Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes are all possible.
After a Wednesday that saw storms drop 1-inch hail in North Barrington and more than 2 inches of rain in parts of McHenry County, I'm sure we'd all like a respite from the rain. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a little longer. Meteorologists are warning Illinois residents that there's a significant chance for severe weather Thursday, with storms possibly bringing damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes. According to the National Weather Service's hazardous weather outlook for Thursday, severe weather will be possible during the day and into the evening. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center has placed half of Illinois in the "slight risk" category for severe weather, while parts of …
Sunday, March 3, 2013
March 3-9 is National Severe Weather Preparedness Week.
Have you ever seen a tornado? I'll never forget the day I saw a tornado touch down. I was just 13 or 14 and on a youth group trip with my church. We were driving through Nebraska and getting ready to stop for dinner when the skies turned dark. We saw a funnel cloud pass overhead and heard the warning on the radio that people should leave their cars and seek shelter. We did exactly that. We stopped at McDonald's and got ready to seek shelter in the large refrigerator if the tornado hit. The tornado ultimately touched down about a mile from us. It was incredibly scary, and I hope I never experience that again. Are You Prepared? If a tornado warning was issued, would you know what to do? This week is National Severe Weather Preparedness Week…
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Winter Storm Magnus dumped nearly a foot of snow in some parts of Wisconsin and Iowa, while places like Georgia and Tennessee saw tornadoes.
A massive storm system resulted in snow and tornadoes across the country Wednesday, leaving small amounts of snow here in northern Illinois and nearly a foot of snow in portions of Wisconsin. According to the National Weather Service Office in Chicago, the 12-hour snowfall ending at 6 p.m. Wednesday saw .6 inches of snow fall in Grayslake, while Oak Lawn saw just a tenth of an inch. That same storm system, Winter Storm Magnus (as named by The Weather Channel), dumped a lot of snow elsewhere in the country. Reedsburg, WI, for example, received 10 inches of snow, and 9 inches of snow fell in Watson, IA. The Weather Channel reported that snow fell in parts of Kansas, southeast Nebraska, northern Missouri, Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota and …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The National Weather Service Office in Chicago recently released its preliminary storm spotter schedule for 2013.
If a tornado watch were issued, would you know exactly what to look for in terms of cloud structure to spot a wall cloud or even a funnel? Pretty much everyone who knows me knows that I am a National Weather Service-trained severe weather spotter. Before I took my first training class on March 3, 2008, I was pretty sure I knew what a wall cloud looked like. I soon learned, though, that I was wrong. What I thought was a wall cloud—or an isolated lowering of the cloud base—was actually a shelf cloud. Now I know what to watch for. I can tell if an approaching storm could spawn a tornado, and I even put that training to use a couple of years ago. I watched from my old apartment in Waukegan as a strong storm formed over Lake Michigan. I spotted…
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The watch is in effect until 1 a.m.
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for all of northern Illinois until 1 a.m. Lake, McHenry and Cook Counties are included in the watch area. A tornado watch means that conditions are favorable for the formation of tornadoes. A flash flood warning is also in effect for Lake County.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Patch offers some suggestions on ways to give back to those affected by the devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo.
A tornado ripped through Joplin, Mo., Sunday, damaging hundreds of buildings and killing over 100 people, according to an Associated Press article. Search efforts continue in the community and many homes were leveled by the storm that produced up to 198 mph winds, according to the Associated Press. For those interested in donating to organizations that are helping those affected the tornado, here are some suggestions:
Mr Tibbs
7:59 am on Thursday, April 18, 2013
Perhaps Guam would welcome you back... Well, not anyone of color,based upon your usual comments. more ›