Saturday, December 11, 2021

Yes Mr. President, The Warnings Were Adequate, The Forecast Very Accurate...

I was watching the President's afternoon news briefing discussing the government's response to the tragic widespread over night tornado outbreak..  A fair question asked by a reporter was..." were the warnings adequate?"   Had the President and/or the reporter been a a viewer of this blog site, they would have known the answer was a resounding YES!  the top graphic was a nursing home in Arkansas where the first touch down happened.  That tornado stayed on the ground for over 220 miles crossing from Arkansas through Tennessee into Kentucky slamming into the small town of Mayfield.




The videos of destruction confirmed these were major (EF 3+) tornadoes, but that's exactly what the SPC (Storm Prediction Center) called for.  Look at these graphics I used yesterday.




The SPC's bullseye for highest risk was exactly where the storms formed.  In fact I questioned the tornado watch since no activity had developed on radar.   But I mentioned that was about to change and wow did it change!  Survivors heard the county sirens and had the warnings fire off their cellphones, yet the death total will likely top one hundred.  So why did so many die?  Probably contributing to the casualties was they happened after dark.  I pointed out nocturnal tornadoes often are the deadliest.


What is also so unusual is the time of the year - December, when it's supposed to be colder.  Note all the previous deadliest tornadoes happen during the Spring or Summer.   It's another sign of a warming Climate cycle.






The cold front causing all the problems is pushing to the east coast and is finally bringing us some welcomed relief from the warmth & humidity.   




Northerly winds will make it feel even colder tonight and on Sunday so you'll need sweaters and jackets again.   Unfortunately, it won't last long as we'll quickly warm back into the 70s for most of next week.



Until the upper pattern changes, no real cold can come our way for the next 7-10 days.   Finally...

I love to pick out features on satellite views.  The snow cover stands out from Nebraska into Iowa and Minnesota & Wisconsin.  It appears the snow line is from Madison/Milwaukee northward.   At least the Saints will not have to deal with any snow.   Temps should be in the 40s with some wind.  Saints 31, Jets 17.  Who Dat!   Stay tuned!


1 comment:

Alan said...

I am reminded of an evening in early December in the early 80's. I was on a wellsite outside of Cameron. A tornado passed over. I was inside the recording doghouse, so I didn't see anything. The doghouse rocked for a few seconds. There was minor damage at the site.