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George's Blog

Too much for TV: Severe weather info for weather nerds

Ever wonder how meteorologists speak meteorology to each other? Below is an example of what I emailed to the Channel 2 Storm Spotters/ Chasers. I don't think our TV consultants would appreciate it, but the Channel 2 weather nerds (like me) love it!

 

10/16 11:07pm

"Bottomline: Two chances for storms on Wednesday. Morning storms with hail are possible as LLM increases across our area, but the main event, hence the moderate risk, is the chance of late afternoon severe storms in the Tulsa area. Tornado Watches will be issued for Central and Eastern Oklahoma thru East Central KS for Wednesday afternoon.
 
 
Forecast: Very strong upper level system for mid-October. Mid and upper level winds look more like a March/ early April event. And due do the strong mid level winds, it will be a difficult storm chase--storms will likely move NE around 50mph.
 
 
 
Convection inhibition will be low allowing scattered morning storms could form. Hailers are possible. Obviously the amount of morning rain and cooling will greatly affect the later day afternoon instability. But at the same time, this is a huge upper level event, not a monster thermodyamic/ instabilty day.
 
Severe chances increase along the dryline by late afternoon as the dryline advances into out neighborhood and strong 300mb winds wrap around the upper Low--  Impressive upper level negative tilt/diffluent winds.
 
 
The highest chances for tornadoes will be with storms that form near, north and northeast of the surface dry air intrusion. Looking at model data, by 5pm or so, this region would be along Hwy 75 from near Tulsa, then northward to BVO and then into KS-- Tornado warnings from Tulsa then northward could be issued tomorrow if this pans out.
 
If I were chasing, I would target US 412/I-35 junction, then cloud watch from there and go east or north as needed. The dry air should be easy to see coming in from the west.
 
Remember, if chasing, you will want to play off the dryline at least 30 miles or so as whatever storms form will move quickly northeast. If a storm is moving NE at 50mph, that means you would need to average 80mph chasing on gridded highways! So when you see cu towers going up, you should leave them and get north and east so you'll be in position for when and if they go severe.
 
 
BE CAREFUL, and let us know your plans at weather@kjrh.com Thanks to D.J. Williams and G. Waldenberger for your forecast insight.
 
Thanks and safety first,"

George Flickinger
Meteorologist
KJRH-TV Channel 2
3701 S. Peoria, Tulsa, OK 74105
+++++++++++++++++++
email: texasaggie95@msn.com
www.flickingerweather.com

 


 

 

 

Published Tuesday, October 16, 2007 11:08 PM by GeorgeFlickinger

Comments

 

GeorgeFlickinger said:

Wow.....what a day...probably the biggest local severe weather event of the year with dozens injured in several area cities. It's unknown at this time whether some of the damage was caused by tornadoes, but there was certainly tornado-like winds in the stronger storm cells. Winds of 60-80mph occurred over many areas.

The severe chances for today were well "hyped" by Channel 2 Meteorologists befor and during the event, but lots of folks were still surprised by the storms. And I'm amazed that a few viewers complain about our extended coverage-- take a sample of this email we received:

"....Who cares about downed trees, winds, and occasional hail."
"...There is no tornado on the ground or even been sighted, so why the continuous coverage?"

As seen tonight, it doesn't take a tornado to cause widespread damage and injury. I personally hate cutting into Primetime programming for weather bulletins, but I make no apologizes for trying to keep folks informed and safe.

Thanks for watching Channel 2,

George Flickinger


October 17, 2007 11:11 PM
 

stormchaser_Marc_Hall said:

Dont even get me started on complaints . They would probably be the first one to gripe if 'nothing' was said . Marc
October 18, 2007 11:07 AM
 

stormspotter1 said:

...just ask them if a tornado was heading directly towards their house, wouldn't they like to know about it???
I know that the decision to cut in on programming is weighed very heavily by staff, and public safety always comes before favorite shows, and KJRH most always re-broadcasts the missed shows. so, what's the problem?    
Jeff
October 18, 2007 2:01 PM
 

tornadochaser said:

Do we have a yahoo! group or something set up?

I forecast on my own before each chase day, but it would be nice to hear from you guys, too, in case you see something I've missed.

You can't please them all, you know?  Seriously.

The same people would complain about a lack of coverage if they had to run to their cellar or safe room with an F3 churning out damage down the block.  SHEESH

Kristi Howard
2 WFY Chaser since 1997
October 24, 2007 7:50 AM
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