website http://www.komu.com/KOMU/Images/manual/WXPlus/WSI/5Day_full.jpg . Make sure that you are staying hydrated and drinking plenty of water over the next couple of days. Check on those pets and the elderly as well. If you have to be outdoors, take breaks in the shade and make sure you have the sunscreen on. It will be a scorcher!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Just Can't Seem to Turn Off the Rain!
A stubborn weather pattern continues across Missouri for the next few days. After the beautiful weather last week we saw a transition over the weekend. The humidity came back into the picture as winds shifted to the South. That kicked up the remnants of Hurricane Alex into the Midwest. Luckily, it held off for the Fourth of July festivities. But it did show up to start the work week.
There have been several areas of heavy rainfall across the area. In one hour yesterday, Sanborn Field on MU's campus picked up around 1 and 3/4 to 2 inches of rain in one hours time. Several reports on the Cocorah's website show almost 3 inches of rain total in a 24 hour period yesterday in Boone County while some areas barely picked up any precipitation. You can check out numbers for yourself on the website http://www.cocorahs.org/state.aspx?state=mo
As far as the weather goes from today on, we will continue to see scattered showers and thunderstorms popping up around the area for Wednesday and Thursday. We have a front off to our West that is keeping the moisture and shower activity centered over the state. Along with the jetstream that follows the frontal boundry, it is forcing the activity to stay over the top of us and not go anywhere anytime soon. No severe weather threats here but the chances for some flash flooding will be the main concern, especially with these heavy patches of rainfall.
And always make sure if you are out driving in the heavy rainfall, have your headlights on! Saw several people without their lights on today. Don't forget to slow down either when you can barely see the vehicle in front of you. Saw a car donut spin in the middle of 63 and go through the median. Be safe out there everyone!
There have been several areas of heavy rainfall across the area. In one hour yesterday, Sanborn Field on MU's campus picked up around 1 and 3/4 to 2 inches of rain in one hours time. Several reports on the Cocorah's website show almost 3 inches of rain total in a 24 hour period yesterday in Boone County while some areas barely picked up any precipitation. You can check out numbers for yourself on the website http://www.cocorahs.org/state.aspx?state=mo
As far as the weather goes from today on, we will continue to see scattered showers and thunderstorms popping up around the area for Wednesday and Thursday. We have a front off to our West that is keeping the moisture and shower activity centered over the state. Along with the jetstream that follows the frontal boundry, it is forcing the activity to stay over the top of us and not go anywhere anytime soon. No severe weather threats here but the chances for some flash flooding will be the main concern, especially with these heavy patches of rainfall.
And always make sure if you are out driving in the heavy rainfall, have your headlights on! Saw several people without their lights on today. Don't forget to slow down either when you can barely see the vehicle in front of you. Saw a car donut spin in the middle of 63 and go through the median. Be safe out there everyone!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)