The Good Friday Storm

I hate to say a statement like this at this early stage in my meteorology career but I have never seen quite a tornadic storm come across the St. Louis area in my entire life. Good Friday 2011 started off with thunderstorms early around central and eastern Missouri. A few were severe with large hail, but the storms moved out and temperatures were still able to climb into the 80s for afternoon highs despite quite a bit of cloud cover. However, the cloud cover did nothing essentially as a warm front lifted far enough north and southerly winds warmed temperatures up and brought more additional moisture in to add more fuel that thunderstorms can feed on. Sure enough, I was getting ready for the 5 PM Newscast anticipating some severe weather. Meteorologists Michelle Bogowith and Eric Aldrich were also on duty in case any storms got really serious.

3:30 PM rolled in and after I finished taping teases for the upcoming 5 PM newscast, our weather crawl popped up on the air to let us and the viewers know that we just went under a tornado watch until 10 PM.

Shortly after, around 4:00 PM, we started to see a thunderstorm fire up southwest of Sedalia in west central Missouri. Other thunderstorms started to ramp up around the Lake of the Ozarks and they would eventually be issued severe thunderstorm warnings. However, the storm that formed around Sedalia really got going around 4:30 PM when the first tornado warning was issued. Eric and Michelle were miked up while I was driving the radar. The video below picks up a few minutes before the 5 PM news was supposed to begin...

The TiVo stopped at 5:30 PM but we stayed on the air because the storm was showing an impressive structure as it continued into Callaway County and eventually put new tornado warnings up for Osage, Montgomery and Gasconade Counties. The TiVo kicked back into action a few minutes before the 6 PM news began but of course, Mother Nature kept us busy and made sure we didn't have a newscast...

After the TiVo let off at 6:30 PM, we kept going until about 6:57 PM right up until the tornado warning for Montgomery County expired at 7 PM. After the storm left the viewing area, I kept watching it hold together and head right for northern St. Louis County. It was that point I realized that we spent the last 3 hours tracking the beginning of the Good Friday Tornado that would hit St. Louis. I was watching streaming coverage from the local CBS station in St. Louis while watching the storm itself on the radar back at KOMU.  My mouth dropped to the floor when the radar picked this up...

First off, I have never seen that strong of a rotation on radar come into the St. Louis area EVER! What's more amazing is the debris ball that the reflectivity was picking up. There are times where if there's enough debris being drawn into the storm and into the circulation, the radar can pick it up. What's more scary is that this tornado was actually reported by Lambert International Airport and it was doing damage to a heavily populated area.

Here's what was unveiled after the storm passed through St. Louis as seen on KOMU and eventually news sites and TV channels around the world.

Beaverton Drive in Bridgeton, MO. EF-3 Damage.

Concourse C at Lambert International Airport

One photo I found that really stood out to me was taken by KMOV Chief Meteorologist Steve Templeton. He was surveying EF-4 damage in another community in Bridgeton and found a house reduced to rubble. But, have a look at the picture.

Look at how the stairs and some of the inner walls are pretty much left intact. This is why I or any other meteorologist on the air tells you to either to get underground and hide under something sturdy like heavy furniture or under the stairs or to put as many walls between you and the outside as possible.

Having a day off work on the following Monday, I decided that I wanted to see the damage for myself. I grabbed my camera and here's what I found...

If you're interested in seeing the results of the survey results of the tornadoes around St. Louis that night, the National Weather Service has everything compiled into one neat page you can go to by clicking here.

It's amazing that a strong tornado hasn't moved through the St. Louis area since 1967 and caused this much damage. What's truly amazing is that after all the damage and destruction caused by the tornado, not a single life was lost on Good Friday. That is what I call a true Easter miracle...

Whoa! I REALLY Need a New Post!

It's been a little while, hasn't it? I apologize, folks. Life likes to throw plenty of curve balls and keep me on my toes. I've been to Columbia for more work at KOMU for Easter weekend and have been busy applying for numerous positions while still making money at Schnucks. I am finally putting together a post about the big storm that rocked Missouri and St. Louis on Good Friday. I'll just say it was an amazing day in my meteorology career that I'll never forget. I'll have the post up later today.

Severe Weather Outbreak Once Again for Today and Tonight

Today's one of those days where you need to pay attention to the weather. There's a moderate risk for severe weather stretching from Arkansas through Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Around that, a slight risk covers an even broader area across the central United States.

All of the counties in red are under a tornado watch until 9 PM tonight. I looked at the probabilities table with this watch and it has a high risk for tornadoes with any storms that pop up this afternoon. It's not a guarantee that everyone will see tornadoes but the upper level dynamics and ingredients at the surface are making the environment for supercells that have the capability for producing tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds.

The bottom line is that if you live in any of the counties highlighted or in the moderate risk area today, be sure that you have a way to get the latest weather information whether you're at home or on the road. The storms will fire up anytime now and they will be fast movers. Have a safety plan in place and ready to go when your county or town comes under a tornado or severe thunderstorm warning. Stay safe, folks!

Another Sunday, Another Severe Weather Outbreak!

Good early morning, folks! Missouri saw some severe weather last Sunday and it looks like we'll be hitting repeat for this coming Sunday. SPC is looking at a really impressive storm system coming in over the weekend. With a lot of ingredients coming together, the area above highlighted in red will likely see quite a severe weather outbreak. Not only will most of Missouri see a repeat of last Sunday's storms, but Illinois, Indiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan will see some strong storms on Sunday and heading into Sunday night. As SPC updates the outlook area later today and I get a better handle on the system, I'll have an update later today. Have a good day, everyone.

Severe Weather Likely in MO Tonight

Good evening, folks. After quite a warm day across Mid-Missouri with record breaking highs in the upper 80s (with a few spots around 90), we're finally starting to see thunderstorms form due north of Kirksville, MO all the way towards Manhattan, KS. A tornado watch is in effect for far northeastern Missouri until midnight and a severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for western Missouri and eastern Kansas until midnight. I'll have updates on any strong and severe storms on my Twitter unless I have to assist Chief Weathercaster Dave Schmidt with severe weather coverage. If you want updates on warnings, simply go to the National Weather Service homepage and check on our coverage at KOMU's website. Stay safe, folks.

How Long Has It Been?

Hey, everyone! My apologies for not keeping up with my blog as of late. I have been quite busy with many things in my life. If I'm not working at Schnucks to bring money in, I'm at KOMU in Columbia filling in for the weather team. If I'm not at KOMU or in Columbia for work or play, I'm still actively looking for job openings as a broadcast meteorologist. Despite whatever is going on, it's a very exciting time in my life and I feel like a job for me will definitely come along either before or just as summer starts up.

On a weather related note, I did do more on-air work at KOMU last Saturday and Columbia actually ended up seeing at least 2.5 more inches of snow. Last time I checked the statistics with the St. Louis NWS Office, Columbia is 1.5 inches away from matching the highest snowfall total for a season. The standing record is 54.9 inches from the 1977-1978 season and Columbia's 2010-2011 total is at 53.4 inches. It's absolutely amazing how much snow several areas of Missouri has seen this past season with numerous rounds of snow storms this past winter and the huge blizzard back in February. When I made the forecast for Columbia on Saturday, I kept telling myself, "I'm not putting snow in the forecast. I'm NOT putting snow in the forecast." When I made the forecast for Tuesday (yesterday), I originally had it being all rain. However, the models kept wavering with the rain/snow chances and I felt that I should play it safe by including a possible snow mix. Thankfully, my first instinct was right and we didn't see any snow yesterday. It's one of the few times that I'm glad that I was wrong since everyone saw enough snow this season.

I am headed back to KOMU again to work the Friday and Saturday shift and I realized that I'm working on April Fools' Day. I'm contemplating doing something in the April Fools' spirit but not something that will get me in serious trouble with the station or with the kind folks at the FCC. If anyone had interesting ideas on what I should do, feel free to leave your ideas below.

Time to turn in for bed. Have a good Wednesday, folks!