The Florida Drought Continues

The Florida drought is getting worse, due to a major lack of rain across the state.

Locally, the Tampa Bay Area (more specifically West Central Florida) is the only part of the state not affected by the drought at some level, although that will likely change in the near future as we transition into summer and we really start to heat up.  Below is an image showing the percentage of the state at each level of drought, and the progression of the drought through the past year.

Hurricane Season Preparedness

It's that time of year again. The time when you should be getting ready for hurricane season.

NOAA is predicting an above average year, with 12 to 18 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of 111 mph or higher). However, it only takes a single storm to change your life forever. You can go here to make a family disaster plan.

Today marks the start of National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, there will be a different topic to focus on.

It has been 90 years since the Tampa Bay Area had a major hurricane make direct landfall. That last hurricane struck on October 25th, 1921. In 2004, Hurricane Charley almost hit Tampa directly, but made a turn at the last minute. We can't predict when a hurricane will hit the area, but we know that sooner or later, one will come. When it comes, Tampa could be wiped off the map. 

A Winter In Review: New York City

I've watched for the past few months as New York City has literally been BURIED in snow. Now, I would like to take you through a brief analysis of New York City's own extended version of "Snowmageddon". (The data shown here is from the period of November 2010 to March 2011, and was recorded at the NWS ASOS in Central Park.)

In November, New Yorkers experienced a quiet month of wintry precip, recording 0.4 inches of snow. By December however, things had taken a turn, and winter was in full swing with a nice 20.1 inches falling in the city (20 inches of that amount came during the 24 hour time frame of the 26th to the 27th).

January saw another whopping 36 inches accumulate, courtesy of several nasty winter storms. At times, NYC experienced conditions that you would expect in North Dakota. January 2011 is ranked #2 on the Top 10 Snowiest Months list for NYC, with 36 inches of snowfall, just 0.9 inches away from the number one spot.

The month of February came and went leaving in it's wake 4.8 inches, an amount that caused a sigh of relief among snow-weary New Yorkers, but only because it wasn't as bad as January and December. In March, the icy grip of winter released it's hold on New York City, only dropping an inch of snow.

In all, from November 2010 to March 2011, a staggering 61.9 inches fell in the Big Apple, which is a long way from the 20 inches of snow that normally fall during a New York City winter. Pictures that were sent to me in January by a friend in Manhattan are below.

Yazoo City: Looking Back One Year Later

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the Yazoo City, MS EF4 tornado. On April 24th, 2010, a devastating tornado roared through Mississippi, causing extensive damage around Yazoo City, and becoming the 4th longest-tracked tornado in state history.

Comparisons have been made between this tornado and the EF5 tornado that obliterated 95% of Greensburg, Kansas on May 4th, 2007. Similar destruction likely would have taken place in Yazoo City, had the tornado not missed the downtown area by two miles. Storm Chaser Vincent Webb was on-site, with footage that can be seen here.

The NWS in Jackson, MS estimated that the tornado had a max wind speed of 170 mph, along with a damage path 149 miles long. A radar loop showing base reflectivity (left) and storm relative velocity (right) can be found here (the loop may be slow to load). Here is a radar image of the tornado when it was over Yazoo City.

I was in Jackson from June 7th to the 11th for the 2010 NOAA Weather Camp that was held at Jackson State University, and the camp had the privilege of getting to tour spots along the damage path around Yazoo City. Below are some pictures I took of the damage.

Recent Severe Weather Across The South

We've had some crazy severe weather across the South in the past few days. Thankfully, the threat of severe weather has ended. Sadly, 30+ fatalities have been confirmed, along with a large number of injuries.


From April 14th to the 16th, the US saw 1,003 total storm reports, 241 of which were for tornadoes. These numbers are still under review, and it is likely that they will change as the NWS conducts storm surveys.

Here is a report from NWS Little Rock regarding the outbreak in Arkansas. This post will focus on Mississippi, Alabama, and North Carolina.

Mississippi was hit pretty badly from these storms. So far, the NWS in Jackson has confirmed 5 tornadoes. Of these, 2 were rated EF3, with winds estimated at 140 mph. Video and pictures can be found at Mississippi Storm Chasing.
Surveys are still being conducted in Alabama and North Carolina. Preliminary information for Alabama can be found here, along with a video of a tornado. For North Carolina, here is a video of one of the tornadoes approaching Raleigh, as well as an analysis by Dr. Greg Forbes from The Weather Channel.

Weather Camp Presentation 2009: Sea Breeze Interactions In Florida, And What The Reactions Are From Some Of those Interactions

This post is based on the presentation I made for the 2009 Jackson State University Weather Camp.

To start off, we have to ask the question, "What is sea breeze?". The answer to that question is below...

Sea breeze is wind from the sea that forms on the land near the coast.

Why and how does it form?

Sea breeze forms because of a temperature difference over the land and water, which together to create a pressure gradient over the land. This difference causes higher pressure and cooler air to move inland.
There are six main steps of sea breeze formation, given below.
1. Warm air over land rises.
2. Sea breeze moves inland.
3. Clouds develop and move towards the sea.
4. Upper level return of the land breeze.
5. The cool air aloft sinks over the water.
6. Sea breeze front forms.
 

The sea breeze can interact with other atmospheric features, and often form pulse thunderstorms. Here is an image that shows the East and West Coast sea breeze, as well as an outflow boundary interacting to form a tornado in Tampa.

Severe Weather Today

The threat of severe weather exists across the area today, courtesy of a low pressure system moving through the Southeast. The main concerns will be large hail and damaging winds, but there could also be a few isolated tornadoes across Central Florida, as there is enough instability and wind shear to cause some of the stronger storms to rotate.

We'll also see our typical pop-up thunderstorm pattern, as outflow boundaries from the storms interact with the atmosphere.

Most of the area is under a Tornado Watch until 8pm. As mentioned at that link, we could also see wind gusts up to 80mph, and 2 inch hail.

This looks to be mainly a daytime event. The storms should die out after sunset, because the cloud cover will prevent the heating required to carry the storms through the night.

We also have a chance for severe weather tomorrow. Will update again later to talk about that.