The storms started going about 19z today in Oklahoma and Kansas. Oklahoma of course had the discrete supercell structure to their storms. The storm that started just south of Woodward got up by and probably into the warm front and went tornadic off and on for quite some time.
The LMN 18z sounding had over 700 SRH, but the CAPE was not as impressive while the OUN sounding had modest tornadic SRH of 280 but better CAPE. No wonder three separate storms already spawned tornadoes in between OUN and LMN. Another tornadic storm just slid south of Norman.
This has been a very active last month especially the last couple of weeks for severe weather. Transitioning ENSO episodes have shown to yield good severe weather seasons. This has proved to be no exception. A pretty classic triple point day in Oklahoma with discrete supercells giving way to an MCS overnight into eastern Oklahoma moving eastward.
Vortex 2 has made up for a lackluster 2009 with a pretty informative 2010. Let's hope they don't botch the research and come out with something promising in the next couple of years.
Stay Safe
Jim Thorpe
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Severe Wx Again in Oklahoma
The southern Plains is bracing for another round of severe weather today. Multiple tornadoes in Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, and Oklahoma were just a precursor to today's event. The difluence aloft is tremendous with a very strong curved jet present aloft. A very well defined dryline, low level jet (LLJ), and drier cooler air aloft make for a perfect recipe for a sever weather outbreak.
The SPC just upgraded the severe weather risk to High across central Oklahoma. It will be interesting to see the 18 or 20z soundings that will be sent off this afternoon. The storm relative helicity looks to be large again, probably exceeding 350 and maybe even over 400 for most of Oklahoma east of the dryline.
The MCS that passed over this morning has moved out and solar heating can begin again as the dryline starts to tighten in western Oklahoma/eastern Panhandle of Texas. Look to bulges in the dryline for enhanced convergence and storm producing areas as well as high pockets of theta-e next to a tight gradient of theta-e. These are favorable areas for chase windows.
If you are in the Wichita Falls, TX TV area, be sure to tune into your CBS station and watch friend of the blog Ben Walnick do his thing. I also know that Joey P and Rick H aka Maverick will be out chasing today, but I doubt they will have to go very far.
I will update more in a couple of hours.
Jim Thorpe
The SPC just upgraded the severe weather risk to High across central Oklahoma. It will be interesting to see the 18 or 20z soundings that will be sent off this afternoon. The storm relative helicity looks to be large again, probably exceeding 350 and maybe even over 400 for most of Oklahoma east of the dryline.
The MCS that passed over this morning has moved out and solar heating can begin again as the dryline starts to tighten in western Oklahoma/eastern Panhandle of Texas. Look to bulges in the dryline for enhanced convergence and storm producing areas as well as high pockets of theta-e next to a tight gradient of theta-e. These are favorable areas for chase windows.
If you are in the Wichita Falls, TX TV area, be sure to tune into your CBS station and watch friend of the blog Ben Walnick do his thing. I also know that Joey P and Rick H aka Maverick will be out chasing today, but I doubt they will have to go very far.
I will update more in a couple of hours.
Jim Thorpe
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
NBA Thoughts
There has to be some sort of flop/flail off between Vince Carter and Paul Pierce. Both act like they have been shot when any sort of contact finds them. Maybe Paul Pierce has flashbacks to when got stabbed? (ok low blow, I apologize) And the inevitable sniper shot injury to Mr Glass aka Vince Carter just happened as he slipped on the floor and couldn't figure which part of his body to grab in pain.
I mean they are making Europeans look tough. Both get carried off by teammates at least once a year. Paul Pierce looks like he just became Darrell Stingley only to return 15 minutes later and play like an All-Star. And as I write this, Mr. Glass just returned from his sniper shot injury.
I said this at the beginning of the season, the Celtics are the best team in the East if they are healthy and motivated. Well, this didn't happen until the playoffs. Now they are looking like legit contenders and like they could seriously challenge the Lakers for the title (assuming the beat Los Suns). Rasheed Wallace has made me eat my own words along with a lot of other sports writers. He has played hard and well throughout the playoffs especially against the Cavs and now the Magic. His defense, rebounding, and offensive repertoire help keep the Celts in front as their lead dwindled in game 1.
The Magic have a lot of good parts, but they don't seem to have a good rotation or consistent play from their big money guys in tough games. Speaking of this, Rashard Lewis apparently watched JaMarcus Russell's Motivation Video before this series and maybe even throughout this whole season. He looks tentative and uninterested for making 15-16 million per season.
The NBA Lottery yielded the Wizards the first pick. I wonder if Gilbert Arenas sent him an NRA packet as part of his orientation to the Wizards. Also, the new Russian owner of the Nets looked like he wanted to have the KGB 'disappear' Mrs. Polian and David Stern. Also, over/under is set at 363 for number of time Jay Bilas says length in the next 4 weeks.
The Lakers looked unbeatable last night. Kobe looked rested after the long layoff and Lamar Odom and Gasol owned the paint and provided havoc for the weaker front line of the Suns. Robin Lopez is good, but he can't shut down any of the bigs, except Bynum, but Mrs. Polian could shut Bynum down when he's not interested in playing.
Well, I'll finish watching the game and provide some weather input tomorrow.
Jim Thorpe
I mean they are making Europeans look tough. Both get carried off by teammates at least once a year. Paul Pierce looks like he just became Darrell Stingley only to return 15 minutes later and play like an All-Star. And as I write this, Mr. Glass just returned from his sniper shot injury.
I said this at the beginning of the season, the Celtics are the best team in the East if they are healthy and motivated. Well, this didn't happen until the playoffs. Now they are looking like legit contenders and like they could seriously challenge the Lakers for the title (assuming the beat Los Suns). Rasheed Wallace has made me eat my own words along with a lot of other sports writers. He has played hard and well throughout the playoffs especially against the Cavs and now the Magic. His defense, rebounding, and offensive repertoire help keep the Celts in front as their lead dwindled in game 1.
The Magic have a lot of good parts, but they don't seem to have a good rotation or consistent play from their big money guys in tough games. Speaking of this, Rashard Lewis apparently watched JaMarcus Russell's Motivation Video before this series and maybe even throughout this whole season. He looks tentative and uninterested for making 15-16 million per season.
The NBA Lottery yielded the Wizards the first pick. I wonder if Gilbert Arenas sent him an NRA packet as part of his orientation to the Wizards. Also, the new Russian owner of the Nets looked like he wanted to have the KGB 'disappear' Mrs. Polian and David Stern. Also, over/under is set at 363 for number of time Jay Bilas says length in the next 4 weeks.
The Lakers looked unbeatable last night. Kobe looked rested after the long layoff and Lamar Odom and Gasol owned the paint and provided havoc for the weaker front line of the Suns. Robin Lopez is good, but he can't shut down any of the bigs, except Bynum, but Mrs. Polian could shut Bynum down when he's not interested in playing.
Well, I'll finish watching the game and provide some weather input tomorrow.
Jim Thorpe
Monday, May 17, 2010
Quick Shave Points
- The story and how 'Worldwide' Wes Johnson could heavily impact where NBA players end up this summer. He has been known to 'steer' certain players to certain programs and he has very close to Calipari and James. Here is a story from espn via Chicago Tribune...
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5194333
- Michael Ballack is out for the World Cup. Pretty big blow to the Germans, but our soccer expert Dat Boi says they should still easily make the quarters without hime
- The Celtics set the tone for the series with physical play against the Magic yesterday. Per usual the Celts almost blew a big 4th quarter lead and the Magic surged back. This series will go 7 games.
- Suns-Lakers have their first game tonight in what should be a very entertaining series. If Robin Lopez is healthy, the Suns have a chance.
- Lou Pinella sounded off for the second time in about 3 weeks after the Cubs have lost 7 straight to the Pirates and are 2-8 in their last ten games. Buster Olney blogged the Cubs are in real trouble due to their poor record against a soft early season schedule.
Till Next Time
Jim Thorpe
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5194333
- Michael Ballack is out for the World Cup. Pretty big blow to the Germans, but our soccer expert Dat Boi says they should still easily make the quarters without hime
- The Celtics set the tone for the series with physical play against the Magic yesterday. Per usual the Celts almost blew a big 4th quarter lead and the Magic surged back. This series will go 7 games.
- Suns-Lakers have their first game tonight in what should be a very entertaining series. If Robin Lopez is healthy, the Suns have a chance.
- Lou Pinella sounded off for the second time in about 3 weeks after the Cubs have lost 7 straight to the Pirates and are 2-8 in their last ten games. Buster Olney blogged the Cubs are in real trouble due to their poor record against a soft early season schedule.
Till Next Time
Jim Thorpe
Friday, May 14, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Quick Thoughts
- The Cavs and Lebron look much better, but Lebron and his teammates just seem off to me, like something happened. Maybe its all the pressure that has affected the relationship or something else happened. Either way, they are playing better tonight.
- Roy Williams is an idiot. He is the third or fourth best receiver on the Cowboys. He is not the man. Jerry Jones probably kicks himself every day about that trade and he probably went off on him too during that drunken tirade last month, but the guy ran out of room on his phone
-Here's hoping that Orlando makes it to the Finals so the Cougar Watch for both teams in the Finals will be good.
-Royals fired their manager...They and the Pirates need to wake up and compete.
- And Shaq is still huge...wow. And Antwan Jamison looks like he is about ready to wet the bed. B/w him and VC, I am not surprised they never won a title at UNC.
- Storms ripped through the Plains and Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys again today. The storm season has been relatively mild this year but with the exception of about 3-4 days which were really intense.
Until Later
Jim Thorpe
- Roy Williams is an idiot. He is the third or fourth best receiver on the Cowboys. He is not the man. Jerry Jones probably kicks himself every day about that trade and he probably went off on him too during that drunken tirade last month, but the guy ran out of room on his phone
-Here's hoping that Orlando makes it to the Finals so the Cougar Watch for both teams in the Finals will be good.
-Royals fired their manager...They and the Pirates need to wake up and compete.
- And Shaq is still huge...wow. And Antwan Jamison looks like he is about ready to wet the bed. B/w him and VC, I am not surprised they never won a title at UNC.
- Storms ripped through the Plains and Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys again today. The storm season has been relatively mild this year but with the exception of about 3-4 days which were really intense.
Until Later
Jim Thorpe
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
I'm Back...Part Dos
There has been some awesome weather around the country in the last 6 weeks. I'll just throw some thoughts around...
- May 10 may go down with May 3rd for Oklahoma. It might be more in the arena of May 8-9th, 2003, but nonethless it goes down as one of the more premium and memorable severe weather days in Oklahoma. Talking with fellow blog contributor B-Dubs... the soundings, upper air maps, and radar returns were about as classic and textbook as you could get. The conditions were perfect for widespread discrete tornadic supercells. Props to friend of the blog Rick Hluchan who was in not only the National Weather Center but working the NWS on May 10. He said you could see the Norman tornado touchdown from the office. Our thoughts and prayers do go out to the deceased, injured, and to all those who were affected by the tornadoes on May 10.
- Quick side note. Dr. Kaplan at DRI is going to put together a NSF proposal about tornado genesis and tornado outbreaks in the coming weeks. It breaks from traditional theories and from the 'OU Dogma' about severe weather. If it gets funded, I could be a part of this. If you are interested in knowing more about this, let me know.
- The snow keeps coming out west. The Sierras have recieved storm after storm since I've left making me feel like I missed out on about another 5-10 ski days since I moved out to Colorado. You may ask why don't you ski in Colorado? Well, some resorts close at the beginning of April and other ones are too expensive for especially for the lack of snowpack left up around Vail and Summitt County. It snowed in Reno this monday and in Grand Junction 10 days ago. If you are backcountry skiing this late, be very careful of avalanches. Heavy, wet spring snow on top of months old snowpack can be very dangerous. Maybe our snow expert can blog about this soon...
- The fire season is still about a month away for most places out west. However, spring burning is going on and I got on my first two fires last week. It was really cool and informative to see how fires actually spread and what they burn given certain conditions. I've always said and will continue to say that you cannot fully understand your craft unless you see it in action. I hope to continue to go on fires to expand my knowledge and understanding of fire behavior and weather.
- The fire season outlook looks to be above normal for the northern Rockies and near normal around my area (Central Rockies). One thing to keep an eye is the below average snowpack in Colorado's high country in conjunction with the bug kill. This could become a problem in August, but we'll see.
In conclusion, congrats to the end of the semester for everyone and to everyone that is graduating.
Peace
Jim Thorpe
- May 10 may go down with May 3rd for Oklahoma. It might be more in the arena of May 8-9th, 2003, but nonethless it goes down as one of the more premium and memorable severe weather days in Oklahoma. Talking with fellow blog contributor B-Dubs... the soundings, upper air maps, and radar returns were about as classic and textbook as you could get. The conditions were perfect for widespread discrete tornadic supercells. Props to friend of the blog Rick Hluchan who was in not only the National Weather Center but working the NWS on May 10. He said you could see the Norman tornado touchdown from the office. Our thoughts and prayers do go out to the deceased, injured, and to all those who were affected by the tornadoes on May 10.
- Quick side note. Dr. Kaplan at DRI is going to put together a NSF proposal about tornado genesis and tornado outbreaks in the coming weeks. It breaks from traditional theories and from the 'OU Dogma' about severe weather. If it gets funded, I could be a part of this. If you are interested in knowing more about this, let me know.
- The snow keeps coming out west. The Sierras have recieved storm after storm since I've left making me feel like I missed out on about another 5-10 ski days since I moved out to Colorado. You may ask why don't you ski in Colorado? Well, some resorts close at the beginning of April and other ones are too expensive for especially for the lack of snowpack left up around Vail and Summitt County. It snowed in Reno this monday and in Grand Junction 10 days ago. If you are backcountry skiing this late, be very careful of avalanches. Heavy, wet spring snow on top of months old snowpack can be very dangerous. Maybe our snow expert can blog about this soon...
- The fire season is still about a month away for most places out west. However, spring burning is going on and I got on my first two fires last week. It was really cool and informative to see how fires actually spread and what they burn given certain conditions. I've always said and will continue to say that you cannot fully understand your craft unless you see it in action. I hope to continue to go on fires to expand my knowledge and understanding of fire behavior and weather.
- The fire season outlook looks to be above normal for the northern Rockies and near normal around my area (Central Rockies). One thing to keep an eye is the below average snowpack in Colorado's high country in conjunction with the bug kill. This could become a problem in August, but we'll see.
In conclusion, congrats to the end of the semester for everyone and to everyone that is graduating.
Peace
Jim Thorpe
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