Good morning bloggers,
Severe weather awareness week begins today. We will have this week to prepare you for severe weather season. We will look at different severe weather parameters. Today, we will begin with what a severe thunderstorm actually is; what is the difference between a severe thunderstorm and a "garden variety" thunderstorm?
Severe Thunderstorm Definition: A thunderstorm is classified as severe if it has one of these three criteria:
- Hail 1" in diameter or larger (the size of a quarter)
- Wind gusts at 58 mph or stronger (this is 50 knots if you are wondering how 58 mph was chosen). At this speed larger tree branches begin to break off, and some damage is possible to structures
- A tornado
When we issue a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, these are the things that are possible. Severe thunderstorms sometimes do produce a tornado with little warning. If there is any sign of a tornado, the National Weather Service will issue a tornado warning.
It's February Statistics Day! We had an 82 degree range in temperatures from 13 degrees below zero on the 15th, and then 69 degrees just one week later on the 22nd. Here are the stats:
It snowed half of the days in February. The snow has suddenly shut off. It shut off after February 12th last year too? Have we had our last snowflakes? I still think there will be another couple chances.
We also finished what some of my peers call "meteorological winter". The three months of December - January - February are considered meteorological winter. Spring really doesn't officially begin until March 21st. During these past three months we were close to average temperatures and close to average precipitation.
In March we will see the average high go from 49 degrees today to 61 by the end of the month. And, this week we are expecting highs in the 50s and 60s all week. This seasonal bump in temperatures is well deserved, and thus March is coming in like a lamb:
The calm beginning to March:
- Today: Mostly sunny & warmer. After a frosty start we will warm up to around 55 degrees this afternoon with light winds.
- Tonight: Clear and cold. Low: 28°
- Tuesday: Mostly sunny & a bit warmer. High: 59°
Thank you for spending a few minutes of your day reading the Gabbing With Gary blog. Have a great start to this first week of March!
Gary
