Monday was a very special day. After a heavy rain shower came over the sun popped out. When the sun comes out when some rain is still falling, you get some rainbows. This rainbow has to be one of the brightest I have ever seen. And even better, this was a double rainbow! Enjoy the video and photos of this double rainbow!
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!
Follow Nathan Young on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/nvyoung and on Twitter @nvyoung for weather updates.
One thing I despise is trolls on the internet. I have had my share of trolls on Geek Alabama and on social media. Numerous trolls and haters complained about the coverage of Pigskin Roundup last fall. And several trolls have come on this blog and complained about everything. This is why I approve all comments before they go live on this blog. After the last severe weather event in Alabama last Monday. The trolls have come back up from the underground and have taken the internet complaints by storm. Here is a video from me showing the high winds and dime size hail here in Anniston on Monday.
All North Alabama counties experienced a widespread wind storm and large hail event on Monday. I started warning everyone on Facebook and Twitter around noon Monday. I kept everyone up to date with the latest warnings and information through Monday night. After it was over and I had a little time to eat and catch a break. Over 220,000 people in Alabama were without power. Many trees were down and there were lots of structural damage. And around 20 people were injured. Thank God no one was seriously hurt or killed!
James Spann wrote a post on his blog reflecting the Monday’s storms. I suggest all of you read it! http://www.alabamawx.com/?p=70010
All of the weather people at the TV stations are getting many complaints about the lack of warnings and interruptions of their favorite TV shows. My feelings is no one should be complaining about not getting the warnings for these storms. The National Weather Service was warning about these storms all afternoon long! If you were paying attention, these storms entered NW Alabama during the midday hours. You had several hours to be ready for these storms. I warned people about these storms on my Facebook and Twitter pages. And the Pigskin Roundup and Geek Alabama Facebook pages as well. Which automatically post to their Twitter pages!
Sure, the local media here in East Alabama like TV 24 and the Anniston Star could have done a better job with the severe weather coverage. I was the only one doing multiple weather updates during the severe weather event in East Alabama. I was also passing along information from West Georgia Weather and Northwest Georgia Severe Weather Team. Don’t believe me, here is another screenshot from my Facebook page.
One suggestion I would make is I would like to see TV 24 create a Facebook, Twitter, and Google + pages all about weather. All of the other TV stations in Alabama do this. I think this would help get the warnings out better. Many people today have smart phones and check their social media accounts often! I would also suggest some improvements to the TV 24 and Pigskin Roundup social media pages but that is for another post. There is a huge lack of real-time weather information in the East Alabama community that is not coming from Birmingham. And that has got to change!
My next thought is about you the people. Me, the NWS, and the TV meteorologists can put out all the warnings in the world. But if you don’t pay attention to them, you put your life at risk during severe weather events! You must have a way to warn yourself of upcoming severe weather. Every household should have a NOAA weather radio. And if you have a cell phone or smart phone, you need to receive weather warnings! For cell phone users; Baron Services offers Alabama SAF-T-NET. You receive severe weather warnings for FREE! For smart phone users; you can get the iMap Weather Radio app for a low-cost!
To end this post, I also wanted to talk about the people complaining about the TV show interruptions and the people complaining about Alabama Power. On James Spann’s post, people were complaining about Mr. Spann interrupting The Dr. Oz Show. Really; Dr. Oz is a great show to watch during good weather. But during times of severe weather, I would rather get weather information. By the way, did you know that ABC 33/40 repeats The Dr. Oz Show at 12:07 am?
And for the folks complaining about the lack of electricity. Have you thought about getting a generator for your home? After every weather disaster, we hear the same complaints from people lacking power. Here’s a great solution, I wish it was Alabama law that every home had to have a generator! A representative from Alabama Power said during a chamber function that the East Alabama region experienced bigger power outages from this storm than during the April 27th tornado disasters and Hurricane Opal. If you don’t have a generator and need electricity. Have you thought about going to a shelter or to a hotel? It’s supposed to get very cold tonight, guess what? The power workers will be out during the cold tonight restoring power. They are away from their families and working 18 hours at a time to get your power back on. They are great people in my books!
I have done Kickstarter Tuesdays on Geek Alabama for a while now! So far; all the past Kickstarter projects talked about on Geek Alabama have done very well! So this week, I wanted to talk about a special Kickstarter project from storm chaser Reed Timmer. This Kickstarter project is for the Tornado Chasers web series. Tornado Chasers is the groundbreaking new documentary web series featuring Reed Timmer, world-renowned storm chaser and star of the Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers series. Here is the very first episode of Storm Chasers.
Tornado Chasers debuted in 2012 and ran for 12 episodes, the series quickly became a crowd-pleaser. Unlike network television, this independent web series allows the freedom to present the real experience of storm chasing. All of the chasing action, personalities, relationships, and spectacular storm footage are true to the real events, putting you in the passenger seat for an unforgettable adventure. Here is Reed Timmer’s pitch to Kickstarter.
Reed Timmer and TVN Weather needs your help to fund video and audio equipment for the series, production expenses including full-time shooters & producers, and post-production expenses including editing, graphics, music and audio mixing. Their initial fundraising goal is $75,000. Any funding above that amount will allow them to expand the scope of the production. Should they reach their initial goal, they will offer special rewards to reach a stretch goal!
Tornado Chasers stars Reed Timmer, Joel Taylor, and Dick McGowan; along with other people from the TVN team. So what are some of the rewards for helping out? For a pledge of $20; you will get a season pass for the 2013 season of Tornado Chasers. Plus a 2013 Tornado Chasers wallpaper, a digitally signed JPEG photo of the Tornado Chasers team, and a thank you email from Reed and the team. For a pledge of $100; you will get a signed copy of Into the Storm, Reed Timmer’s autobiography. You will also get: Three 2013 Season Passes, plus Two 2012 Season Bundles. Additional rewards include: a 2013 Tornado Chasers wallpaper, a digitally signed JPEG photo of the Tornado Chasers team, and a thank you email from Reed and the team.
Some of the rewards get even better if you pledge more money. For a pledge of $500; you will get a 30-minute one-on-one conversation with Reed Timmer via phone or Skype. For a pledge of $3000; you get to have dinner with Reed Timmer in Oklahoma. And for a pledge of $10,000; you get to go storm chasing with the team! As of March 1st, this Kickstarter project has around $13,300 of the $75,000 goal they need to be funded. And as you know in Kickstarter, a project is not funded until the fundraising goal is reached! This project only has 26 days left to reach the $75,000 goal.
To learn more about Tornado Chasers by Reed Timmer and to pledge money; go to: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tornadochasers/tornado-chasers
Learn more about TVN Weather at: http://tvnweather.com/
While you reading this post; why not take a look at this TVN Podcast featuring ABC 33/40 Chief Meteorologist James Spann.
This weekend from Friday February 22nd to Sunday February 24th is a very important weekend in Alabama. This is the weekend to go to your local retailers to stock on items that can get you prepared for severe weather. If you live in Alabama, you know what we have gone through in weather. We have had the horrible tornado outbreak on April 27th 2011. And we have had major snowstorms, hurricanes, flooding, wind storms, big hail, heat waves, cold waves, and everything you can think of when it comes to extreme weather. Alabama experiences some of the most diverse weather in the world. And YOU are responsible for being prepared if you are without power and water for a week or more. You are also responsible for having supplies ready if you have to evacuate.
After the governor formed the Tornado Recovery Action Council; one of the recommendations was to hold a sales tax holiday for supplies to get ready for severe weather. And right now you can go to a retailer or shop online to get your supplies.
My Weather Radio.
Some cities and counties are also participating in the sales tax holiday. The first thing everyone should have in their homes is a weather radio. You should have several ways to get a weather warning. For me I have a weather radio, alerts through my phone, TV, weather siren nearby, and the internet including social media. Some people still relies solely on an outdoor weather siren for weather warnings which should NEVER be done. You need to have multiple ways to get the warning. Weather radios are not very expensive to get and you can program them using the SAME codes. Click on the link to find your county.
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/CntyCov/nwrAL.htm
Here is also a great video on how to program your SAME code into your weather radio.
Everyone should also prepare an emergency kit for everyone in your family. We all keep hearing these reports of people waiting for the government to come rescue them. But YOU are responsible for getting the supplies ready to be without help for several days.
My bottled Water Stash.
No one can come help you immediately after the disaster has struck. It takes time for rescuers to reach the area that was severely damaged. So what do you need in your disaster kit? You need a first aid kit, flashlight, batteries, a battery-powered or hank crank radio, enough water for each person for three days, portable or canned food, fully charged cell phone, cash, extra medication, whistle, bleach, trash bags, fire extinguisher, masks, and a generator. For a list of even more suggestions for your emergency kit click on the link below.
http://www.ready.gov/document/family-supply-list
Here is a great video of the stuff that you need in an emergency kit.
For a list of cities and counties participating in the sales tax holiday click on the link.
http://revenue.alabama.gov/salestax/WPholiday.htm
Here is a list of the items you can buy sales tax-free during the 2013 Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday. ($60 or less or generators under $1000)
This was just amazing! On Tuesday night a huge broke out in an empty warehouse in Chicago. Many fire departments came out to fight the fire. Lots of water was used to put out this fire. The firefighters were fighting this fire in very cold conditions. The temperature in Chicago was in the low teens. So after the fire was put out, we were left with stunning scenes of the building, streets, and everything else that was covered in lots of ice! Here are some of my favorite photos and videos from this fire.
Here is a awesome photo gallery from the Chicago Tribune. http://galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com/chi-511-fire-20130122/.
15 Days Left Until Christmas
At the North Pole:
Yuck! Don’t you hate those days when the weather is bad outside and you have to stay indoors. The elves at the North Pole hate those days as well. But instead of rain its snow during most of the year. The North Pole as a full-time meteorologist that monitors the weather. And they partner with weather bureaus in Canada and the United States to keep everyone up to date with the weather. The weather up there determines everything from deliveries to outdoor fun!
Christmas Song:
Blue Christmas was written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson. The song was first recorded by Doye O’Dell in 1948 and was popularized the following year in three separate recordings: one by country artist Ernest Tubb; one by bandleader Hugo Winterhalter and his orchestra; and one by bandleader Russ Morgan and his orchestra. But the best version is the one recorded by Elvis Presley in 1957!
Adult Gift Idea:
I know many adults enjoy having hot drinks. So why not get a customized coffee mug. You can feature any picture of your choice on the mug. Find at Etsy.com.
Child Gift Idea:
Many kids love to draw. So why not get the Tic Tac Toe Chalkboard Wall Vinyl. You can play a game then draw whatever you want. Find at Etsy.com.
Christmas Charity:
Outdoor Friends Forever was started by Jim Hardy in 2010 as a way for disabled children to enjoy the outdoors. The kids get to go fishing and even hunting! Hardy was severely injured in 2000 after a fall from a treestand sent him crashing 20 feet to the Alabama ground. A spinal cord injury has left him confined to a wheelchair but that does not stop him! This organization needs donations to help continue the mission of providing children with disabilities with an outdoor adventure.
Go to http://www.outdoorfriendsforever.org/ to learn more and here is a video about Outdoor Friends Forever.
Sorry I have to say this. But whoever was this person who filmed this massive tornado was stupid! This person in Algarve Portugal was filming behind a window looking at a soccer field. In the video you will see debris flying around. And you will see the roof peel back and the fencing collapse. This person also filmed all of this while eating! I am glad the person is okay but he was stupid. The Weather Institute (IM) placed the Algarve under orange alert – a warning of moderate to high risk meteorological situation. So this person should have taken shelter. But the footage he captured was crazy! Enjoy!
http://theportugalnews.com/news/tornado-causes-pandemonium-in-algarve/27216
James Spann has won the NWA Broadcaster of the Year Award. And he was up at the annual NWA conference in Madison, WI to accept the award. Here is the video from ABC 33/40.
Here is another video from Magic City Post with a great interview of James Spann.
Congratulations to James Spann! He is truly a great hero who has saved countless lives throughout the years!
UPDATE: Check out the new Wheaties box with ABC 33/40 meteorologist James Spann gracing the cover! (Come on, you know it’s doctored but it’s funny!)
Another thing I really like to do is follow the weather! I am always amazed with what weather can do. In Alabama you can see just about any type of weather. If you are amazed by thunderstorms, high winds, large hail, lightning, high heat, flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, bitter cold, snowstorms, and icestorms. You will love seeing the weather in Alabama. I will use social media to warn people about severe weather when it occurs. And I also like using my camera to take photos and videos of various weather scenes in the area. This video shows the high winds and heavy rain of a thunderstorm moving in.
This picture shows heavy lightning in the background.
Here are some pictures of a shelf cloud and the storms moving in.
And my favorites are sunset/sunrise pictures. People really love these!
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