On The Weather Channel!

Earlier today I published a blog post (see below) which featured a brief tale of the storms that moved through the New York City area last night. Well, it gets even better! This morning I was contacted by The Weather Channel, who after viewing my videos wanted to share them on the air, online at weather.com, on weather mobile and possibly on NBC, etc.

I gladly agreed to do on-air interview this morning at around 9:10 a.m. and 9:40 a.m. While these videos are not the greatest quality as they were recorded 'of' the television (not 'on' it), I just had to share!

Enjoy...





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Tornado Warning for The Big Apple!

Last night a round of severe weather took aim on the New York City metro area. At around 8:00 p.m. a big-time supercell thunderstorm developed in northwest New Jersey and marched its way southeastward right towards the Big Apple, prompting a string of severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado warnings for the entire city!

As the storms neared, I grabbed my video camera and headed right towards The High Line to watch them roll in – and boy was I glad I did. I caught the storm as it exploded right over the city with intense lightning, strong winds, heavy rain and hail!

A most-definite rare weather event for New York City, check out this progression of videos I filmed!











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NEQ Friday Review, V.5

There's been a whole bunch of talk about hurricanes recently and The Northeast Quadrant is no exception. But what ever happened to the good ol' fashion thunderstorm?

You do know it takes just one run-of-the-mill thunderstorm to multiply into hundreds which then transforms into thousands of organized clusters of storms that could develop into one intense low pressure center, which if in a favorable atmospheric and oceanic environment could become a tropical storm or hurricane, right?

Today's NEQ Friday Review delves deeper into the thunderstorm and explains a little more about them for those less versed in the science.

Thunderstorms generally form when moisture, an unstable airmass, and a lifting force all come together. Thunderstorms go through three stages, the developing stage, the mature stage, and the dissipation stage, and depending on the conditions present in the atmosphere, these three stages take an average of 30 minutes to go through.

There are four types of thunderstorms:

1) Single-cell thunderstorms are generally poorly organized and form when there is not much wind shear. These storms typically last less than one hour.

2) Multicell cluster thunderstorms occur when a group of cells move as a single unit, with each cell in a different stage of the thunderstorm life cycle. Multicell thunderstorms can produce moderate size hail, flash floods and weak tornadoes.

3) Multicell line thunderstorms consist of a line of storms with a continuous, well developed gust front at the leading edge. Also known as squall lines, these storms can produce small to moderate size hail, occasional flash floods and weak tornadoes.

4) Supercell thunderstorms (my favorite) is a thunderstorm with a deep rotating updraft (mesocyclone) that generally produces severe weather, including heavy winds, large hail, heavy rainfall, and sometimes strong and long-lived tornadoes. There are three types of supercells: classic supercells, HP (high precipitation) supercells, and LP (low precipitation supercells). A single supercell can last several hours.

Some of the most powerful thunderstorms on Earth occur right here in the United States as a result of frequently clashing air masses. Florida's Gulf Coast experiences the greatest number of thunderstorms of any U.S. location. On average, thunderstorms occur in the "Sunshine State" 130 days per year....

But if you want to see some really good, intense thunderstorms, head here in the month of May!

Have a great weekend and keep an eye to the sky!

Tornadopacalypse 2010

As most have heard by now, a major tornado outbreak took place yesterday in the nation's mid-section. At the center of what I'm dubbing Tornadopacalypse 2010 (the severe weather season's extension to the famed Snowpacalypse of this past winter) were the states of Kansas and Oklahoma. So far there have been over 35 reports of tornadoes, most of which were reported in the Sooner State, where at least 5 people were killed with over 50 injured.

It all began to unfold yesterday morning when the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Oklahoma (which itself was struck by a violent, wedge-like EF3 tornado – the city, not the SPC) had issued a rare 'high risk' warning of violent, large and long tracked tornadoes. Well, that is exactly what happened once they began to develop.

So, what causes a tornado outbreak to occur? To those less versed in tornadic activity and the ingredients that need to come together to cause such an event to take place, here's some helpful information.

First, while there is no single agreed upon definition, generally more than six tornadoes in a day in the same region is defined as an outbreak. These outbreaks typically occur in the Spring months from March through June, and they usually take place in the 'Tornado Alley' section of the Great Plains. May is the most active month, averaging more than 300 tornadoes during the latest 3-year period, which is nearly 25 percent of all tornadoes observed during any given full calendar year.

There are generally three atmospheric criteria that need to come together perfectly (or not so perfectly, depending on how you look at it) for a major tornado outbreak to commence.

• A lifting mechanism, such as an upper level trough, surface cold front, outflow boundary, dry line (or a combination of these), which acts as a focal point for storm initiation.
  
  
• Pronounced wind shear, which is a change of wind speed and direction with height. Fast low-level winds also boost the risk.
  
  
• A deep layer of high moisture content.

Well, yesterday all these ingredients came together at the right time (or not so right time, maybe?)across Kansas and Oklahoma, and the atmosphere became extremely ripe for supercell thunderstorms to form. Supercell thunderstorms are storms with rotating updrafts that can produce extremely large hail, damaging straight-line winds, and violent tornadoes. The result: long-lived twisters with winds up to 150 miles per hour, spouting hail the size of baseballs, toppling stores, flattening schools, ripping up towns and leaving thousands without power!

More severe weather is possible through Wednesday, including parts of Oklahoma and Kansas.

Severe Weather Awareness Week

Severe Weather Awareness Week kicked off this past weekend for the New York metropolitan region, and what better time than now to help explain some of the lingo you’ll often hear from weather forecasters across the nation during one of the most violent weather months of the year.

May is considered the heart of tornado season, but it’s not all about tornadoes, ya know... Over the last 20 years a variety of severe weather events has killed over 100 people in New York state alone, and has caused over three quarters of a billion dollars in damage. On average, the National Weather Service (NWS) issues 400 severe thunderstorm warnings, 17 tornado warnings and about 150 flash flood warnings each year in the Empire State. So, next time you hear word of any of these warnings, remember these definitions:

A severe thunderstorm watch is issued when severe thunderstorms capable of producing winds of at least 58 mph and or hail of at least one inch in diameter, are possible within the next few hours (typically less than six hours).

A severe thunderstorm warning means that severe thunderstorms are imminent or occurring, and could pose a significant threat to life and property.

A tornado watch means conditions are ripe for tornadoes to form and they could do so within the next few hours (typically less than six hours).

A tornado warning means a tornado is imminent or occurring, and has likely been visually spotted or indicated by Doppler radar. A tornado warning implies an immediate threat to life and property and appropriate shelter should be taken immediately.

A flash flood watch means conditions are favorable for flash flooding, which is a rapid rise (typically within six hours) of water along a stream or low lying urban area, most commonly resulting from downpours associated with severe thunderstorms.

A flash flood warning means flash flooding is imminent or occurring and flood waters can rise rapidly, if they have not already.