Time to write off the 2005 spring tornado season? The weather sure is looking and feeling more like summer these days, and with some spots reaching 90 degrees for the first time yesterday, it is easy to forget this is still spring, and this is still the tornado season. Severe weather does not look likely over the next week as the primary belt of strong upper air winds over the continent remains well to the north of Alabama, but there is still time for a pattern change before the summer begins. In fact, we have had a number of tornado disasters in late May here in Alabama.
The one that stands out in my mind is the May 27, 1973 outbreak, when a number of significant tornadoes touched down over north and central Alabama. One of those twisters moved through the northeast part of Birmingham, producing severe damage in places like Tarrant and Center Point. One person and 76 others were injured, and the tornado stayed on the ground for 50 miles, well into St. Clair and Etowah counties. In Center Point alone 32 homes and 48 mobile homes were damaged.
But, the biggest tornado of the day came later in the evening, first touching down just northeast of Demopolis. The tornado stayed on the ground for over 60 miles, roaring through Greensboro, Brent, and parts of Shelby county before lifting on the western slope of Mt. Cheaha in east Alabama. Over 90 percent of the town of Brent was destroyed, where five people were killed. One of those who died was attending Sunday evening services at the Brent Baptist Church. In Greensboro, one person was killed and 72 others were injured. Along the path over 12,000 acres of timber was destroyed. Even the NWS radar site near Brent was heavily damaged as radar operators had to see cover in a ditch across the road from their building.
The Brent tornado is still fresh in my mind, even though the event was 32 years ago... it was the first time I saw tornado damage first hand. I arrived within an hour of the tornado touchdown to work as an amateur radio emergency communications volunteer. It was right at the tail end of my junior year in high school, and I spent three days there helping to keep the line of communication open...
Tornado Season Over?
May 11, 2005, 9:27 pm
by James Spann
in General Thoughts
Hate Fire Ants?
May 11, 2005, 4:33 pm
Wanted to pass this release along from our friends at the Alabama Cooperative Extension System Office in Calhoun County:
The late Will Rogers often bragged “he never met a man he didn’t like.”
It’s doubtful he ever extended the same goodwill to fire ants. People who have encountered these prolific, determined pests on landscapes, pasturelands or elsewhere seldom do.
In an effort to provide Alabamians with all of the up-to-date tools they will need to keep these troublesome pests at bay, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System will hold a comprehensive workshop, May 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Anniston City Meeting Center. The center is located in the block adjoining 16th, 17th, and Noble Streets.
The training will be guided by one central theme throughout the day, according to Dr. David West, Calhoun County Extension coordinator and one of the organizers of the event.
“Basically, we want to show how you can get the appropriate level of control for the least amount of money,” West says.
The training will be aimed at homeowners, gardening center professionals, farmers and managers of public-use areas, such as schools, parks and playgrounds, according Stan Roark, a regional Extension agent and the event’s principal organizer.
In the past, we’ve not been able to offer this kind of comprehensive information to the public, Roark says.
“This time we’re going to open the doors not only to Extension agent and pesticide professionals but to the public as a whole.”
“People work too hard and spend too much money controlling fire ants,” says Dr. Kathy Flanders, an Extension entomologist and workshop instructor. “This program will show them how to manage their fire ants instead of allowing the fire ants to control them.”
She says the workshop will place heavy emphasis on helping participants develop a “sustainable approach to fire-ant management that will make the pest easier to live with while reducing the social, economic and environmental costs of management.”
In addition to Flanders, instructors will include Dr. Fudd Graham, coordinator of the Alabama Fire Ant Management Program, who will discuss biological approaches to fire ant control; Dr. Ken Ward, a fire ant expert from Alabama A&M University, who will discuss fire ant biology; and Dr. Xing Ping Hu, an Extension urban entomologist who will discuss ant control in the home.
Workshop organizers say the event was prompted by the unusual number of calls they and other Extension professionals have received around the state regarding fire ants. The questions are being driven largely by the large numbers of new material on the market with which many consumers are not yet familiar, Roark says.
Pesticide points will be available for Restricted Pesticide Applicators.
Space is limited. For reservations, contact the Alabama Cooperative Extension System Office in Calhoun County at (256) 237-1621.
The late Will Rogers often bragged “he never met a man he didn’t like.”
It’s doubtful he ever extended the same goodwill to fire ants. People who have encountered these prolific, determined pests on landscapes, pasturelands or elsewhere seldom do.
In an effort to provide Alabamians with all of the up-to-date tools they will need to keep these troublesome pests at bay, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System will hold a comprehensive workshop, May 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Anniston City Meeting Center. The center is located in the block adjoining 16th, 17th, and Noble Streets.
The training will be guided by one central theme throughout the day, according to Dr. David West, Calhoun County Extension coordinator and one of the organizers of the event.
“Basically, we want to show how you can get the appropriate level of control for the least amount of money,” West says.
The training will be aimed at homeowners, gardening center professionals, farmers and managers of public-use areas, such as schools, parks and playgrounds, according Stan Roark, a regional Extension agent and the event’s principal organizer.
In the past, we’ve not been able to offer this kind of comprehensive information to the public, Roark says.
“This time we’re going to open the doors not only to Extension agent and pesticide professionals but to the public as a whole.”
“People work too hard and spend too much money controlling fire ants,” says Dr. Kathy Flanders, an Extension entomologist and workshop instructor. “This program will show them how to manage their fire ants instead of allowing the fire ants to control them.”
She says the workshop will place heavy emphasis on helping participants develop a “sustainable approach to fire-ant management that will make the pest easier to live with while reducing the social, economic and environmental costs of management.”
In addition to Flanders, instructors will include Dr. Fudd Graham, coordinator of the Alabama Fire Ant Management Program, who will discuss biological approaches to fire ant control; Dr. Ken Ward, a fire ant expert from Alabama A&M University, who will discuss fire ant biology; and Dr. Xing Ping Hu, an Extension urban entomologist who will discuss ant control in the home.
Workshop organizers say the event was prompted by the unusual number of calls they and other Extension professionals have received around the state regarding fire ants. The questions are being driven largely by the large numbers of new material on the market with which many consumers are not yet familiar, Roark says.
Pesticide points will be available for Restricted Pesticide Applicators.
Space is limited. For reservations, contact the Alabama Cooperative Extension System Office in Calhoun County at (256) 237-1621.
by James Spann
in General Thoughts
May Heat Wave
May 11, 2005, 2:16 pm
The Wednesday afternoon web video is on the server:
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
Check out the snow pictures on the video today... they were taken this morning by Matt Marshall, one of our readers in Layton, Utah. Amazing!
Just checked the new 3:00 p.m. observations; Tuscaloosa, Huntsville and Decatur have reached 89 degrees! Montgomery and Alexander City are right behind with 88.
Warm weather will continue to headline our forecast for the rest of the week, with upper 80s tomorrow, and mid 80s on Friday. The chance of any one spot getting an afternoon shower remains only about one in ten thanks to warm air aloft over the state.
THE WEEKEND: Looks like the best chance of showers and storms along the approaching front will come from about 5:00 p.m. Saturday through 9:00 a.m. Sunday. Amounts of 1/4 to 1/2 inch seem likely, and severe weather doesn't look especially likely with the main dynamics to the north. High temperatures will cool into the 70s for Sunday, and by Monday morning we should see lows in the 50 to 55 degree range. Maybe a few upper 40s in the colder valleys.
DOWN THE ROAD: The GFS is trying to get a big upper low going over the northeast U.S. during the latter part of May, which would suggest temperatures will drop back to normal, and maybe even below normal levels here. So, maybe a nice break from the summer-like heat is ahead before June arrives.... That northeast U.S. upper low and east coast trough shows up in the May 24-27 time frame. We will be watching for trends.
Nice to have the new MIC (Meteorologist In Charge) of the Birmingham NWS office here at ABC 33/40 today; Jim Stefkovich. He is a great guy and is looking foward to getting his family moved down here this summer. We look forward to working with him; he was MIC at the Chicago NWS office before moving to Birmingham.
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
Check out the snow pictures on the video today... they were taken this morning by Matt Marshall, one of our readers in Layton, Utah. Amazing!
Just checked the new 3:00 p.m. observations; Tuscaloosa, Huntsville and Decatur have reached 89 degrees! Montgomery and Alexander City are right behind with 88.
Warm weather will continue to headline our forecast for the rest of the week, with upper 80s tomorrow, and mid 80s on Friday. The chance of any one spot getting an afternoon shower remains only about one in ten thanks to warm air aloft over the state.
THE WEEKEND: Looks like the best chance of showers and storms along the approaching front will come from about 5:00 p.m. Saturday through 9:00 a.m. Sunday. Amounts of 1/4 to 1/2 inch seem likely, and severe weather doesn't look especially likely with the main dynamics to the north. High temperatures will cool into the 70s for Sunday, and by Monday morning we should see lows in the 50 to 55 degree range. Maybe a few upper 40s in the colder valleys.
DOWN THE ROAD: The GFS is trying to get a big upper low going over the northeast U.S. during the latter part of May, which would suggest temperatures will drop back to normal, and maybe even below normal levels here. So, maybe a nice break from the summer-like heat is ahead before June arrives.... That northeast U.S. upper low and east coast trough shows up in the May 24-27 time frame. We will be watching for trends.
Nice to have the new MIC (Meteorologist In Charge) of the Birmingham NWS office here at ABC 33/40 today; Jim Stefkovich. He is a great guy and is looking foward to getting his family moved down here this summer. We look forward to working with him; he was MIC at the Chicago NWS office before moving to Birmingham.
Where, Oh Where?
May 11, 2005, 7:43 am
Last Friday morning, on Good Morning America, they said the high for the day would be 81 in Flower Hill, Ala., in the NW part of the state.
That's a new one on me and I still don't know where it is located.
Since geography is one of my passions, I just gotta know!
????????
That's a new one on me and I still don't know where it is located.
Since geography is one of my passions, I just gotta know!
????????
by J.B. Elliott
in General Thoughts
Approaching 90...
May 11, 2005, 4:42 am
The Wednesday morning web video is on the server:
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
Pretty amazing... the GFS, ETA, and NGM model output statistics and our forecast package are all in agreement. Afternoon highs between 86 and 89 degrees today and tomorrow with lots of May sunshine. The warmest weather so far this year. We did not choose to mention the chance of afternoon storms in our formal forecast, but you really can't eliminate the chance of a few isolated ones during the peak of the heat. We also should mention a few nice storms did develop last night over far east Alabama, and the outflow boundary from those storms could provide a little low level convergence today. Still, warm air aloft should keep a lid on most afternoon showers that try to form. Welcome to a summer preview.
The ridge begins to flatten on Friday, and over the weekend a short wave passing north of the state will push a welcome cold front through Sunday morning. The GFS remains very consistent on timing; and it looks like our best chance of showers and storms with the front will come from about 4:00 p.m. Saturday through 10:00 a.m. Sunday. Severe weather really doesn't look likely with the main dynamics passing to the north. Rain amounts should be in the .25 to .50 inch range. We will take anything we can get; Birmingham's rain total for the year is a puny 0.01".
We will get a nice break from the heat and the humidity Sunday night and Monday; we could very well drop into the 50 to 55 degree range by early Monday morning. Afternoon temperatures will still be close to 80, but with lower humidity values.
THE LONG RANGE: The GFS shows a decent upper trough coming through in the May 22-23 time frame; this should bring another cold front with a band of showers and storms, and then a temporary change to drier and slightly cooler air in the wake of the system. Still no sign of any big severe weather or heavy rain threat for the next two weeks.
For you severe weather fans, it will be interesting to watch weather out across the plains over the next few days... there could be some good action across the corn belt through mid-week...
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
Pretty amazing... the GFS, ETA, and NGM model output statistics and our forecast package are all in agreement. Afternoon highs between 86 and 89 degrees today and tomorrow with lots of May sunshine. The warmest weather so far this year. We did not choose to mention the chance of afternoon storms in our formal forecast, but you really can't eliminate the chance of a few isolated ones during the peak of the heat. We also should mention a few nice storms did develop last night over far east Alabama, and the outflow boundary from those storms could provide a little low level convergence today. Still, warm air aloft should keep a lid on most afternoon showers that try to form. Welcome to a summer preview.
The ridge begins to flatten on Friday, and over the weekend a short wave passing north of the state will push a welcome cold front through Sunday morning. The GFS remains very consistent on timing; and it looks like our best chance of showers and storms with the front will come from about 4:00 p.m. Saturday through 10:00 a.m. Sunday. Severe weather really doesn't look likely with the main dynamics passing to the north. Rain amounts should be in the .25 to .50 inch range. We will take anything we can get; Birmingham's rain total for the year is a puny 0.01".
We will get a nice break from the heat and the humidity Sunday night and Monday; we could very well drop into the 50 to 55 degree range by early Monday morning. Afternoon temperatures will still be close to 80, but with lower humidity values.
THE LONG RANGE: The GFS shows a decent upper trough coming through in the May 22-23 time frame; this should bring another cold front with a band of showers and storms, and then a temporary change to drier and slightly cooler air in the wake of the system. Still no sign of any big severe weather or heavy rain threat for the next two weeks.
For you severe weather fans, it will be interesting to watch weather out across the plains over the next few days... there could be some good action across the corn belt through mid-week...
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