A Benign Weather Pattern

May 2, 2005, 4:50 am
Posted by James Spann in Weather Discussions
Rating: 0/5   Votes : 0
The Monday moring web video is on the server:

http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb

Looks like an extended period of rather tranquil weather ahead for Alabama.

The NWS still doing storm surveys after the early Saturday morning outbreak... there have been six confirmed tornadoes so far:

Walker county: F1 tornado at Union Chapel
Lowndes county: F1 tornado at White Hall
Shelby county: F0 tornado at Alabaster, F0 tornado near Columbiana
Tuscaloosa county: F0 tornado just north of Northport
Bullock county: F0 tornado near Midway

Lots of straight line wind damage... four people were injured in mobile homes in Lowndes county between Mosses and Gordonsville. The injuries were relatively minor, but one five year boy did have broken bones.

Thanks to our gang for the support during our long form coverage Saturday morning... John Oldshue, Jason Simpson, Brian Peters, J.B. Elliott, and Bill Murray all worked through the night.

I will discuss the watch/warning situation on a post here late tonight; only one complaint so far from the public (at least received here in our office). The complaint concerned no formal tornado warning for the Alabaster tornado... I will be addressing that situation and more. Bottom line is that everyone should have been awake and aware of the danger before the storm arrived...

DAYS AHEAD: After a review of the maps, I am not convinced we see much rain, if any at all, during the next seven days. Maybe a few sprinkles Wednesday night or early Thursday, and then again Friday. Watch the video for details...

Temperatures will stay cool for the next few days, but will warm up by the coming weekend. We should finally get back in the low 80s by Sunday.

Long range model output shows no severe weather risks for 10 to 15 days; guess we can all use a break after this past Saturday morning!
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Posted by Jason  
on May 2, 2005, 8:44 am
Sorry to hear about the complaint. I really thought yall would get by with out them this time. I'm sure that there is more support out there than criticism though. I think the team did a great job and the forecast seemed to be really on target.

I have one question if any one could answer it and post back on the blog for me. How many tornadoes has alabama had this year. I'm thinking it is in the 20-30 range but I don't know for sure.

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Posted by  
on May 2, 2005, 9:15 am
The tornado siren went off in Pelham Saturday morning around 5:00. I was wondering why since according to 33/40, there was only a severe thunderstorm warning issued. Of course, the siren just went off again so maybe it's on the fritz.

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Posted by joey  
on May 2, 2005, 9:42 am
The criteria for an F0 tornado is 40-72 mph winds. I can see a tornado producing 55-72 mph winds that would knock trees, power lines, destroy a barn. But, on the other hand how can a tornado producing winds of 40-54 mph or so do hardly any damage at all? It seems like it would be extremely hard for the NWS to determine an F0 hit, especially a weaker one. I wonder out of every 10 F0 tornadoes they survey, how many times do they come to the wrong conclusion? I am not knocking the NWS, I appreciate them greatly.

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Posted by  
on May 2, 2005, 10:33 am
I believe the weather team did a fantastic job early Saturday AM. However, my wife and I rely on our weather alarm during storms (as is typically preached by the various weather teams). We were a bit concerned about the lack of a tornado warning for Shelby Co (contrary to Angie's post above, we never heard an alarm and our house is in the crux of Thompson schools). I know these come from the NWS and not any of the broadcast meteorologists, and know that "technically" a tornado can form at "any time" during a tornado watch. However, according to all 3 major broadcast folks in B'ham, there was STRONG indication in Pelham/Alabaster/ Helena and no formal warning was ever issued. I don't know that I necessarily agree, though, with the comment of "everyone should have been awake." Granted, we were definitely aware of the weather before we went to bed, and actually were awake until around 3:00-ish (and yes, everyone should have been AWARE), but does that mean when we have an overnight tornado watch that we should stay up all night until it expires/cancels? We rely on the tools that have been provided to make us aware of warnings. I'm a proponent of the warning system and of the news stations' policies during tornado warnings, and know that it's NEVER an exact science. I'm VERY interested to see James' discussion later today for the apparent lapse in judgement with the NWS' decision to not issue a warning. Fortunately, we now have a pooch who is SERIOUSLY afraid of thunder who woke us up before the storms rolled through Alabaster (and a mother who roused up with her dogs and called) and we had ample time to make a decision to put our weather plan into action and move to the lower level in our house. Thankfully, we didn't have any damage at our house.

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Posted by  
on May 2, 2005, 11:04 am
Tim, I did hear the siren and my dog was howling at it but I discounted it since no one was reporting a tornado warning. I think the siren went off by mistake. I also think the NWS should have to explain why no warning was offered. There's been lots of talk over the past two weeks about outlooks being issued and then nothing happening. Now, when something was happening, there was no warning. Thankfully we are blessed with ABC 33/40 and their wonderful staff.

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Posted by Carol in Rainbow City  
on May 2, 2005, 5:23 pm
While I definitely agree that it's a pain to stay awake all night when there is a tornado watch, I do think it's prudent to be awake during the time period that the storms are in one's area. I also agree that a warning *should* be issued, but ultimately one is responsible for their own safety, especially when the science isn't exact.

Best advice, is to lose some sleep to keep you and your family safe.

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