national weather service Archives - Where Is The Outrage?

Terrible rains in Louisiana

Wow, this is a little weird. I started my blog just after or during Katrina. Now, all these years later, Louisiana is in trouble again.

From NOLA.com:

With major flooding still under way and a renewed threat of severe thunderstorms over the Baton Rouge region and other locations generally west of Interstate 55 in south Louisiana and southwest Mississippi, the Slidell office of the National Weather Service has extended a flash flood watch and a flood warning for those areas until Sunday afternoon (Aug. 14).

“Rain and a few thunderstorms will continue to affect the area today, particularly west of Interstate 55,” the weather service said. “One to two inches of rain will be possible, with locally higher amounts in the watch area. Rain amounts east of I-55 should remain under one inch. Any thunderstorms could produce frequent lightning and wind gusts up to 40 mph.”

More updates here.

By ecthompsonmd|2016-08-14T22:22:16-04:00August 14th, 2016|Environment|Comments Off

Oh, it is cold!!

Currently, it is 4 degrees. It really doesn’t matter if that is above or below zero to me. That’s just way too cold. EVERYONE, be safe. Be smart.

From TWC:

Winter Storm Leon will affect a long swath of the Deep South over the next couple of days – including places better known for their beaches, balmy breezes and hurricanes. This will include some of the areas affected by Winter Storm Kronos just last week – but it includes millions of people farther east as well.

Some areas will see frozen precipitation break out as early as Monday night or early Tuesday morning, making it very important to start preparing now.

The threat stems from the combination of a bitterly cold arctic air mass plunging southward behind a sharp cold front, while moisture streams northward from the Gulf Coast. As the moisture crosses into the cold air behind the front, a swath of frozen and freezing precipitation will break out.

The National Weather Service has issued winter storm watches, warnings and advisories from central and southeast Texas eastward along the Gulf Coast and into Georgia, most of South Carolina, central and eastern North Carolina and far southeast Virginia. For Houston, it’s the second time with a winter storm warning in just five days.

By ecthompsonmd|2014-01-28T11:19:56-04:00January 28th, 2014|Environment|Comments Off

More Violent Weather – Maybe Science Doesn’t Suck

‘Tis the season for ugly weather.

From Weather Channel:

5 confirmed fatalities in Woodward, Oklahoma; 29 people were injured in the town and the tornado was rated a preliminary EF3 by the National Weather Service
Thousands without power in Oklahoma and Kansas
75 percent of Thurman, Iowa destroyed; tornado that touched down was rated EF2 (wind speeds of up to 130 mph) with a path length of about 10 miles
Tornado that hit Wichita, KS area rated a preliminary EF3, with some of the strongest damage observed at McConnell AFB
Ottawa/Dickinson Counties: Preliminary EF1 tornado with winds of up to 100 mph
Red Cross is focusing food and shelter efforts to impacted areas in Kansas, Iowa and Oklahoma. For shelter locations go to RedCross.org.

With many in our society screaming about government spending, it is nice to see that sometimes that spending does go to save lives. The science and technology that goes into our weather detection system may have saved countless lives on Sunday.

From NYT:

The tornadoes were unrelenting — more than 100 in 24 hours over a stretch of the Plains states. They tossed vehicles and ripped through homes. They drove families to their basements and whipped debris across small towns throughout the Midwest. In some areas, baseball-sized hail rained from the sky.

And yet, in a stroke that some officials have attributed to a more vigilant and persistent warning system, relatively few people were killed or injured.

As of late Sunday afternoon, the only five confirmed deaths from the weekend storms were all here in Woodward, a rural community about 140 miles from Oklahoma City. Local emergency management officials said on Sunday that children were among the victims and that there were 29 injured with ailments ranging from minor wounds to those requiring hospitalization.

Days ahead of the deadly winds there was an unusual warning that alerted residents across at least five states to the threat of “extremely dangerous” and “catastrophic” weather.

The predictions held, it seems. But the people listened.

By ecthompsonmd|2012-05-11T13:17:07-04:00April 16th, 2012|Environment|8 Comments