And here is where my google ads will go.
What's a 'weather addict' you ask? My friends will tell you--it's me. Someone who would rather stare at a weather map than stick her head out of the door. Unless, of course, the summary map indicates there's a TVS and then I go outside and crane my neck looking for funnel clouds.
And here is where my google ads will go.
I live in an area of the United States that has a very unpredictable climate. Gardeners refer to it sometimes as the 'zombie zone'. I guess our weather depends upon which side of the jet stream we're on, but often, we sit right under it, so it's a coin toss. But what do I know...it's only my hobby. In any case, you just can't tell from one year to the next if you'll be barbecueing or swimming in October, or if you're trying to get the pool ready for winter in September. It's exciting...
Well, this has been an exciting couple of weeks, but mostly just scary. I live in central Indiana, so there have been some hellacious storm systems moving through.
During the evening/morning of the big Evansville tornado, the sirens went off for my county. This alarm was sounded at about 3:30 am. I live less than a mile from one set of sirens, and I sleep with my windows open. Did I hear it? Nope. Was there a bunch of thunder and lightening? Nope... so I didn't wake up until my housemate came upstairs to yell at me.
I found that disturbing enough to wonder if I shouldn't buy some sort of weather radio. (What? you say, A weather addict with no NOAA radio?) Then, watching the news, I see that there were many deaths in Vanderburgh County and surrounding areas because people were asleep and had no idea what was coming. And they lived in mobile homes. I shuddered...I don't live in a mobile home, but I've seen what F3s do to houses in their paths, and frankly, unless you're underground, you're toast.
I immediately began surfing for a NOAA radio. And bought one. It's a First Alert WX-268, and little did I know that I would need it two days after I got it! Tuesday November 15th was a very active day, skywise. The alarm went off 3 times and I spent a good deal of time in my safe room. Of course, all of this tornadic activity made me renew my interest in being trained as a spotter. Which led to my current obsession (see my current obsessions page, amateur radio. I never thought I'd do it, but I'm going to go get me first amateur radio license and invest in a portable radio.
This page takes you through an overview of what to look for, and brief explanations of how storms form, how they become tornadic, and what to look for clouds-wise. My mother always said I had my head in the clouds...she was right. The NWS holds special training sessions and these people perform a valuable service in the community. I want to be involved! Mostly because on the evening of the Evansville tornadoes, I was watching the weather news, and since my county was under a warning, the news guys were taking their VIPIR radar down to street level in my town. Interestingly, though there was a signature, and though radar indicated hellacious rain, and hail, and rotation, there was really nothing happening. While they were pointing out my area of town and saying that the worst part of the storm was directly overhead, I had my head out the door and it wasn't raining very much, no hail, no straightline winds, nothing. It made me realize that while these radar tools are awesome, they can't do it all. It takes a pair of eyes and ears. So onward I go... my new obsession!
Damn Interesting has an archived article here this is really pretty fascinating. Where does lightning get all that power? Old theories are gaining new favor!