Sadly, Huntsville was ranked as the number 1 tornado prone city in America. The article states that Huntsville lies in the Tennessee Valley, surrounded by the hills of the Cumberland Plateau. The city also lies in Dixie Alley, which is an area prone to violent, long-track tornadoes. The article also lists Birmingham as number three and Tuscaloosa as the number four most tornado prone cities in America.
What does this all mean for people living in Alabama? It means YOU need to be weather aware when severe weather occurs. You must have a way to get weather warnings through a smartphone or weather radio. Remember, it only takes one tornado going through you neighborhood to make it your April 27th.
Today could be the biggest severe weather day for the Spring severe weather season. A powerful cold front will come through Alabama later today. Ahead of the cold front is a line of strong thunderstorms that have already produced damaging winds and tornadoes. Here is the day 1 outlooks from the SPC.
Weather conditions will begin to deteriorate heading into the afternoon. Daytime heating from the sun popping out will begin to cause a greater chance for severe thunderstorms into the afternoon and evening hours. Several supercell thunderstorms could develop ahead of the squall line and these supercell storms could cause tornadoes. The squall line could have damaging winds and tornadoes. Also a threat of heavy rain could cause some flooding.
The main threats will begin after 3 pm for NE Alabama / NW Georgia. Damaging winds and tornadoes are possible. Look for a tornado watch to be issued later today. Stay close to a source of weather information like your smart phone or weather radio to keep up to date of any warnings. Today will be nothing like the April 27th tornado outbreak. But it only takes one tornado going down your neighborhood to make it your April 27th! Once the cold front comes through, Friday and the weekend will be picture perfect! Here is a map on what to expect today. Stay weather alert!
When I was a kid I loved The Weather Channel! I loved that you could have seen the current weather from the United States 24 hours a day! It didn’t matter if it was 1 pm or 1 am. You knew you could find out the current weather with great meteorologists. What I really liked was the local forecast. No matter where you were in the country, if you had cable you would get a personalized local forecast several times each hour! I also liked where they told you where you could locally buy products that were advertised on The Weather Channel. Being the geek/nerd at heart I loved watching The Weather Channel!
But ever since NBCUniversal bought the network back in 2007 along with Bain Capital and the Blackstone Group. The network has been going downhill fast! Since the acquisition by its new owners, TWC has lost all of its original meteorologists and has begun to use talent from the NBCU stable, including Al Roker, whose production company has played a significant role in the network’s expansion into serial content. And this week the network laid off around 7% of its workforce. What I really hate about The Weather Channel now is its reality programming. During the afternoons and evenings the network goes into a 2 hour reality TV loop followed by an hour of live weather programming. These shows about lifeguards, power crews, iceburg hunters, steel workers, storm chasers, etc. are boring!
On October 17th there were several tornadoes occurring across Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi. While people’s lives were at risk what was The Weather Channel doing? Yep; they were playing reality shows. This couplet shown on radar around Yazoo City, MS pretty much confirms there was a tornado on the ground. But the network was playing Reality TV; sad.
And even during their live hour of weather coverage they briefly talked about the tornadoes and then they showed some other stuff. Recently The Weather Channel has been getting some very bad reputation. Remember the “landmass” controversy during Hurricane Isaac? Shepard Smith from Fox News was not happy about this.
And yes The Weather Channel thinks it can override the National Weather Service. The network has plans to name winter storms like how hurricanes are given names. I really think this is one big marketing gimmick. Hey; those companies that sell cold and flu products can tell consumers to go buy their products because Winter Storm Gandolf is coming! I would only support a name list if the National Weather Service officially came out with a list. By the way here is the list for Winter 2012/2013.
I also miss some of the former meteorologists that were on The Weather Channel. My favorite was Dave Schwartz. Not only he had a good knowledge of weather on TV he really connected to the viewer with his friendly attitude as well! Today; Dave is a salesman at Macy’s. Quite a fall from being on TV. Here is a video of Dave Schwartz when he was on The Weather Channel.
The good thing about today is we have the internet and social media. You don’t have to rely on The Weather Channel for weather anymore. AccuWeather and Weather Nation are great alternatives to The Weather Channel. And best of all; Weather Nation has a live feed on their website that provides weather 24/7 like The Weather Channel used to do. I have also liked many weather interests on Facebook and Twitter. In NE Alabama/NW Georgia there are great organizations like West Georgia Weather, Forecast Weather Chat, Alabama Storm Spotters, Alabama Storm Trackers, Talk Weather Forums and more that you should follow. I also follow all of the meteorologists from Birmingham on social media. And yes; Geek Alabama will provide weather coverage when severe weather threatens. That’s why you see the weather bugs on the bottom of the page.
I think the days of the classic Weather Channel are now gone! We will have to turn to social media and other companies for weather coverage. But one thing will never change! I will always be a road, weather, and news junkie geek!
Alabama has now gone one year since the 4-27-11 tornado outbreak. The outbreak tested everybody in this state. Many people suffered on the terrible day and many other people came together to help their fellow Alabamians. But on that day and the days after there were heroes. Some people were heroes on that outbreak. I wanted to go through the people who I think are heroes.
First during the outbreak. The meteorologists and storm chasers were heroes because they told people to take cover and saved lives. Plus the chasers shared live video feeds of tornadoes on the ground. That spurred people to take action. James Spann, J-P Dice, Mark Prater, Jerry Tracey, and the other meteorologists on TV and the ground saved many lives on that day. Plus storm chasers like Reed Timmer calling in tornado reports also saved lives on that day. If there were no warnings or tornadoes showed on live TV. Many more people would have died. Those videos of the tornado going through Tuscaloosa still gives me chills today.
The next heroes were the first responders right after the tornadoes have struck. Many people needed help on the night of 4-27-11. The police, fire, EMT’s, and people with chain saws and equipment came in and helped rescue people and clear the roads for hurt people to get to the hospital. Then other people from churches and charities came in to start helping people to recover. They fed people, comfort people, helped people with clean up, and did anything in the tornado affected areas to start helping people in the recovering process. We did not wait for FEMA or the federal government to come in with help. We started helping people immediately.
Anyone who helped the people affected by the tornadoes were heroes on that day. Those people needed all the help they could get. Even to this day people in the tornado zones are still in the recovering process. And it’s going to take decades for these areas to get back to the way they were before the tornadoes struck. Now what do I think about that horrible day one year ago.
First; I think more people are weather aware today. More people knows how the weather in Alabama can change every day. Alabama is home to some of the worst tornadoes in history. Alabama weather is something different all the time. And whenever a severe weather outbreak is forecast; people now pay attention. At the same time; people are getting equipment to warn them of severe weather. Weather radios are being sold in a rapid pace here in Alabama. And software on computers and smart phones are being downloaded by people to stay up to date on any severe weather.
People in Alabama have gotten more weather aware and that is great! But I do worry that some people in a couple of years will not care about weather anymore and more people will be killed when a tornado strikes and the survivors say they had no warning. People in Alabama have to stay weather aware always! You never know when the next tornado will strike.
This week on Animation Monday I wanted to continue the tornado theme since Geek Alabama is remembering the 4-27-11 tornado outbreak. I think everyone has seen the movie Twister. This movie was groundbreaking as all of the tornadoes were created with computer animation. Of course when Twister came out computer animation was just beginning. This movie not only featured animated tornadoes but the debris such as houses, farm equipment, and even cows were computer animated as well. Now I just wish they would make a Twister 2 movie.
Of course animated tornadoes were not just in the movies. Some cartoons also had animated tornadoes. Some favorites include Popeye the Sailor Man and Mickey Mouse. Also one episode of Phineas and Ferb had Dr. Doof trying to destroy Danville with a tornado but he got sucked in himself. So who is next in the animated tornado department since tornadoes have been getting a bad rap. Who knows.
This is week seven in my series of Shape Up! The weekly post on what I did over the last week in my quest to getting healthier.
All right folks. Many people across the country have gone through tough weather in the last week. I am guessing the spring tornado season is going to be very rough. In the last week we have seen over 100 tornadoes and countless hail and heavy wind reports. Alabama had its first tornado death in March with the Friday tornado outbreak down in Tallapoosa County. This is going to be a tough season for severe weather.
Over the last week I have had some more good meals. I had some great Mexican food at a new restaurant. Had a great burger at a restaurant I have never been too before. And enjoyed some pancakes and sausage this morning. This has been a great foodie week.
Wow the food this week. I guess that comes with the territory when I am a popular blogger here in this area. Well as you guessed with the extra food this week comes the extra walking. When I have been out covering these events on the weekends you do walk more to get those great photos. You do want to keep people coming back to the blog.
Now I have also been talking to lots of people over the last few weeks and I would like to incorporate new things in the exercise routine. But I need a job first! Yes I am still on my search for my 14th job in the last 6 years. That would be a great TV line would it. While out covering the events people have given me their cards and I have given them my card. So I am still hoping something comes along in the job front very soon. Sitting at home for seven months now is getting very old.
Here is my food journal for last week:
Saturday: Cereal; Sub; Milo’s no calorie tea.
Sunday: Cereal; French bread pizza; Milo’s no calorie tea.
Monday: Cereal; Chicken breast; Brown rice; Milo’s no calorie tea.
Tuesday: Strawberries; Sub; Milo’s no calorie tea.
Wednesday: Fajitas; Baked Chicken; Brown rice; Milo’s no calorie tea.
Thursday: Yogurt; Banana; Ham steak; Brown rice; Milo’s no calorie tea.
NE Alabama / NW Georgia has two possible chances for severe weather in the next few days. The first threat on Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday Evening has a small chance of severe storms that might produce high winds and large hail. The bigger threat coming Thursday night into early Friday morning will involve a squall line moving into the area that might have strong winds, large hail; and a possible tornado.
I think the bigger threats with both severe weather chances will be high winds and large hail. But a small tornado can not still be ruled out. Please stay weather aware from Wednesday afternoon through early Friday morning.
As always you can follow me on my social media accounts below:
Facebook: facebook.com/nvyoung
Twitter: twitter.com/nvyoung or @nvyoung
Follow hashtags #nealwx or #alwx on Twitter for updates.
We have a significant threat of severe weather late this afternoon and overnight tonight. As the warm front moves northward during the day today a couple of severe storms are possible but the main action will come overnight tonight. After midnight tonight a squall line with embedded supercells will come through NE Alabama/NW Georgia. Winds over 70+ MPH are very likely overnight tonight. And a couple of long track tornadoes are also possible. Have a way to be warned of severe weather overnight tonight. Use a weather radio or get alerts through your phone. You can get updates through @nvyoung on Twitter and my Facebook and Google + pages overnight tonight. Stay safe!
We have another threat of severe weather on Tuesday. The main threat will be high winds in front of the squall line. But any storms that form ahead of the squall line could produce a tornado. The storms will start after 3PM and the squall line should come through between 8PM to 12AM. Stay weather aware on Tuesday!
We will possibly have our first severe weather threat of the fall severe weather season on Wednesday in East Alabama. This weather event will be not a huge severe weather outbreak. The main window for storms in East Alabama will be from 10AM to 2PM. The tornado threat is going to be low. The main threat will be possible high winds and hail. The one good thing we will get is rainfall. It has been dry around here for a while so we really need the rainfall. Stay tuned for any weather alerts on Wednesday. Get the latest alerts on my social media pages. Facebook; Twitter; and on Google +. And of course here on Young’s Blog.
