Our interface for updating the ABC3340 Weather Page is still inoperative this afternoon…so I am going to post the forecast discussion here…
Today makes the anniversary of the first time that a new cable channel hit the air. One that is important to weather fans everywhere. Where Andre Bernier and Bruce Edwards took to the airwaves some 25 years ago this evening, it marked an important date in weather history.
F5 STREAK MAY HAVE ENDED: Looking at the damage from last nights devastating tornado that destroyed much of the town of Greensburg, Kansas, one immediately begins to think of the May 3, 1999 tornado that hit Oklahoma City. That tornado was the last F5 tornado in the United States. It is the longest streak between F5 tornadoes in our history. We have confirmed that the National Weather Service in Dodge City does have two storm survey teams in the field today and we might hear their assessment later.
MORE SEVERE WEATHER TODAY: A large area of the Central Plains continues under a Moderate or High Risk Outlook for severe weather again today. Tornado watches were already in effect by 10 a.m. Storms will rapidly become severe by early afternoon and continue into the evening.
HEAVY SNOWS IN WYOMING: Heavy snows will fall today on the backside of the low that is causing the severe weather in the Plains. Snowfall rates will approach 2 inches per hour in the areas around Lander, in the Big Horn and Wind River Mountains
CLOSER TO HOME: A few light showers was occurring across the area at last morning. These showers were light and rather isolated. Temperatures were crossing the 70 degree mark in most locations at lunchtime. It was a bit warmer in West Central Alabama where readings were already climbing through the upper 70s. Highs will be in the 80s in most locations by the end of the afternoon as clouds break up a bit. There could be a few showers and maybe even a storm through the afternoon, but the chance is small. Tonight should feature partly cloudy skies with lows near 60. Tomorrow will be partly cloudy and dry with only a small chance of a shower or storm. Then much drier air will filter into the area from the east and Monday should be mostly sunny and less humid with a high in the 70s. It stays dry for much of next week before showers return on Friday or Saturday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEATHER CHANNEL: A twenty four hour television cable channel devoted to the weather. Most people called it crazy. I called it wonderful. We did not have cable at my house in 1982, so I had to watch TWC at a friend’s house. His dad thought it was comical that I would want to watch continuous weather coverage for hours on end. It was back on May 2, 1982 that The Weather Channel was launched with 4.2 million cable subscribers. Created by network television weathercaster John Coleman, the all-weather network would boast 50 million subscribers by its tenth anniversary. Now nearly 87 million U.S. cable subscribers can watch TWC.
