As usual, we headed up to CBT for Sunday School and Family Service. The morning was a little crazier than normal as we had to remember Jacob's Jewish Hero Report and model and Hannah's nectarines for her class fruit feast. We also woke up a little later than normal, which didn't help matters any. But, we made it to the synagogue on time and went into Family Services.
As the Family Service was concluding, Rabbi Vered suddenly appears behind me (that woman is FAST!) to point out a neurologist that she had been telling me about last time. Ironically, we'd been eating our bagels at the same table that morning (they have a bagel breakfast set up each week). I thanked her and told her that once we got the kids off to their classes, I'd try to catch up with him.
Mike sees Jacob to his classroom while I walk Hannah to her class. Daniel had disappeared, so I could only assume he went to his class. I drop Hannah off and as I turn to make sure Daniel made it into his classroom, Rabbi Vered is behind me, once again, smiling and doing a little happy dance. "We made it again!" she tells me. (One of her daughters is in Hannah's class). "Yes we did." I tell her with a smile as I head to Daniel's classroom. I'm definitely thinking that this woman has way more on her plate than I do (running the Family Service, getting two daughters into their classrooms, taking care of a 6 month old...).
Once I see that Daniel is, indeed, where he is supposed to be, I head to the ulam (foyer/commons area of the synagogue) for coffee and conversation with some of the other parents. I run into Mike, who was also checking on the kids. He turns and walks with me, when, who do I run into again? Yep. Rabbi Vered. This time, she's standing with Dr. Z, the neuro she had been telling me about. She introduces us and walks away.
After talking with Dr. Z, we exchange info and begin to go about our morning. I see Rabbi Vered walk by with another family and I mouth, "thank you!" and she mouths, "you're welcome," and gives me a wink. I love that woman.
I sit with Rachel and Beth, two ladies I've befriended. Beth has two boys (2nd and 4th grade) and is a music teacher. Rachel has a ton of kids, most of which are older (out of college), but the youngest is in 3rd grade. Both are crazy crafty. Rachel usually makes jewelry while Beth knits. They inform me that, starting next week, they're having a knitting/crochet circle during Sunday School. Bring a skein of yarn and they'll provide the hooks and needles. "But I'm not good at this!" I tell them. "No problem," Rachel tells me. "I'll teach you." Sweet.
At 11, we head to Jacob's classroom to watch Jacob give his report. He was nervous but he did well. At noon, we go to pick up the other two.
I leave to take the kids home while Mike stays behind to attend the lottery drawing to set up the date for Jacob's Bar Mitzvah (July 21, 2012 if anyone's planning). Yeah, it seems like a good deal out but there are a lot of kids and they like to have everything planned about 30 months out for their own planning since they can't have any other activities on a Bar/Bat Mitzvah weekend.
We then headed out to Daniel's basketball game. Most of the kids on Daniel's team are first year players but are getting better. They're also having a blast, which is a good thing. They are not, however, winning. Most games, they have to reset the score because the other team goes up by 20. That's okay, though. All of the kids are actually getting play time and I haven't heard Daniel complain about going to a game or a practice once this season. The team we played today was, by far, the best team we've played this season. Daniel made a couple of good plays (and almost got fouled) and the kids were in good spirits at the end.
Unfortunately, it's started snowing again. The weatherman that I trust is off on the weekends and the weekend guy is new. I also don't like him since he's way too general and still doesn't know the area so he says things like, "north of the city," or "east of downtown," a lot. "North of the city" could be anywhere from Leavenworth to St. Joe and the weather could be completely different in each of the cities. He also said that it hadn't started snowing south of Kansas City and, I assure you, it was snowing at my house at the time, and had been snowing for a while. I also don't understand how it can snow (heavily at times) all night tonight and day tomorrow, yet he only called for 1 inch. So, I have no idea how bad it'll be. I hate that. I'll have to go check out the weather blog.
Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Wednesday Thoughts
It's hard to believe it's Wednesday already. I'm not sure where the time is going but it seriously needs to slow down just a little.
It's been so nice here for the past several days. Highs in the 60's, sunshine...ahhhh. It's been just wonderful. Especially since it's February. On Monday, we had some Severe Thunderstorm Warnings pop up in the morning and I got so excited. Don't get me wrong, I don't want tornadoes or anything, just a good thunderstorm. I waited and waited...the storm blew through and all we got was some wind. I was so mad. Last night, we had a nice thunderstorm come in, so that made it better. It's been raining for about 12 hours now and that's good because we really needed it. Sump pump is working, so I'll enjoy a rainy day until it starts snowing, which it looks like it may do at any time. It's gotten so cold...of course, that's normal for February but I already miss the 60 degrees we've been having. (As I've been typing, sleet has begun hitting the window. Ugh)
I had a MOPS meeting yesterday and it was so fun. I thought of my crafty sisters because we made a bath scrub. Epsom salt, olive oil and some essential oil. I can't believe how well it works! I'm going to have to make some more of this stuff on my own.
Again, I'm going to rave about the wonders of Facebook. Yeah, it can be annoying at times but through it, I've been able to reconnect with so many people. Grade school friends, high school friends, college friends and, most recently, a dear friend that we'd lost touch with years ago. Yes, Tommy, I'm talking about you! I know you read my blog. :) That's okay 'cause I've been reading yours, too. LOL!!!
I've discovered that I've become even more of a coffee snob. I'm completely addicted to that Zao Coffee that some of you got for the holidays. Mmmm. Cheri (the owner's wife) goes to my MOPS group. Occasionally, she brings a 12 oz pack of coffee as a door prize. I didn't win this week, but there were a lot of us ready to fight over it. Again, there's free shipping (because he actually brings it to your house) to anyone in Johnson County but they'll ship the coffee anywhere. And, it's shipped the same day it's roasted. Here's the link Zao Coffee. YUMMY!!!
It's been so nice here for the past several days. Highs in the 60's, sunshine...ahhhh. It's been just wonderful. Especially since it's February. On Monday, we had some Severe Thunderstorm Warnings pop up in the morning and I got so excited. Don't get me wrong, I don't want tornadoes or anything, just a good thunderstorm. I waited and waited...the storm blew through and all we got was some wind. I was so mad. Last night, we had a nice thunderstorm come in, so that made it better. It's been raining for about 12 hours now and that's good because we really needed it. Sump pump is working, so I'll enjoy a rainy day until it starts snowing, which it looks like it may do at any time. It's gotten so cold...of course, that's normal for February but I already miss the 60 degrees we've been having. (As I've been typing, sleet has begun hitting the window. Ugh)
I had a MOPS meeting yesterday and it was so fun. I thought of my crafty sisters because we made a bath scrub. Epsom salt, olive oil and some essential oil. I can't believe how well it works! I'm going to have to make some more of this stuff on my own.
Again, I'm going to rave about the wonders of Facebook. Yeah, it can be annoying at times but through it, I've been able to reconnect with so many people. Grade school friends, high school friends, college friends and, most recently, a dear friend that we'd lost touch with years ago. Yes, Tommy, I'm talking about you! I know you read my blog. :) That's okay 'cause I've been reading yours, too. LOL!!!
I've discovered that I've become even more of a coffee snob. I'm completely addicted to that Zao Coffee that some of you got for the holidays. Mmmm. Cheri (the owner's wife) goes to my MOPS group. Occasionally, she brings a 12 oz pack of coffee as a door prize. I didn't win this week, but there were a lot of us ready to fight over it. Again, there's free shipping (because he actually brings it to your house) to anyone in Johnson County but they'll ship the coffee anywhere. And, it's shipped the same day it's roasted. Here's the link Zao Coffee. YUMMY!!!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Another Snowy Tuesday
At some point last night, it started snowing. When I woke up and looked outside, I decided to check the school closings before waking the kids up. I knew I'd have no problem going back to sleep but once the kids are up, they're up. I come downstairs and find Jacob watching cartoons on the couch. I turn to NBC and wait for the closings to start over since we're at the beginning of the alphabet. The schools jump over our district and I tell Jacob, who is anxiously awaiting word that there's no school, that he needs to get some breakfast because he's got school. He's more than mad. In all actuality, there really wasn't a reason to close school. We only got a couple of inches. What surprised me was how many people were mad that there was school today. For crying out loud people. Grow a pair and get the kids to school.
I was really surprised when Mike called around 2:30 to tell me that he'd gotten an e-mail saying all evening activities through our school district were cancelled. It had stopped snowing and the plows were active. WTF? It normally isn't an issue but the boys had a Pack meeting tonight. Mike decided to call our Packmaster to see if there'd be a meeting tonight. Turns out there was but it had to be moved since the school would be officially closed. How annoying.
When I picked the kids up from school, everyone was buzzing about how there wouldn't be school on Thursday. What? Why? Well, I guess there's going to be this big ice storm Thursday that will cancel school. The teachers were all talking about it. Ugh. I really hope there's no ice storm on Thursday because we'd like to leave for Illinois on Friday and Hannah has her holiday party Thursday afternoon. I guess Jacob has a class pizza party that afternoon as well. In any case, if it's going to do something, I'd rather it just snow. Ice sucks.
I'm so tired of winter already.
I was really surprised when Mike called around 2:30 to tell me that he'd gotten an e-mail saying all evening activities through our school district were cancelled. It had stopped snowing and the plows were active. WTF? It normally isn't an issue but the boys had a Pack meeting tonight. Mike decided to call our Packmaster to see if there'd be a meeting tonight. Turns out there was but it had to be moved since the school would be officially closed. How annoying.
When I picked the kids up from school, everyone was buzzing about how there wouldn't be school on Thursday. What? Why? Well, I guess there's going to be this big ice storm Thursday that will cancel school. The teachers were all talking about it. Ugh. I really hope there's no ice storm on Thursday because we'd like to leave for Illinois on Friday and Hannah has her holiday party Thursday afternoon. I guess Jacob has a class pizza party that afternoon as well. In any case, if it's going to do something, I'd rather it just snow. Ice sucks.
I'm so tired of winter already.
Monday, December 15, 2008
What to Say...
It's been crazy here. First, the weather's been nuts. Sunday, we had a high of 60 degrees and then the bottom fell out and we got down to 5 degrees with snow and freezing rain. I don't think we got above 12 degrees today. I feel like we've moved back to Iowa! Grrrrr...
We got the basement done. Well, there's still a little cutting in that I need to do but we are 99% done. We got these foam rubber blocks to put on the floor in the playroom (since the painting didn't turn out so well there) and it looks super cute. Since it's the same type of floor that our TKD school has, we've been referring to it as our dojo. LOL! I think it turned out nice, and the kids love it! And, yes, I do know that the pattern is off. So frustrating for me.
In the process of putting the basement back together, we decided it was time for a TV upgrade. Now, if I could just get the thing to work right.
Mike picked out that rug all by himself. He's been really impressing me with his decorating skills.
Hannah had her consecration on Sunday. It's a ceremony, at the synagogue, welcoming children into the world of learning. It was really sweet. They gave the kids robes and wrapped them up in the Torah. I didn't get photos of the ceremony because it wasn't appropriate but here are some of Hannah before and after the ceremony.
Hannah and her Torah.
I've also been trying to wrap up my jiu jitsu testing before we leave for Illinois. I was doing well until tonight. We did Guard techniques and I was all over the place. I had to restart once and will probably have to re-do that section again on Wednesday. Ugh. Oh well. I'll be really happy to have that behind me.
We got the basement done. Well, there's still a little cutting in that I need to do but we are 99% done. We got these foam rubber blocks to put on the floor in the playroom (since the painting didn't turn out so well there) and it looks super cute. Since it's the same type of floor that our TKD school has, we've been referring to it as our dojo. LOL! I think it turned out nice, and the kids love it! And, yes, I do know that the pattern is off. So frustrating for me.
In the process of putting the basement back together, we decided it was time for a TV upgrade. Now, if I could just get the thing to work right.
Mike picked out that rug all by himself. He's been really impressing me with his decorating skills.
Hannah had her consecration on Sunday. It's a ceremony, at the synagogue, welcoming children into the world of learning. It was really sweet. They gave the kids robes and wrapped them up in the Torah. I didn't get photos of the ceremony because it wasn't appropriate but here are some of Hannah before and after the ceremony.
Hannah and her Torah.
I've also been trying to wrap up my jiu jitsu testing before we leave for Illinois. I was doing well until tonight. We did Guard techniques and I was all over the place. I had to restart once and will probably have to re-do that section again on Wednesday. Ugh. Oh well. I'll be really happy to have that behind me.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Well, We Didn't Blow Away...
It's been raining and dreary for the past couple of days now. I picked the kids up from school yesterday and about 10 minutes after we got home, the weather radio went off for a Tornado Watch. Hannah begins her little freak out but calms down a little after I remind her of what a watch means. Mike calls to tell me that he's going to work out and then head home. That's fine. Just before 5pm, Jacob starts screaming that there's a Tornado Warning (we were watching the Weather Channel). A second later, the weather radio goes off again for the Warning. Ugh. We listen and find out that it's for NW Johnson County. Not for us. Okay. I still step outside to get a look...no sirens or anything...we should be okay. Jacob turns on Gary Lezak and he sees a cell heading out of Miami County (just to our south) and into Johnson County that will probably hit us. Great.
The weather radio goes off again. Another Tornado Warning for that cell entering Johnson County. I look at the kids and they've got their valuables (blankets, Nintendo DS games, Jacob's violin) and Jacob's seriously looking for the pets. That's when the sirens start. It really starts raining hard and, after looking at the radar, I'm not convinced it's quite basement time yet.
Mike calls to tell me that they closed the Fitness Center and he's heading home. I told him to hang out until the storm's passed...I'd give him a call. The radar shows that the storm is almost to us so, the kids and I head to the basement.
I'm still not sure about this tornado thing, so I head back upstairs to take another look. Sirens are still going off (they went off about 4-5 times) but everything looks to be east of us. Mike calls to ask if he can come home yet and I tell him that Gary says there's a possible tornado around 143rd and Nall, headed to where Mike works. He says that he'll wait for the all-clear and I tell the kids they can come back up.
Not five minutes later, the weather radio goes off again for another Tornado Warning. Hannah's crying at this point and I have to assure her that this one is also not for us. I call Mike to tell him it's okay for him to leave and we try to go on with our evening.
Ultimately, there were a couple of touchdowns but nothing in our immediate area. I completely forgot about the second tornado season. Hopefully, the rest of fall won't be this active. Now, we get ready for Ike, which won't be fun after the 5 inches we've had in the past couple of days.
The weather radio goes off again. Another Tornado Warning for that cell entering Johnson County. I look at the kids and they've got their valuables (blankets, Nintendo DS games, Jacob's violin) and Jacob's seriously looking for the pets. That's when the sirens start. It really starts raining hard and, after looking at the radar, I'm not convinced it's quite basement time yet.
Mike calls to tell me that they closed the Fitness Center and he's heading home. I told him to hang out until the storm's passed...I'd give him a call. The radar shows that the storm is almost to us so, the kids and I head to the basement.
I'm still not sure about this tornado thing, so I head back upstairs to take another look. Sirens are still going off (they went off about 4-5 times) but everything looks to be east of us. Mike calls to ask if he can come home yet and I tell him that Gary says there's a possible tornado around 143rd and Nall, headed to where Mike works. He says that he'll wait for the all-clear and I tell the kids they can come back up.
Not five minutes later, the weather radio goes off again for another Tornado Warning. Hannah's crying at this point and I have to assure her that this one is also not for us. I call Mike to tell him it's okay for him to leave and we try to go on with our evening.
Ultimately, there were a couple of touchdowns but nothing in our immediate area. I completely forgot about the second tornado season. Hopefully, the rest of fall won't be this active. Now, we get ready for Ike, which won't be fun after the 5 inches we've had in the past couple of days.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Weather Rant
Yesterday afternoon, they were saying that we were going to get some storms. My weather radio went off for a Severe Thunderstorm Watch and I got a little concerned because we were going to be out and about. At the time, storms were heading to our north (we were scheduled for storms in the evening) and the ABC (why was I watching ABC? Don't know) weather guy was saying that if the people up north had signed up for Weather Call, they should be getting a call about now. I thought that would be a great thing to have...that if we were at TKD or baseball, the phone would ring and I'd know about severe weather heading our way. It was $6 for three numbers, so I signed up both mine and Mike's cell numbers (if we're at home, I've got the weather radio, TV and internet so the home number wasn't necessary).
We get home from TKD and we're watching NBC (that's more like it) when Gary breaks in to say the storms have started. It was supposed to just be a quick break during commercials when Skytracker (their helicopter) actually sees a tornado drop down. Gary starts yelling that there are no Tornado Warnings for that area but everyone needs to get in their basements now. You can hear Jeff Penner, their weather producer, on the phone with the Weather Service telling them that they saw a tornado on the ground. Suddenly, my radio goes off for a Tornado Warning. My cell starts to buzz and I'm thinking it's the Weather Call. It wasn't. It was the baseball league saying that all baseball had been cancelled (thank goodness because I wasn't taking Jacob anyway!). We ended up having two severe thunderstorm warnings and one tornado warning and I never got a call. I was mad. I wrote to their service center and decided to write Bryan Busby (the ABC weather guy) as well.
Bryan wrote me a nice letter back saying that we were never in any specific danger and actually weren't in the warning area (our house was 2 miles from it). He forwarded my e-mail to a lady at Weather Call, who sent me this letter (I've bolded some of my favorite lines):
-----Original Message-----
From: Valerie WeatherCall
To:
Sent: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 9:01 am
Subject: WeatherCall performance
Dear Barbara-
Bryan Busby forwarded your email to me. First, please make note from our website that we have two methods to contact us: info@weathercall.net or 1-800-260-6695.
I have pasted the map from your registration here, plus the 3 warnings issued for Johnson County during last night’s storms, using a tighter view, minus the radar reflectivity so it’s easier to see that your home was never in the precise warning areas issued by the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, MO. WeatherCall performed exactly the way it was designed-to only call you if the latitude and longitude of your home falls INSIDE one of these National Weather Service warning boxes, of which each corner also has a very precise latitude and longitude value.
You may find it helpful to spend a few minutes reading the information on this page http://www.weathercall.net/wc_whatisit.html which explains how the new storm-based warnings work, and why WeatherCall is so accurate. If you’re still “disappointed, please contact me personally, and I’ll remove you from the system and refund your money. However, I’d strongly suggest you use the $6 dollars towards purchasing a weather radio which will alert you for any storm, ANYWHERE in Johnson County’s 477 square miles, whether it is going to affect you or not.
Regards,
Valerie E. Ritterbusch
Vice President / Meteorologist
WeatherCall
I was mad when I read that. So, I wrote her back.
From:
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 10:16 AM
To:
Subject: Re: WeatherCall performance
Dear Valerie,
I'd first like to say that I did contact you at weather call but got no response, which is why I contacted Mr. Busby.
Had I realized when I signed up that it was only if a storm hits my house, I would have never signed up. The reason I did sign up was so that my cell phone would go off if I was out in Johnson County, not if I'm sitting at home with the weather radio I currently have (so I do not need to "use the $6 towards purchasing" one as you so rudely said to me), as was the case last night. If I am at home, I have access to the television, internet and my weather radio and find it unnecessary to have someone call me for a storm. I also had it set up to call my husband's cell phone and he was right in the middle of it all...away from home, but still in Johnson County.
Please refund my money as I will be using it to sign up for The Weather Channel's weather call that will actually "alert me for any storm, ANYWHERE in Johnson County’s 477 square miles, whether it is going to affect you or not."
By the way, thanks for the excellent customer service. I appreciate the condescending tone you gave me in your e-mail. I'm also sending this to Mr. Busby so that he can see how his new service talks to its customers.
Barbara
I then got this, very quickly, in return. Again, my favorite part is bolded.
Barbara-
I had no intention of being rude or condescending; I was simply trying to further explain how precise the warning process is. Bryan did not have time to zoom in on the warning polygon maps, and remove the radar so the actual warning area was more easily displayed, thus I took the time to do so, hoping I was helping you better understand county vs. storm-based NWS warnings.
Based on your comments, I suspect you may be under the understanding that the cell phone will be called if the cell phone is in a warning, regardless of where the cell phone travels. This is not the case. That would require your cell phone to be GPS enabled, and to match up it’s location with an NWS polygon. There is a devise capable of doing this, but it costs around $1,500 dollars and some $20 to $30 dollars per month for the data feed. WeatherCall geocodes your house, and will call your cell phone regardless of where it has traveled to notify if your house has fallen inside a NWS polygon.
I have issued a refund and have removed you from the system, because our system does not provide wide area, broad-brushed warnings, which is what it sounds like you are interested in.
Regards,
Valerie Ritterbusch
Vice President / Meteorologist
Media Weather Innovations
http://www.mediaweatherinnovations.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great customer service, right? LOL!!!
We get home from TKD and we're watching NBC (that's more like it) when Gary breaks in to say the storms have started. It was supposed to just be a quick break during commercials when Skytracker (their helicopter) actually sees a tornado drop down. Gary starts yelling that there are no Tornado Warnings for that area but everyone needs to get in their basements now. You can hear Jeff Penner, their weather producer, on the phone with the Weather Service telling them that they saw a tornado on the ground. Suddenly, my radio goes off for a Tornado Warning. My cell starts to buzz and I'm thinking it's the Weather Call. It wasn't. It was the baseball league saying that all baseball had been cancelled (thank goodness because I wasn't taking Jacob anyway!). We ended up having two severe thunderstorm warnings and one tornado warning and I never got a call. I was mad. I wrote to their service center and decided to write Bryan Busby (the ABC weather guy) as well.
Bryan wrote me a nice letter back saying that we were never in any specific danger and actually weren't in the warning area (our house was 2 miles from it). He forwarded my e-mail to a lady at Weather Call, who sent me this letter (I've bolded some of my favorite lines):
-----Original Message-----
From: Valerie WeatherCall
To:
Sent: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 9:01 am
Subject: WeatherCall performance
Dear Barbara-
Bryan Busby forwarded your email to me. First, please make note from our website that we have two methods to contact us: info@weathercall.net or 1-800-260-6695.
I have pasted the map from your registration here, plus the 3 warnings issued for Johnson County during last night’s storms, using a tighter view, minus the radar reflectivity so it’s easier to see that your home was never in the precise warning areas issued by the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, MO. WeatherCall performed exactly the way it was designed-to only call you if the latitude and longitude of your home falls INSIDE one of these National Weather Service warning boxes, of which each corner also has a very precise latitude and longitude value.
You may find it helpful to spend a few minutes reading the information on this page http://www.weathercall.net/wc_whatisit.html which explains how the new storm-based warnings work, and why WeatherCall is so accurate. If you’re still “disappointed, please contact me personally, and I’ll remove you from the system and refund your money. However, I’d strongly suggest you use the $6 dollars towards purchasing a weather radio which will alert you for any storm, ANYWHERE in Johnson County’s 477 square miles, whether it is going to affect you or not.
Regards,
Valerie E. Ritterbusch
Vice President / Meteorologist
WeatherCall
I was mad when I read that. So, I wrote her back.
From:
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 10:16 AM
To:
Subject: Re: WeatherCall performance
Dear Valerie,
I'd first like to say that I did contact you at weather call but got no response, which is why I contacted Mr. Busby.
Had I realized when I signed up that it was only if a storm hits my house, I would have never signed up. The reason I did sign up was so that my cell phone would go off if I was out in Johnson County, not if I'm sitting at home with the weather radio I currently have (so I do not need to "use the $6 towards purchasing" one as you so rudely said to me), as was the case last night. If I am at home, I have access to the television, internet and my weather radio and find it unnecessary to have someone call me for a storm. I also had it set up to call my husband's cell phone and he was right in the middle of it all...away from home, but still in Johnson County.
Please refund my money as I will be using it to sign up for The Weather Channel's weather call that will actually "alert me for any storm, ANYWHERE in Johnson County’s 477 square miles, whether it is going to affect you or not."
By the way, thanks for the excellent customer service. I appreciate the condescending tone you gave me in your e-mail. I'm also sending this to Mr. Busby so that he can see how his new service talks to its customers.
Barbara
I then got this, very quickly, in return. Again, my favorite part is bolded.
Barbara-
I had no intention of being rude or condescending; I was simply trying to further explain how precise the warning process is. Bryan did not have time to zoom in on the warning polygon maps, and remove the radar so the actual warning area was more easily displayed, thus I took the time to do so, hoping I was helping you better understand county vs. storm-based NWS warnings.
Based on your comments, I suspect you may be under the understanding that the cell phone will be called if the cell phone is in a warning, regardless of where the cell phone travels. This is not the case. That would require your cell phone to be GPS enabled, and to match up it’s location with an NWS polygon. There is a devise capable of doing this, but it costs around $1,500 dollars and some $20 to $30 dollars per month for the data feed. WeatherCall geocodes your house, and will call your cell phone regardless of where it has traveled to notify if your house has fallen inside a NWS polygon.
I have issued a refund and have removed you from the system, because our system does not provide wide area, broad-brushed warnings, which is what it sounds like you are interested in.
Regards,
Valerie Ritterbusch
Vice President / Meteorologist
Media Weather Innovations
http://www.mediaweatherinnovations.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great customer service, right? LOL!!!
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Cloud Video
Here is one of the videos I took yesterday of the cloud that passed north of our house. Don't know how well you can see the rotation but it was freaky! The clouds in front are moving east and the ones behind are moving west. Scared me enough to send the kids to the basement! I love how I'm all "GET TO THE BASEMENT NOW!!!" and then kindly say, "and turn on the TV, okay?" LOL!
Weird and Wild Weather
We were sitting at TKD last night when Vivian's cell went off to say that all baseball games before 8pm had been cancelled (we didn't have one but Tammy's daughter did). We all looked outside and couldn't figure out why. When we were leaving, we spotted the ABC helicopter overhead and still couldn't figure out why. We looked to our north and spotted a wall cloud but it was well past us.
When we get home, Gary's on TV with Skytracker (their helicopter) pointing right at that wall cloud we saw. By this point, it was crossing over into Missouri. It was cool because there were some horizontal funnels. About this time, our weather radio goes off for a thunderstorm warning. We got a little hail and the rain was insane at times. Then, it stopped. I went outside to take a look at the clouds when I saw yet another wall cloud. This one was clearly rotating. I run back in to get my camera and to tell the kids to get in the basement and head back outside. While there, I see that my neighbor across the street is also out with a camera. We meet up in the middle of the street and are oohing and aahhing over the fact that you can actually see the inflow (clouds were moving straight up...getting sucked right into the main wall cloud). It never actually did anything more than just rotate but it was kind of scary. If I can get the video uploaded, I'll post it.
After we got the kids in bed, the real rain started. By the time everything shut off (a little after midnight) we had 4.4 inches of rain in the gauge and about 4 rounds of hail.
They say round 2 comes tonight with round 3 tomorrow. I guess we're in the Moderate Risk area for today so it should be interesting.
OH! I pulled this from the weather blog. Someone posted it there because there's been some discussion about whether or not the sirens should have been activated and/or tornado warnings issued last night. I thought that it's a good refresher for everyone, especially since this year (at least for us) seems to be much more active than normal.
About Weather Watches:
When conditions become favorable for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes to develop, SPC usually issues a severe thunderstorm or tornado watch. Tornadoes can occur in either type of watch but tornado watches are issued when conditions are especially favorable for tornadoes. Watches encourage the general public to stay alert for changing weather conditions and possible warnings. A typical watch has duration of about four to six hours but it may be canceled, replaced, or re-issued as required. A watch is not a warning, and should not be interpreted as a guarantee that there will be severe weather!
Tornado Watch The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issues Public Tornado Watches to alert the public, media and emergency managers to organized thunderstorms forecast to produce three or more tornadoes or any tornado which could produce F2 or greater damage. The forecast event minimum thresholds should be at least 2 hours over an area of at least 8,000 square miles.
Severe Thunderstorm Watch The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issues Public Severe Thunderstorm Watches to alert the public, media and emergency managers to organized thunderstorms forecast to produce six and more hail events of 1 inch (penny) diameter or greater, or damaging winds of 50 knots (58 mph) or greater. The forecast event minimum thresholds should be at least 2 hours over an area of at least 8,000 square miles.
Tornado Warning Tornado Warnings are issued when there is radar indication and/or reliable spotter reports of a tornado.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning Severe Thunderstorm Warnings are issued when there is radar indication and/or reliable spotter reports of hail of 3/4 inch (penny) diameter or greater, and/or wind gusts of 50 knots (58 mph) or greater.
ALMOST ALL SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING TEXT: “SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES AT ANY TIME. IF A TORNADO IS SPOTTED...ACT QUICKLY AND MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IN A STURDY BUILDING...SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM.”
When we get home, Gary's on TV with Skytracker (their helicopter) pointing right at that wall cloud we saw. By this point, it was crossing over into Missouri. It was cool because there were some horizontal funnels. About this time, our weather radio goes off for a thunderstorm warning. We got a little hail and the rain was insane at times. Then, it stopped. I went outside to take a look at the clouds when I saw yet another wall cloud. This one was clearly rotating. I run back in to get my camera and to tell the kids to get in the basement and head back outside. While there, I see that my neighbor across the street is also out with a camera. We meet up in the middle of the street and are oohing and aahhing over the fact that you can actually see the inflow (clouds were moving straight up...getting sucked right into the main wall cloud). It never actually did anything more than just rotate but it was kind of scary. If I can get the video uploaded, I'll post it.
After we got the kids in bed, the real rain started. By the time everything shut off (a little after midnight) we had 4.4 inches of rain in the gauge and about 4 rounds of hail.
They say round 2 comes tonight with round 3 tomorrow. I guess we're in the Moderate Risk area for today so it should be interesting.
OH! I pulled this from the weather blog. Someone posted it there because there's been some discussion about whether or not the sirens should have been activated and/or tornado warnings issued last night. I thought that it's a good refresher for everyone, especially since this year (at least for us) seems to be much more active than normal.
About Weather Watches:
When conditions become favorable for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes to develop, SPC usually issues a severe thunderstorm or tornado watch. Tornadoes can occur in either type of watch but tornado watches are issued when conditions are especially favorable for tornadoes. Watches encourage the general public to stay alert for changing weather conditions and possible warnings. A typical watch has duration of about four to six hours but it may be canceled, replaced, or re-issued as required. A watch is not a warning, and should not be interpreted as a guarantee that there will be severe weather!
Tornado Watch The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issues Public Tornado Watches to alert the public, media and emergency managers to organized thunderstorms forecast to produce three or more tornadoes or any tornado which could produce F2 or greater damage. The forecast event minimum thresholds should be at least 2 hours over an area of at least 8,000 square miles.
Severe Thunderstorm Watch The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issues Public Severe Thunderstorm Watches to alert the public, media and emergency managers to organized thunderstorms forecast to produce six and more hail events of 1 inch (penny) diameter or greater, or damaging winds of 50 knots (58 mph) or greater. The forecast event minimum thresholds should be at least 2 hours over an area of at least 8,000 square miles.
Tornado Warning Tornado Warnings are issued when there is radar indication and/or reliable spotter reports of a tornado.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning Severe Thunderstorm Warnings are issued when there is radar indication and/or reliable spotter reports of hail of 3/4 inch (penny) diameter or greater, and/or wind gusts of 50 knots (58 mph) or greater.
ALMOST ALL SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING TEXT: “SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES AT ANY TIME. IF A TORNADO IS SPOTTED...ACT QUICKLY AND MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IN A STURDY BUILDING...SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM.”
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Cool Clouds
Check out this very cool cloud. It looks awesome. Of course, I wouldn't want to be in its path. If you scroll down to the post after the cloud photo, there's an interesting thing on tornadic activity. KCK is the #9 most tornado-prone city for the month of June in the country. KCMO is #15 and Overland Park (right by us) is #19. Very interesting reading.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
You Know You Grew Up in Tornado Alley If...
(an appropriate subject since we're currently under a tornado watch...I've added my thoughts on some)
You know you grew up in tornado alley if...
The first thing you do if you hear tornado sirens during the day is check your watch to see if it's noon. (10am on the first Tuesday or Wednesday wherever I've lived)
You don't get worried unless the sky looks "green".
You use the word "tornado" as a verb.
You might go indoors when there's a tornado, but you won't "seek shelter" for anything less than an F3.
You know what Doppler radar, Hook echo, wall cloud, and rain-wrapped all mean. (I've just learned a new one...bow echo)
You've never exactly memorized the tornado precautions, but you've heard them enough times that you know them by heart anyway.
Watching the weather is entertaining. And red on the Doppler radar is exciting.
The phrase "Tornado on the ground, take your immediate tornado precautions" sends exciting shivers up your spine.
You've seen photos/videos of tornadoes and said, "Wow, that's a nice one!"
You can feel/smell tornado weather brewing a few hours before the storm actually begins.
There's an odd feeling as though you've misplaced something if you make it all the way to June without a tornado warning near you.
You think people that live in earthquake and/or hurricane prone areas are crazy.
You know what people are talking about when they mention the "May 3rd/Moore" tornado and the "Greensburg/May4th" tornado.
You watch the movie Twister just so you can point out all the inaccuracies in it.
You know your weathermen by their first names. (Gary, Jeremy, Brett)
When you hear the tornado sirens go off, you go outside to watch the storm and take pictures.
Most of the tornado video footage comes from everyday people with camcorders instead of from actual news/weathermen.
You're sure there's a giant tornado magnet hidden somewhere in Moore. And that there are smaller ones distributed throughout trailer parks.
You don't consider it windy until the wind speed is faster than 30mph.
You are highly entertained by people from outside tornado alley when there is a tornado watch.
You learned that some other states don't have tornado drills from this list.
There's enough random stuff in your tornado shelter that you could live there for a year.
You stand under your carport or open your front door to watch hail and/or thunderstorms. (I love my front porch!!! We've watched so many storms roll in from there)
You know the difference between a basement, a cellar, and a storm shelter. (We have a safe room...ooohh la la)
The weather is a completely acceptable subject for conversation, at any time, for any occasion.
Your local mall has "tornado shelter" signs posted.
It doesn't bother you the next day to find out that your area was under a tornado watch the night before and you had no idea. Unless, of course, it caused you to miss some interesting cloud formations.
Getting to "play" in the basement/cellar/storm shelter numbers among your favorite childhood memories.
You keep matches, candles, and candle holders in more than one place in your house.
Your town will never get hit by a tornado because you're between two rivers or because an old Indian legend says so.
You complain about severe weather reports that interrupt the TV show you're watching. (why they need to cancel programming for a county with 3 people in it is beyond me LOL!)
You can get together all your most important possessions in 2 minutes flat.
When tornado sirens woke you up in the middle of the night...you rolled over and went back to sleep.
You've ever tried to reassure someone by saying that "if anything forms it will only be a little tornado"...and couldn't understand why this didn't calm them down any.
It's normal for your area to be under a tornado watch for multiple days in a row.
When looking at houses/buildings you give them a "tornado survival ranking". i.e., how big of a tornado it would take to destroy it.
You've ever asked (probably w/ disdain) "Don't they know the difference between a warning and a watch?" (I've been known to roll my eyes when Mike's asked "now, what's a watch mean again?")
You know what towns/cities a tornado normally passes through before coming your way.
From watching radar maps, you've heard of almost every small town in your state. And you know what towns are around them, but you have no idea where in the state they are.
You laughed at everything in this list, but you also respect a tornado's power. And you know that after it's over, clean-up and re-building has to begin.
You know you grew up in tornado alley if...
The first thing you do if you hear tornado sirens during the day is check your watch to see if it's noon. (10am on the first Tuesday or Wednesday wherever I've lived)
You don't get worried unless the sky looks "green".
You use the word "tornado" as a verb.
You might go indoors when there's a tornado, but you won't "seek shelter" for anything less than an F3.
You know what Doppler radar, Hook echo, wall cloud, and rain-wrapped all mean. (I've just learned a new one...bow echo)
You've never exactly memorized the tornado precautions, but you've heard them enough times that you know them by heart anyway.
Watching the weather is entertaining. And red on the Doppler radar is exciting.
The phrase "Tornado on the ground, take your immediate tornado precautions" sends exciting shivers up your spine.
You've seen photos/videos of tornadoes and said, "Wow, that's a nice one!"
You can feel/smell tornado weather brewing a few hours before the storm actually begins.
There's an odd feeling as though you've misplaced something if you make it all the way to June without a tornado warning near you.
You think people that live in earthquake and/or hurricane prone areas are crazy.
You know what people are talking about when they mention the "May 3rd/Moore" tornado and the "Greensburg/May4th" tornado.
You watch the movie Twister just so you can point out all the inaccuracies in it.
You know your weathermen by their first names. (Gary, Jeremy, Brett)
When you hear the tornado sirens go off, you go outside to watch the storm and take pictures.
Most of the tornado video footage comes from everyday people with camcorders instead of from actual news/weathermen.
You're sure there's a giant tornado magnet hidden somewhere in Moore. And that there are smaller ones distributed throughout trailer parks.
You don't consider it windy until the wind speed is faster than 30mph.
You are highly entertained by people from outside tornado alley when there is a tornado watch.
You learned that some other states don't have tornado drills from this list.
There's enough random stuff in your tornado shelter that you could live there for a year.
You stand under your carport or open your front door to watch hail and/or thunderstorms. (I love my front porch!!! We've watched so many storms roll in from there)
You know the difference between a basement, a cellar, and a storm shelter. (We have a safe room...ooohh la la)
The weather is a completely acceptable subject for conversation, at any time, for any occasion.
Your local mall has "tornado shelter" signs posted.
It doesn't bother you the next day to find out that your area was under a tornado watch the night before and you had no idea. Unless, of course, it caused you to miss some interesting cloud formations.
Getting to "play" in the basement/cellar/storm shelter numbers among your favorite childhood memories.
You keep matches, candles, and candle holders in more than one place in your house.
Your town will never get hit by a tornado because you're between two rivers or because an old Indian legend says so.
You complain about severe weather reports that interrupt the TV show you're watching. (why they need to cancel programming for a county with 3 people in it is beyond me LOL!)
You can get together all your most important possessions in 2 minutes flat.
When tornado sirens woke you up in the middle of the night...you rolled over and went back to sleep.
You've ever tried to reassure someone by saying that "if anything forms it will only be a little tornado"...and couldn't understand why this didn't calm them down any.
It's normal for your area to be under a tornado watch for multiple days in a row.
When looking at houses/buildings you give them a "tornado survival ranking". i.e., how big of a tornado it would take to destroy it.
You've ever asked (probably w/ disdain) "Don't they know the difference between a warning and a watch?" (I've been known to roll my eyes when Mike's asked "now, what's a watch mean again?")
You know what towns/cities a tornado normally passes through before coming your way.
From watching radar maps, you've heard of almost every small town in your state. And you know what towns are around them, but you have no idea where in the state they are.
You laughed at everything in this list, but you also respect a tornado's power. And you know that after it's over, clean-up and re-building has to begin.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Wild Weather
***You can read about some of the storm's aftermath by clicking this link or this link
***
The weather radio went off again around 1am to tell us about a tornado watch. Seriously, I didn't need to get up at 1am for a tornado watch. I head back to bed. Some time later (I think around 1:30am (I could be wrong...it could have been later), it goes off again. I'm pretty sure I would have slept through it if Mike hadn't woken me up. I go downstairs and see that it says Severe Thunderstorm Warning. I shut off the alarm, unplug it, head back upstairs (with the radio so I don't have to go back downstairs if it goes off again), plug it in by the bed and cover it with a pillow. I think it's about this time that Mike takes the dog out. He tells me that the power had gone out. Then, he flips on the bedroom light and tells me what time it is so that I can reset my alarm clock (we each have our own). I notice that there's a lot of lightning and think, "I should take a look outside." The next thing I know, it's 6:55am.
I come downstairs to make the kids breakfast and turn on the TV. Our local guys are covering the aftermath of all of the storms. The damage just to our north is incredible. I look at the weather blog and see that we got hit with a massive storm around 2am. The one I slept through. Apparently, the winds in this storm were the same as a category 1 hurricane (70mph winds). I guess there was a huge bow echo which explains the high winds. Wow. It's awesome that there seems to be no damage in our area...even Hannah's bike (which was accidentally left out during all of this) was sill in the exact same spot as it was yesterday.
The kids are still talking about the storms last night. They, too, slept through the overnight storm but were shaken by the tornado warnings from the evening. Hannah keeps asking if we're going to have a tornado today. Poor baby. Unfortunately, it's a reminder that we do live in Tornado Alley.
We ended up with just under 2" of rain yesterday. That's a lot of rain for less than 12 hours. Luckily, the backyard's not flooded too much. Our neighbor has a bare spot in his yard with a big puddle in it. The birds are loving that as a birdbath. Hopefully we'll have some calm weather for a while
***
The weather radio went off again around 1am to tell us about a tornado watch. Seriously, I didn't need to get up at 1am for a tornado watch. I head back to bed. Some time later (I think around 1:30am (I could be wrong...it could have been later), it goes off again. I'm pretty sure I would have slept through it if Mike hadn't woken me up. I go downstairs and see that it says Severe Thunderstorm Warning. I shut off the alarm, unplug it, head back upstairs (with the radio so I don't have to go back downstairs if it goes off again), plug it in by the bed and cover it with a pillow. I think it's about this time that Mike takes the dog out. He tells me that the power had gone out. Then, he flips on the bedroom light and tells me what time it is so that I can reset my alarm clock (we each have our own). I notice that there's a lot of lightning and think, "I should take a look outside." The next thing I know, it's 6:55am.
I come downstairs to make the kids breakfast and turn on the TV. Our local guys are covering the aftermath of all of the storms. The damage just to our north is incredible. I look at the weather blog and see that we got hit with a massive storm around 2am. The one I slept through. Apparently, the winds in this storm were the same as a category 1 hurricane (70mph winds). I guess there was a huge bow echo which explains the high winds. Wow. It's awesome that there seems to be no damage in our area...even Hannah's bike (which was accidentally left out during all of this) was sill in the exact same spot as it was yesterday.
The kids are still talking about the storms last night. They, too, slept through the overnight storm but were shaken by the tornado warnings from the evening. Hannah keeps asking if we're going to have a tornado today. Poor baby. Unfortunately, it's a reminder that we do live in Tornado Alley.
We ended up with just under 2" of rain yesterday. That's a lot of rain for less than 12 hours. Luckily, the backyard's not flooded too much. Our neighbor has a bare spot in his yard with a big puddle in it. The birds are loving that as a birdbath. Hopefully we'll have some calm weather for a while
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Oh What a Night...Kansas Edition
We had howling winds today. Crazy wind. It was very warm today, too...80's warm. That was great. I picked up the kids from school and got them ready for the crazy evening that was in store for us...although it turned out to be much crazier than originally anticipated.
We go to TKD and notice that the clouds are beginning to build. I'm a little surprised because the storms weren't supposed to start until around midnight. I have to admit, I was hopeful for lightning or rain so that Jacob's game would be cancelled. I really didn't want to sit and watch the game tonight. He was excited, though, because it was his first game...and he was all uniformed up. He looked awesome. Anyway, we got everyone changed and headed to the field.
As soon as we get close, I notice that there are a lot of cars leaving. We're early so I'm suspicious that games had been cancelled. I also don't see any players on any field (there are about 20 fields). Hmmm. Jacob starts to complain that there had better be a game. We pull into the lot and I see Jacob's coach with some of his teammates. We park and head over. He immediately tells me that all games have been cancelled because of lightning. Jacob's furious. He says, "I got dressed for NOTHING!" His coach says, "well, at least you look good! We could possibly lose every game this season, but at least we'll do it in style!" LOL! They do look pretty sharp.
We head back to the van and Jacob's still grumbling. I ask the kids if they'd like to go to Caroline's (the ice cream place next to TKD) for some ice cream. They say they'd like ice cream but not from there. I ask if they'd like DQ and they say yes. So, off to DQ we go.
We pull into the drive through and I look in my rear view. Behind me is a TKD mom (her son does TKD but her daughter plays softball) who also had a game around the same time as us. I poke my head out the window and start laughing. She laughs too. Apparently, her daughter's team was already on the field when they came over the intercom and told everyone to get off of the field and the games were cancelled. She asked if I made it to the field and I told her yes. About then, my cell phone rings and it's Dad asking if we've blown away yet. I tell him that there's an ominous cloud and lots of lightning but nothing else. I hang up with him, finish my conversation with the TKD mom, grab our ice cream and start for home.
Because I had been told to take my weather radio to the game, I had it sitting on the back seat. We're almost halfway home when the darn thing starts going off. Jacob hands it to me and it says TORNADO WARNING. Just then, the sirens start going off. For some reason, I grab the phone and call Dad to let him know that we just may blow away after all. I look to my north and I see this cloud. Looks very suspicious to me...if that's it (it turned out to be it), I don't have a lot to worry about since it's heading away from me. Just get home...just get home.
We pull into the driveway and I tell the kids to head straight for the basement. Hannah's the only one that does and gets scared because she's alone. Jacob immediately turned on channel 8 (NBC here in KC) and Gary Lezak's on talking about the storms. Then, the weather radio goes off again. TORNADO WARNING is scrolling across again. Here come the sirens. Okay guys, now we really need to head downstairs. The kids grab their blankets and lovey things and head to the basement while I'm searching for pets.
I grab Oriana and head to the basement. "What about Ruby?" asks Jacob. "Alright," I say and head back upstairs to get Ruby. I catch sight of Gary on TV saying that the funnel isn't really near us, so I tell the kids they can come back up. I look outside and see Skytracker (NBC's helicopter) and call the kids over (I think I was on the phone with Dad at this point). It was cool to actually see Skytracker and look on the TV and see the cloud that's right over my house. The kids got a kick out of it, too.
We start to relax when the sirens go off again. Seriously? Back to the basement. The kids decide to stay for the duration (probably the best move) and are fascinated by the weather that's unfolding before them via Gary Lezak and the TV. Mind you, I didn't get Ruby the last time because she was hiding. I'm told to go back up and get her. Fine. I grab her and put her in her little cage and take her downstairs.
"Where's Guillermo?" Asks Daniel. Hold on. I head back upstairs again. I grab Guillermo (and take a look outside...rain like I've never seen before...insane, nuts rain.) then head back downstairs.
I'd been trying to get hold of Mike and kept getting his voice mail. Grrrr. Around 8, he finally calls to tell me he's heading home. "Don't you know there's a Tornado Warning?" I yell into the phone (as the sirens are going off) "Really? Huh," he says. He goes on to tell me that he's going to stop and get gas...do we need anything? Seriously! LOL!
After a little while, the warning expires and we finally head back upstairs. I forgot the weather radio in the basement and was settling in on the couch when it starts to go off again. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING is scrolling this time. Hannah's freaking out because it's been about an hour of Tornado Warnings and she's really scared. Jacob's got snacks and his blanket all ready to go downstairs and I tell them that it's nothing to really worry about...everyone can stay where they are. Around this time, Mike walks in the door, unaware of the weather happenings of the night. I may have to get our TKD school a weather radio.
Just as we're getting ready to head to bed, the freaking weather radio goes off again!!! TORNADO WARNING scrolls across for the umpteenth time. We turn back to NBC and Gary says that it's for the extreme southeast portion of our county. Alright, everyone upstairs and brush your teeth.
We are currently under a Tornado Watch. Ugh.
More storms are on their way and should be here around 2AM. Hopefully it's just rain. Please let it just be rain.
We go to TKD and notice that the clouds are beginning to build. I'm a little surprised because the storms weren't supposed to start until around midnight. I have to admit, I was hopeful for lightning or rain so that Jacob's game would be cancelled. I really didn't want to sit and watch the game tonight. He was excited, though, because it was his first game...and he was all uniformed up. He looked awesome. Anyway, we got everyone changed and headed to the field.
As soon as we get close, I notice that there are a lot of cars leaving. We're early so I'm suspicious that games had been cancelled. I also don't see any players on any field (there are about 20 fields). Hmmm. Jacob starts to complain that there had better be a game. We pull into the lot and I see Jacob's coach with some of his teammates. We park and head over. He immediately tells me that all games have been cancelled because of lightning. Jacob's furious. He says, "I got dressed for NOTHING!" His coach says, "well, at least you look good! We could possibly lose every game this season, but at least we'll do it in style!" LOL! They do look pretty sharp.
We head back to the van and Jacob's still grumbling. I ask the kids if they'd like to go to Caroline's (the ice cream place next to TKD) for some ice cream. They say they'd like ice cream but not from there. I ask if they'd like DQ and they say yes. So, off to DQ we go.
We pull into the drive through and I look in my rear view. Behind me is a TKD mom (her son does TKD but her daughter plays softball) who also had a game around the same time as us. I poke my head out the window and start laughing. She laughs too. Apparently, her daughter's team was already on the field when they came over the intercom and told everyone to get off of the field and the games were cancelled. She asked if I made it to the field and I told her yes. About then, my cell phone rings and it's Dad asking if we've blown away yet. I tell him that there's an ominous cloud and lots of lightning but nothing else. I hang up with him, finish my conversation with the TKD mom, grab our ice cream and start for home.
Because I had been told to take my weather radio to the game, I had it sitting on the back seat. We're almost halfway home when the darn thing starts going off. Jacob hands it to me and it says TORNADO WARNING. Just then, the sirens start going off. For some reason, I grab the phone and call Dad to let him know that we just may blow away after all. I look to my north and I see this cloud. Looks very suspicious to me...if that's it (it turned out to be it), I don't have a lot to worry about since it's heading away from me. Just get home...just get home.
We pull into the driveway and I tell the kids to head straight for the basement. Hannah's the only one that does and gets scared because she's alone. Jacob immediately turned on channel 8 (NBC here in KC) and Gary Lezak's on talking about the storms. Then, the weather radio goes off again. TORNADO WARNING is scrolling across again. Here come the sirens. Okay guys, now we really need to head downstairs. The kids grab their blankets and lovey things and head to the basement while I'm searching for pets.
I grab Oriana and head to the basement. "What about Ruby?" asks Jacob. "Alright," I say and head back upstairs to get Ruby. I catch sight of Gary on TV saying that the funnel isn't really near us, so I tell the kids they can come back up. I look outside and see Skytracker (NBC's helicopter) and call the kids over (I think I was on the phone with Dad at this point). It was cool to actually see Skytracker and look on the TV and see the cloud that's right over my house. The kids got a kick out of it, too.
We start to relax when the sirens go off again. Seriously? Back to the basement. The kids decide to stay for the duration (probably the best move) and are fascinated by the weather that's unfolding before them via Gary Lezak and the TV. Mind you, I didn't get Ruby the last time because she was hiding. I'm told to go back up and get her. Fine. I grab her and put her in her little cage and take her downstairs.
"Where's Guillermo?" Asks Daniel. Hold on. I head back upstairs again. I grab Guillermo (and take a look outside...rain like I've never seen before...insane, nuts rain.) then head back downstairs.
I'd been trying to get hold of Mike and kept getting his voice mail. Grrrr. Around 8, he finally calls to tell me he's heading home. "Don't you know there's a Tornado Warning?" I yell into the phone (as the sirens are going off) "Really? Huh," he says. He goes on to tell me that he's going to stop and get gas...do we need anything? Seriously! LOL!
After a little while, the warning expires and we finally head back upstairs. I forgot the weather radio in the basement and was settling in on the couch when it starts to go off again. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING is scrolling this time. Hannah's freaking out because it's been about an hour of Tornado Warnings and she's really scared. Jacob's got snacks and his blanket all ready to go downstairs and I tell them that it's nothing to really worry about...everyone can stay where they are. Around this time, Mike walks in the door, unaware of the weather happenings of the night. I may have to get our TKD school a weather radio.
Just as we're getting ready to head to bed, the freaking weather radio goes off again!!! TORNADO WARNING scrolls across for the umpteenth time. We turn back to NBC and Gary says that it's for the extreme southeast portion of our county. Alright, everyone upstairs and brush your teeth.
We are currently under a Tornado Watch. Ugh.
More storms are on their way and should be here around 2AM. Hopefully it's just rain. Please let it just be rain.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
This is a Little Scary...
I guess we're supposed to get some storms Thursday afternoon and evening. This is a little scary since it's still three days out. Of course, because it's three days out, it could be completely wrong. We've been pretty lucky and it's bound to catch up with us sometime. This is from the Storm Prediction Center regarding Thursday's storms...
Somewhat tightly clustered severe outbreak is possible--including supercells with large/damaging hail and possibly significant tornadoes. At this moment...consensus of various models indicates portions of eastern Kansas, northeastern Oklahoma, and western Missouri may have the maximum overall potential. Uncertainties precluding greater probabilities involve the track and intensity of surface low and related low level forcing & the northward extent of most favorable return flow moisture.
Thank God for safe rooms.
Somewhat tightly clustered severe outbreak is possible--including supercells with large/damaging hail and possibly significant tornadoes. At this moment...consensus of various models indicates portions of eastern Kansas, northeastern Oklahoma, and western Missouri may have the maximum overall potential. Uncertainties precluding greater probabilities involve the track and intensity of surface low and related low level forcing & the northward extent of most favorable return flow moisture.
Thank God for safe rooms.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Weekend Update
I had my Women's Retreat this past Friday and Saturday. It was hosted by the church that hosts my MOPS group. The theme was Loving Well by Beth Moore I had never been on a retreat before so I wasn't sure what to expect. What was kind of funny was that I was more concerned with the fact that I knew the food (and, wow was there food) there wouldn't be on my diet. LOL! (I managed to do pretty well, though. I only gained .4 pounds from Friday's weight and still managed to be down almost 6 pounds for the week!) All in all, it was fun, insightful and I've become better friends with some of the girls. I'd love to do another Beth Moore study. She's crazy funny.
I got home late Saturday night and got to hear about how the rest of the family's weekend went.
Mike took the kids to Topeka on Saturday for a Tae Kwon Do tournament. Long story short, they were good competitors. Hannah managed to pout her way into a trophy and the boys were skunked. They seemed to have a great time, though. They got together with some other families from our TKD school before, during and after the tournament which, I'm sure, was a good thing for Mike. Oh, and Mike took 2nd in form and 3rd in sparring. Not bad, I think.
Tomorrow, Hannah has her appointment with the audiologist. I talked with some girls at the retreat about it and I was surprised how many have had similar things happen. Luckily for them, it was easily fixed with ear tubes. Of course, my mind is going through every possible scenario for this. At this point, I just want to know what's going on, how bad it is and what we can do to fix it. Of course, it could turn out to be nothing. I should be happy that this appointment is happening so quickly after the first diagnosis. Otherwise, I would have driven myself completely insane.
We're supposed to get a freeze tonight. The kids and I brought all of the planters inside and covered up the marigolds I planted last week. I thought about covering some of the perennials and the zinnias (I can't believe my zinnias came back up!) but decided that if they've made it this far, they should be okay. I might pay for it...oh, for crying out loud...I need to go cover those up too.
I'll let ya'll know how Hannah does tomorrow. I need to go get some sheets out of the closet.
I got home late Saturday night and got to hear about how the rest of the family's weekend went.
Mike took the kids to Topeka on Saturday for a Tae Kwon Do tournament. Long story short, they were good competitors. Hannah managed to pout her way into a trophy and the boys were skunked. They seemed to have a great time, though. They got together with some other families from our TKD school before, during and after the tournament which, I'm sure, was a good thing for Mike. Oh, and Mike took 2nd in form and 3rd in sparring. Not bad, I think.
Tomorrow, Hannah has her appointment with the audiologist. I talked with some girls at the retreat about it and I was surprised how many have had similar things happen. Luckily for them, it was easily fixed with ear tubes. Of course, my mind is going through every possible scenario for this. At this point, I just want to know what's going on, how bad it is and what we can do to fix it. Of course, it could turn out to be nothing. I should be happy that this appointment is happening so quickly after the first diagnosis. Otherwise, I would have driven myself completely insane.
We're supposed to get a freeze tonight. The kids and I brought all of the planters inside and covered up the marigolds I planted last week. I thought about covering some of the perennials and the zinnias (I can't believe my zinnias came back up!) but decided that if they've made it this far, they should be okay. I might pay for it...oh, for crying out loud...I need to go cover those up too.
I'll let ya'll know how Hannah does tomorrow. I need to go get some sheets out of the closet.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Rain, Rain Go Away...
It's raining...again. As of 10 minutes ago, we've had 1.5 inches today. It's so wet out here that many of the farmers are becoming concerned that they won't get planting done. I hope we get a break soon. The good news is that usually the rain comes with thunderstorms...which is really awesome.
Hannah's teacher, Mrs. M, asked if Ruby could come and visit her class this afternoon. I said that it was no problem. So, Ruby was demoted from first grader to preschooler. We have a little cage that we used to take her to Daniel's class and she's grown so much that she barely fits in it anymore. We knew that she had been growing but had no idea just how much. She didn't seem to mind all of the kids and was just as happy after coming home as she was before we left, so I guess that's a good thing.
Oriana's feeling better now. She's back to only occasionally needing to go out and back to hiding out under the kitchen table during meals. I didn't really miss that part. At least she's stopped pooping on the floor.
Hannah and I got a little planting done today. We cleaned up some of the beds and put in some double marigolds. I think they look really nice. What's shocking to me is that my zinnias from last year seem to have re-seeded themselves for this year. I have a ton of zinnias coming up. I'm going to have to go through and thin them out. I'm just so excited to have so many things coming up in the garden beds. I'm not going to have to plant much in the way of annuals at all. Still trying to figure out what to put in my hanging baskets this year. I wonder how impatiens would do in them. Hmmm. I've still got some time, though.
Hannah's teacher, Mrs. M, asked if Ruby could come and visit her class this afternoon. I said that it was no problem. So, Ruby was demoted from first grader to preschooler. We have a little cage that we used to take her to Daniel's class and she's grown so much that she barely fits in it anymore. We knew that she had been growing but had no idea just how much. She didn't seem to mind all of the kids and was just as happy after coming home as she was before we left, so I guess that's a good thing.
Oriana's feeling better now. She's back to only occasionally needing to go out and back to hiding out under the kitchen table during meals. I didn't really miss that part. At least she's stopped pooping on the floor.
Hannah and I got a little planting done today. We cleaned up some of the beds and put in some double marigolds. I think they look really nice. What's shocking to me is that my zinnias from last year seem to have re-seeded themselves for this year. I have a ton of zinnias coming up. I'm going to have to go through and thin them out. I'm just so excited to have so many things coming up in the garden beds. I'm not going to have to plant much in the way of annuals at all. Still trying to figure out what to put in my hanging baskets this year. I wonder how impatiens would do in them. Hmmm. I've still got some time, though.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
An Overdue Post
After meeting Gary on Saturday, Mike hired a sitter and took me to Amor de Brasil.
Who knew that Brazil even had it's own cuisine? LOL! Anyway, it was very cool...there are a bunch of guys walking around with meat on swords. They give you a card...one side's red and the other's green. When you want more meat, put your card on green and the meat guys line up at your table to give you more. They had 15 different kinds of meat...all of it was awesome. You would think that they would be stingy with the meat, but they weren't. As soon as one person flipped their card to green, it became a meat mad-house. It just wouldn't stop! We walked out of there so full, it was hard to walk! Mike and I were saying that we wouldn't be surprised if the meat guys chased us into the parking lot with Mike screaming, "flip the card to red!!!!" LOL! So tasty...we can't wait to go back.
Oriana hasn't really been eating her food lately, so Mike thought we'd try a new bag of food. We gave it to her on Saturday and, ever since, she's been pretty sick because her stomach's not used to eating as much as she has been. Loose doggie poo is not something that's fun to clean off of the carpet. She's also been begging to go out many, many times per night, which really, really sucks. It's like we have a newborn all over again. Last night seemed really bad and it didn't help that the weather radio went off at 12:30am for a thunderstorm warning. I took her out, after turning off the alarm, and checked the radar to see what was coming (yes, I'm that much of a dork) and headed back to bed. I was disappointed because it seemed like all we got was lightning, so I fell asleep. Not long after, Oriana had to go out again. So I took her out again. Somewhere around 3:30am, I heard Mike say something about her needing to go out again and that he'd already taken her out 5 times. Fortunately, she seems to have gotten better because she's only needed to go out a couple of times today and she seems to be feeling better. I literally picked up a case of carpet cleaner from the Oreck store (along with some pet pre-treater) and have been going to town on the carpet all afternoon. It's just so gross. Ugh.
On a side note, I guess the big storm came while I was sleeping...everyone at my MOPS table this morning said that they had been up most of the night with scared kids. Thank goodness our kids sleep like rocks. I hear that it had the whole thing...lightning, thunder, hail, wind. Dang! I missed it!
Today is the last day of my prep program and I go to nutritional counseling tonight. It's been hard these last three days. Although, today is much easier than yesterday. I'm forcing myself to eat because I'm just not hungry. I don't know if that's a side effect or what but if I see any more meat, I think I'm going to be sick (doesn't help that we had that meat-fest on Saturday!). I really don't even crave the carbs anymore...it's just more inconvenient than anything else. I don't miss the soda either, which is nice and I do get to have coffee (so no caffeine headaches!) They wanted me to go in yesterday and I was already down 3 pounds. I just can't wait to go tonight so that I can get some regular food back!
Who knew that Brazil even had it's own cuisine? LOL! Anyway, it was very cool...there are a bunch of guys walking around with meat on swords. They give you a card...one side's red and the other's green. When you want more meat, put your card on green and the meat guys line up at your table to give you more. They had 15 different kinds of meat...all of it was awesome. You would think that they would be stingy with the meat, but they weren't. As soon as one person flipped their card to green, it became a meat mad-house. It just wouldn't stop! We walked out of there so full, it was hard to walk! Mike and I were saying that we wouldn't be surprised if the meat guys chased us into the parking lot with Mike screaming, "flip the card to red!!!!" LOL! So tasty...we can't wait to go back.
Oriana hasn't really been eating her food lately, so Mike thought we'd try a new bag of food. We gave it to her on Saturday and, ever since, she's been pretty sick because her stomach's not used to eating as much as she has been. Loose doggie poo is not something that's fun to clean off of the carpet. She's also been begging to go out many, many times per night, which really, really sucks. It's like we have a newborn all over again. Last night seemed really bad and it didn't help that the weather radio went off at 12:30am for a thunderstorm warning. I took her out, after turning off the alarm, and checked the radar to see what was coming (yes, I'm that much of a dork) and headed back to bed. I was disappointed because it seemed like all we got was lightning, so I fell asleep. Not long after, Oriana had to go out again. So I took her out again. Somewhere around 3:30am, I heard Mike say something about her needing to go out again and that he'd already taken her out 5 times. Fortunately, she seems to have gotten better because she's only needed to go out a couple of times today and she seems to be feeling better. I literally picked up a case of carpet cleaner from the Oreck store (along with some pet pre-treater) and have been going to town on the carpet all afternoon. It's just so gross. Ugh.
On a side note, I guess the big storm came while I was sleeping...everyone at my MOPS table this morning said that they had been up most of the night with scared kids. Thank goodness our kids sleep like rocks. I hear that it had the whole thing...lightning, thunder, hail, wind. Dang! I missed it!
Today is the last day of my prep program and I go to nutritional counseling tonight. It's been hard these last three days. Although, today is much easier than yesterday. I'm forcing myself to eat because I'm just not hungry. I don't know if that's a side effect or what but if I see any more meat, I think I'm going to be sick (doesn't help that we had that meat-fest on Saturday!). I really don't even crave the carbs anymore...it's just more inconvenient than anything else. I don't miss the soda either, which is nice and I do get to have coffee (so no caffeine headaches!) They wanted me to go in yesterday and I was already down 3 pounds. I just can't wait to go tonight so that I can get some regular food back!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
I Know This Won't Mean Much To You...
But Jacob and I got to meet a local celebrity today. I've been a huge Weather Blogger for our NBC affiliate. It's cool because you get to chat daily with the meteorologists there. We found out earlier this week that Gary Lezak, the NBC Chief Meteorologist, would be making an appearance with his "weather dog", Stormy, at our Price Chopper. Jacob and I were so there. It was very cool because I had mentioned yesterday on the blog that I would be there to meet him and he told me that he'd have Stormy do a trick for me.
We got there and I introduced myself as "Barbara from the blog" and he got all excited. "Barbara!" He said. "Give me a hug!" After the hugs, he asked me to introduce him to Jacob and then called someone over to take a picture. "We've got a blogger over here! We need a photo now!" He said. I then hand that guy my camera and ask him to take one for me as well. (click photos to enlarge)
Gary Lezak, Stormy the Weather Dog, me and Jacob
Then he says, "I told you that Stormy would do a trick for you." He calls Stormy over and has her do a couple of tricks for us and for the crowd. There wasn't a whole lot of room, so these were the best photos I could get.
Gary then tries to give a treat to Jacob so that he can have her do a trick, too. Jacob refuses, so he hands me the treat. He tells me to have her sit and then shake. I have her sit and then she does shake. Gary took this photo for me right as she was shaking my hand. You can see the treat in my left hand.
We got there and I introduced myself as "Barbara from the blog" and he got all excited. "Barbara!" He said. "Give me a hug!" After the hugs, he asked me to introduce him to Jacob and then called someone over to take a picture. "We've got a blogger over here! We need a photo now!" He said. I then hand that guy my camera and ask him to take one for me as well. (click photos to enlarge)
Gary Lezak, Stormy the Weather Dog, me and Jacob
Then he says, "I told you that Stormy would do a trick for you." He calls Stormy over and has her do a couple of tricks for us and for the crowd. There wasn't a whole lot of room, so these were the best photos I could get.
Gary then tries to give a treat to Jacob so that he can have her do a trick, too. Jacob refuses, so he hands me the treat. He tells me to have her sit and then shake. I have her sit and then she does shake. Gary took this photo for me right as she was shaking my hand. You can see the treat in my left hand.
He gives me another hug and told me to keep blogging. Oh, and can I e-mail him any photos that I took? LOL!
It was awesome to finally introduce myself to Gary. What was even cooler is that he knew exactly who I was. He seemed to be really excited to see me and definitely spent more time with us than with everyone else. Jacob just thought it was cool to be able to meet his "favorite weatherman." So awesome.
Friday, April 18, 2008
In The Words of Daniel...Whaaaaa???
I've been hearing that there was an earthquake in Southern Illinois last night. Apparently, we were able to feel it here as it shook buildings in the area. I felt nothing, but that doesn't mean anything. I was just wondering what the Illinoisans felt...and Sue since it appears she was so close (I could be wrong). I hope you are all safe!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
This, That and The Other
We've had a couple big thunderstorms roll through this afternoon. It's days like this that I tend to brave the carpool line since I don't want to have to walk into the school. Hannah and I braved a 5 or so minute hail storm in the van. The whole time, she was singing, "hail, hail go away come on back another day." Which I thought was really funny. When it stopped, she started yelling, "it worked!" LOL!
I got my haircut yesterday and it feels so much better than it had. I did have that reverse bob thing going on for a while and it looked pretty dumb once it started growing out. So, now I have light layers again. I hate layers but I have to deal with the fact that they look good in my hair. The good news is that it's not too much shorter and I can still pull it back into a ponytail. My hair has decided to become all curly so I've been having fun playing with that.
I decided that I've had enough with my weight so I'm going to do something about it. Mike keeps telling me that with Hannah in school all day, I can join his gym, which is fine but I need to do something now. I thought I'd do Weight Watchers again, but the weight came off so slowly and it was just so tedious and impossible for me to keep off (I gained back all of the weight I had previously lost plus 15 pounds so now I have even more to lose) that I decided against it. I have a few friends that have done this program and liked it so I thought I'd give it a try.
Because of the way they're set up, they start you on programs on certain days of the week. I'll actually start on Sunday, which is a little obnoxious since I want to start now. Today, they took my blood pressure (100/80) and weight and measured me (because they don't just count weight). That part was awful. So, for the first three days, I'll be in pre-program mode which will "get you ready for weight loss." The lady told me that it's much like Atkins for those few days but they immediately transition you off of that once you actually start. So, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, I'm supposed to eat 2-3 pounds (yes, pounds) of meat, a couple of eggs, unlimited raw green vegetables, water and an orange. The good news is that I can still have coffee...just no sugar or creamer. They want me to eat a lot. Like constantly. I think I can do it for 3 days. On Tuesday, I go in for nutritional counseling with the nutritionist to get my actual program.
They say that it'll take 16 weeks for me to lose the 45 pounds I'd like to. I guess we'll see. I hope this works because I feel so fat and yuck. Everyone tells me that this is an awesome program. I hope they're right.
I got my haircut yesterday and it feels so much better than it had. I did have that reverse bob thing going on for a while and it looked pretty dumb once it started growing out. So, now I have light layers again. I hate layers but I have to deal with the fact that they look good in my hair. The good news is that it's not too much shorter and I can still pull it back into a ponytail. My hair has decided to become all curly so I've been having fun playing with that.
I decided that I've had enough with my weight so I'm going to do something about it. Mike keeps telling me that with Hannah in school all day, I can join his gym, which is fine but I need to do something now. I thought I'd do Weight Watchers again, but the weight came off so slowly and it was just so tedious and impossible for me to keep off (I gained back all of the weight I had previously lost plus 15 pounds so now I have even more to lose) that I decided against it. I have a few friends that have done this program and liked it so I thought I'd give it a try.
Because of the way they're set up, they start you on programs on certain days of the week. I'll actually start on Sunday, which is a little obnoxious since I want to start now. Today, they took my blood pressure (100/80) and weight and measured me (because they don't just count weight). That part was awful. So, for the first three days, I'll be in pre-program mode which will "get you ready for weight loss." The lady told me that it's much like Atkins for those few days but they immediately transition you off of that once you actually start. So, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, I'm supposed to eat 2-3 pounds (yes, pounds) of meat, a couple of eggs, unlimited raw green vegetables, water and an orange. The good news is that I can still have coffee...just no sugar or creamer. They want me to eat a lot. Like constantly. I think I can do it for 3 days. On Tuesday, I go in for nutritional counseling with the nutritionist to get my actual program.
They say that it'll take 16 weeks for me to lose the 45 pounds I'd like to. I guess we'll see. I hope this works because I feel so fat and yuck. Everyone tells me that this is an awesome program. I hope they're right.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Here We Go...
UPDATE: We now have a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until 4:45. We've already had pea-sized hail. Welcome to severe weather season (I love this time of year!)
Severe Thunderstorm Warning National Weather Service Kansas City/Pleasant Hill MO 408 PM CDT Thu Apr 10 2008
The National Weather Service In Pleasant Hill Has Issued A
* Severe Thunderstorm Warning For... Northeastern Johnson County In East Central Kansas Eastern Wyandotte County In Northeast Kansas Clay County In West Central Missouri Northwestern Jackson County In West Central Missouri Southeastern Platte County In West Central Missouri
* Until 445 PM CDT
* At 405 PM CDT... National Weather Service Doppler Radar Indicated A Severe Thunderstorm Capable Of Producing Quarter Size Hail... And Damaging Winds In Excess Of 60 Mph. This Storm Was Located Near Lenexa... And Moving Northeast At 40 Mph.
* The Severe Thunderstorm Will Be Near... Mission... Fairway... Westwood And Westwood Hills By 415 PM CDT. Kansas City Kansas And Kansas City By 420 PM CDT. Kansas City Downtown Arpt... North Kansas City And 6 Miles Southeast Of Parkville By 425 PM CDT. Gladstone... Oakview... Avondale And Northmoor By 430 PM CDT. Pleasant Valley By 435 PM CDT.
The Towns Of Roeland Park... Oaks... Oakwood... Oakwood Park... Randolph And Birmingham Are Also In The Path Of This Severe Thunderstorm.
Our first one this year:
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WS 191: Johnson (Kansas)
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WS 191NWS
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
230 PM CDT THU APR 10 2008
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 191 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONSKSC003-005-011-013-021-031-037-043-045-059-085-087-091-103-107-121-131-139-177-209-110200-/O.NEW.KWNS.SV.A.0191.080410T1930Z-080411T0200Z/KS.
KANSAS COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE
ANDERSON ATCHISON BOURBON
BROWN CHEROKEE COFFEY
CRAWFORD DONIPHAN DOUGLAS
FRANKLIN JACKSON JEFFERSON
JOHNSON LEAVENWORTH LINN
MIAMI NEMAHA OSAGE
SHAWNEE WYANDOTTE$$
My weather radio scared the heck out of me when it went off. We've already gotten up to 68 degrees (up 5 degrees in 10 minutes)...the sun is out...now, we wait.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning National Weather Service Kansas City/Pleasant Hill MO 408 PM CDT Thu Apr 10 2008
The National Weather Service In Pleasant Hill Has Issued A
* Severe Thunderstorm Warning For... Northeastern Johnson County In East Central Kansas Eastern Wyandotte County In Northeast Kansas Clay County In West Central Missouri Northwestern Jackson County In West Central Missouri Southeastern Platte County In West Central Missouri
* Until 445 PM CDT
* At 405 PM CDT... National Weather Service Doppler Radar Indicated A Severe Thunderstorm Capable Of Producing Quarter Size Hail... And Damaging Winds In Excess Of 60 Mph. This Storm Was Located Near Lenexa... And Moving Northeast At 40 Mph.
* The Severe Thunderstorm Will Be Near... Mission... Fairway... Westwood And Westwood Hills By 415 PM CDT. Kansas City Kansas And Kansas City By 420 PM CDT. Kansas City Downtown Arpt... North Kansas City And 6 Miles Southeast Of Parkville By 425 PM CDT. Gladstone... Oakview... Avondale And Northmoor By 430 PM CDT. Pleasant Valley By 435 PM CDT.
The Towns Of Roeland Park... Oaks... Oakwood... Oakwood Park... Randolph And Birmingham Are Also In The Path Of This Severe Thunderstorm.
Our first one this year:
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WS 191: Johnson (Kansas)
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WS 191NWS
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
230 PM CDT THU APR 10 2008
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 191 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONSKSC003-005-011-013-021-031-037-043-045-059-085-087-091-103-107-121-131-139-177-209-110200-/O.NEW.KWNS.SV.A.0191.080410T1930Z-080411T0200Z/KS.
KANSAS COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE
ANDERSON ATCHISON BOURBON
BROWN CHEROKEE COFFEY
CRAWFORD DONIPHAN DOUGLAS
FRANKLIN JACKSON JEFFERSON
JOHNSON LEAVENWORTH LINN
MIAMI NEMAHA OSAGE
SHAWNEE WYANDOTTE$$
My weather radio scared the heck out of me when it went off. We've already gotten up to 68 degrees (up 5 degrees in 10 minutes)...the sun is out...now, we wait.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)