Maybe I've been blind to the world, but I had no idea Dairy Queen actually closed for the season... ;) I just heard on the radio that the store on Columbia Rd. here in Grand Forks will be closing up shop here soon. I don't ever remember the DQ in Bluffton ever closing, but now I wonder. I never really went to DQ in the dead of winter, but maybe they did. Hmm...

And yes, I was listening to the radio. At home, sitting at my computer desk, and not at work. That does not happen very often, folks! To soak it in. Hah!

So, I'm looking for some Valpo Alumni this afternoon in the general media and I continue to come across some beauties out there. I'm thinking maybe I should have went that Broadcast Meteorology direction.

I'm going to have to ask Lawson at work if he knows this one... Apparently, like him, she's an NIU graduate:

Tera Blake is a young woman that provides weather forecasts to the Charlotte, NC audience during morning and weekend broadcasts. The Fox Charlotte station has a reputation for the wacky style of news they give and, probably are most famous for when crazy-man, Mark Mathis, once provided his lively, quite entertaining, but often ill-involved forecasts. Ironic to see Tera forecasting there, but given her enthusiasm, it doesn't surprise me to see here there.

I've never been shy about my appreciation of the attractive ladies - and well, I can't just let Tera, or her video biography, to be forgotten among my hundreds of bookmarks or otherwise, the millions and millions of web-sites on the world-wide-web.

Sit back, watch her bio and you'll see exactly what drives me crazy about her. I've been looking for a lot of twins lately, I may as well add one more. Of course, if you find this Tera - and you're reading, you have a new viewer on MyFoxCharlotte.com from Grand Forks, ND. Oh, and if you're single and looking, or dating and not happy, I'd certainly accept a friendly hello or a phone number! Hah!

This may just become a weekly or monthly installment...

For those of you who haven't heard, several deadly tornadoes struck along the Gulf Coast yesterday:

03.01.2007 Storm Reports

A lot of damage being reported and unfortunately, several fatalities have been confirmed with tornadoes in Alabama and Georgia. Storms in Missouri also caused a death there and damage is widespread over the southeast in the wake of the storms.

Thus far, it appears that Enterprise, Alabama was the hardest hit as a particularly large, violent tornado struck the downtown area. The high school was also struck and I've heard up to 8 deaths may have occured in the school alone. A hospital in Georgia was also struck late last evening and this further proves that tornadoes can hit anywhere and anything.

A very sad and tragic day indeed across these areas. If anyone is willing to donate to the Coffee County Red Cross (the local chapter), donations are being accepted on their web-site here:

http://www.coffeecountyredcross.org/

My prayers and thoughts go out to everyone affected by the storms...


This is a view of the storm as it entered the Enterprise area. Note the pendant hook echo indicating the tornado, as well as, the debris bulb near the tip of the hook. Amazing storm, but sad that it has caused so much death and destruction.

Has it really been a month since I last wrote in here? God damn!

It seems that each of my last 2 or 3 entries in here I've apologized that I haven't written and that'd make an effort to write in here more. Heh... I don't think I've upheld my promises very well. So again, I'm sorry! ;)

My sister and brother-in-law were up here over Thanksgiving, as well, so I didn't really feel like sitting on the laptop and writing when I had company to entertain. It was really nice to have them up here for almost 2 weeks! They drove up on the 18th and were here through the 27th. It was fun having them around... and I'm looking forward to going back home for Christmas. Yep, my vacation actually went through and I'm actually going to get to go home for Christmas now! Woohoo!

We have been in a fairly active pattern lately, weather-wise and as such, we've had several clippers pass through the region. Nothing significant has come of them, but we probably have about an inch or maybe an inch and a half out there on the ground. Just enough to get the roads and parking lots around town all nice and ice-covered for us. And believe me, they are! The roads aren't actually all that bad, but the parking lot, in particular at work, is horrible. It's nothing but ice and that has made for some interesting treks from the car to the office.

The only real news to share, I guess, is that I recently upgraded my cell phone! If you really care to know, that is! ;) If the title to this entry is any clue, I went with the LG Chocolate phone. I received a mailer just the other day from Verizon advertising their holiday promotions and apparently I'm eligible for an advanced upgrade. My "New-every-Two" contract is up for renewal in January, and apparently with the promotion I was able to upgrade early. So, I went into the Verizon store yesterday (Wednesday) and got the phone. It was free with the upgrade credit, so all I paid for was the 1GB memory card I bought for it. It's a pretty sweet little phone and I love the mp3 player feature! The touch-pad is a bit sensitive and that has taken some getting use to, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. I haven't received any calls on it yet and I haven't even made a phone call on it as of yet, either - so I'm anxious to see how the reception is and if others can hear me alright. We'll see soon enough, I need to make my rounds to the family before long, anyway. You know, call them all up and see how they've been. It'll be especially nice, because I'll now be able to call more than two people now without having to charge my phone back up! My old phone's battery was friggin' horrible at keeping a charge!!!

Work has been going alright, I suppose... I found out today the one thing you should never say to any forecaster - "Why was your forecast so shitty?" If you can believe it, my boss actually asked me that today... Apparently, we had some backlash with our new clientele in Indiana this afternoon about Wednesday evening's forecast, which incidently was my forecast! I don't know what it is about my boss, but he has the worse way of approaching people. I don't mind the criticism of my forecast or the fact that it was my boss who approached me about it... BUT, I have a major problem with him referring to my forecast as "shitty!" I would have a major problem if anyone made a statement like that! There is simply no respect in making that statement and especially makes me feel like I'm two inches tall. Not because of the fact that he's speaking down to me like I'm inferior to his "supernatural" powers as the BEST FORECASTER IN THE WORLD, but because he chose to say all this in front of my co-workers... It was totally uncalled for and, in my opinion, very unprofessional and disrespectful. I don't want to get into what all the issues were, but I came out of the "meeting" having learned a little something about what exactly these folks in Indiana AND Ohio really want. I'll work on the problems and fix them - and hopefully that'll be something my boss will appreciate. More effort and a little more attention to detail will help, I'm hoping.

Anyhow, the ol' ticker is calming down and I'm getting a bit hungry for a snack. Hopefully, everyone out there is having a pleasant day, evening, or whichever. I'm sure you're all feeling much better about yourselves than I am feeling about myself right now...

More later... (there I go making promises, again!)

I just came across this article searching for solar images on Space.com. The article is in regard to a serious issue with the failed launch of the Falcon 1 rocket on March 24th of this year. Don't ask me what the rocket's payload was or what the purpose of the launch was, cause I simply haven't a clue. BUT, I found the title to the article humorous... ;)

Read on...

Twenty years ago today, on January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger took to the skies above Cape Canaveral, FL. Just 73 seconds into its flight, however, the unthinkable happened, as the space vehicle exploded in what was described at the moment, "a major malfunction."

The resultant commission, called upon by President Reagan, later found that a faulty O-Ring located in the left solid-rocket-booster (SRB), further damaged by the extreme cold that fateful morning, was the cause of the accident.

Two-hundred and fifty people joined a ceremony at Kennedy Space Center today, to honor the Shuttle's commander, Dick Scobee, pilot Mike Smith, and astronauts Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Ron McNair and Greg Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.

Read more...

If you are curious to read or puruse through the commision's report to President Reagan, it can be accessed here:

Report of the PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident

I was only 8 years old at the time, but I still remember it... vividly...

Have you ever "googled" your name? I've done it plenty of times in the past, but never came across this article. I love the first sentence. Who doesn't want to become the next Matt Hartman!?! hahaha...

Hard-working Hartman lives a hometown dream

I received an article today through eMail about how 3 of the strongest hurricanes this year (Emily - Cat-4, Katrina - Cat-5, and Rita - Cat-5) were found to be unusually active lightning producers.

It's generally understood that hurricanes lack lightning activity because they're mostly composed of horizontal winds (convergence and shear). Vertical winds are a key component to lightning production, since it acts as a separation mechanism between lighter, positively charged particles and the heavier, negatively-charged particles within a cloud layer. Hurricanes Emily, Katrina, and Rita were all found to be unusually active, apparently, and NASA issued some of their findings Monday, regarding research that was being done through this past hurricane season:

Read on... It's very interesting! Especially to you science/weather nuts, like me... *grin

Unfortunately, I heard some very unsettling and sad news this morning:

"James Dungy, the 18-year-old son of Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy, has been found dead in north Tampa, Florida at the Campus Lodge Apartments. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department says a call came in about 1:30 this morning from the teen's girlfriend. An investigation is underway. The cause of death is pending an autopsy. James Dungy was a student at the University of South Florida."

Please help me in sending my sincerest condolences and prayers to the Dungy family in this time of need.

Are we really seeing the birth of a new ocean? Amazing...

Scientists: Fissure Could Become New Ocean

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Ethiopian, American and European researchers have observed a fissure in a desert in the remote northeast that could be the "birth of a new ocean basin," scientists said Friday.

Researchers from Britain, France, Italy and the U.S. have been observing the 37-mile long fissure since it split open in September in the Afar desert and estimate it will take a million years to fully form into an ocean, said Dereje Ayalew, who leads the team of 18 scientists studying the phenomenon.

Read More...

I heard about this on the radio while driving home from work this morning:

Teenager with peanut allergy dies after a kiss

What the hell is that? I had to laugh when I heard it on the radio, and even though it isn't necessarily funny, it is certainly something very odd to hear. Imagine kissing your boyfriend/girlfriend and dying from it just hours later... Wow!

Well, folks this will be my last post concerning the devastating tornado that struck the Evansville area early Sunday morning (NOV 6). I just wanted to let you all know that as of Tuesday afternoon, Vanderburgh officials had announced that all those in the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park had been accounted for. Fortunately, no other victims were found amid the rubble.

Looking back at this, even though 23 deaths were attributed to this tornado, making it the deadliest tornado since 1998, it truly could have been much worse. I understand that could be nearly an impossible concept to those that lost property and/or loved ones... however, had this tornado struck just a few miles to the north, it would have moved right through downtown Evansville - a much more populated area than the area that was affected. Many more deaths would have likely occurred, had that happened.

In addition, I also wanted to thank those of you who have supported the blog. While no comments were shared, I've been monitoring the traffic on the site here and I can see many, many of you have been following the story. And really, that's enough for me to keep posting updates.

Thanks again! And once again, my thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this event...

Hi folks,

I'm at work, so this will be a quick post. Just wanted to let you all know I've posted some archived data, including a radar loop from early Sunday morning. The loop extends from 1:17 AM CST (0717z) to 4:03 AM CST (1003z).

I have posted links to the products and to the loop on my Event Archives page.

National Weather Service officials have completed their damage assessment from Sunday morning's deadly and devastating tornado. You can access the full report here:

Public Information Statement (4:35 CST Monday, November 7, 2005)

NWS officials from the Paducah Office have also posted a post-mortem (including the damage assessment, a map showing the track of the tornado, as well as a select number of damage photos) on the event on their web-site:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pah/

The final death toll has been set at 23 with injuries numbering near 260 persons. Please join me in sending prayers and condolences to those that have lost loved ones and/or property in this disaster.

Any donations can be sent to the Southwestern Indiana Chapter of the Red Cross here:
http://www.evansvilleredcross.org

Unconfirmed reports continue to increase the death toll from this morning's tornado across Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties. The number has now increased to 23, however please keep in mind this is unconfirmed and that it is subject to change.

Some names from the confirmed dead have been released from the Vanderburgh County Coronor's Office. Out of respect, I will not list them here, however if you are looking for those that have been released, you can get them here: http://www.wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=4080798

WFIE (the NBC Evansville affiliate) has excellent coverage and has posted an extensive photo gallery as well.

Also, not that it really matters, but the death count has now risen to 22 in Vanderburgh and Warrick counties - with many of them occuring within the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park located on the southeastern edge of Evansville proper. Approximately 200 injuries have also been reported throughout the area.

Hey folks,

I had a friend of mine sent me some SRM (storm-relative motion) radar imagery he had from early this morning. Figured I would upload it here so that you can view it. You can clearly see where the tornadic circulation is and it's location relative to Evansville and Newburgh.


Time: 0758z (1:58 AM EST)


Time: 0804z (2:04 AM EST)

Well, folks I've got a heavy heart this morning after learning of the devestating tornado that hit near Evansville, IN. A strong and evidently, large tornado touched down south of Evansville around 2:00am EST, moving quickly northeast into Vanderburgh and Warrick counties in far southern Indiana. Many reports that have trickled in early this morning have reported multiple fatalities and many injuries. Numbers are sketchy right now, but unconfirmed reports have the death count at 15 with near 160 injuries, all reported in Indiana. Damage is extensive and from what I've seen pictured on TV, may exceed F-2 damage assessments, possibly reaching as high as F-4 if reports are confirmed. Many homes have reportedly been leveled near Newburgh, IN just east of Evansville. I'll update details as I get them, but for a more complete story see: MS-NBC or CNN.

Other details:

» Paducah, KY NWS Office
» Local Storm Reports

Storm Reports Graphics:

» SPC Reports
» StormReportMap.com