KATC StormTeam 3 Weather BLOG

We are still on track for a spring-like weekend with warm temperatures likely and a few isolated showers possible.  A weakening frontal boundary in the northern part of the state will sag a little farther to the south tonight before it washes out across northern portions of Acadiana tomorrow.  A few scattered showers may be possible tonight but with the weakening frontal boundary and lighter pressure gradient nearby, we could be setting the stage for some fog to develop later tonight.  This weekend temperatures will stay mild at night and warm in the afternoon with highs in the mid-70s tomorrow and upper 70s to near 80 Sunday.  Strong storms, a squall line, and a significant severe weather threat will develop in the Plains and Texas late Sunday and will head our way Monday.  It appears that there will be an “all-mode” severe weather threat Monday with heavy rainfall, storms containing damaging winds and hail, and a distinct possibility of tornadoes somewhere close to home.  As I have mentioned in previous entries, the marine layer in the Gulf of Mexico, just offshore, is generally a severe weather mitigator in our area.  However, this upcoming event will have more than enough dynamics to overcome that feature and with a good chunk of the polar jet driving this system there will likely be favorable wind shear profiles.  Per the Storm Prediction Center, expect the action to be near the Texas/Louisiana border well after midnight Sunday with a strong squall line pushing through the area Monday.  Ahead of the squall, individual “discrete” cells may develop and become supercells Monday, so at the very least expect Acadiana to be under a tornado watch at just about any time.  After Monday it will briefly chill down again, with the next weather-maker approaching for Thursday.  Keep it tuned to KATC this weekend for the latest on Monday’s expected severe weather.

Milder temperatures and a spring-like weekend are on tap.   But I am still anticipated a fairly significant weather event to develop in the Plains Sunday into Monday.  For us it will likely mean high rain chances with strong storms and the probability of threat of severe weather, per the Storm Prediction Center.  In the near-term expect milder conditions tonight with early evening lows screeching to a halt in the lower 50s thanks to breezy S/SE winds that will abate somewhat overnight.  Tomorrow will bring partly cloudy and warm conditions with highs pushing into the mid-70s.  A weakening frontal boundary will approach the area tomorrow evening possibly sparking off a few showers late tomorrow afternoon until around midnight tomorrow night but rain chances shouldn’t exceed 30%.  Saturday will be sunny and pleasant with highs in the low-mid 70s with partly cloudy, breezy and very warm conditions likely Sunday.  The mercury could approach 80 degrees for Sunday afternoon.  Storms will be likely Monday with all modes of severe weather possible (damaging winds, hail and isolated tornadoes).  So we’ll continue with the “heads up” for Monday.  The National Weather Service in Lake Charles is continuing with their Severe Weather Awareness Week concentrating on heavy rains and flooding today.  Also check out NOAA’s Precipitation Analysis Page and their Hydro Page for good sources of information.  More on Monday’s event tomorrow.

If you have been following our 600pm newscasts over the last few days I have been showing you how to get the latest weather information into a Google Earth environment.  Tonight’s link is to Guiweather.com.  I think this is far and the best site available that not only provides radar and warning data, but also provides nearly live world-wide lightning data.  For us that’s real important since we can see up to 100 days per year with active thunderstorms in Acadiana.  In addition, you can loop lightning data over a user-defined time period, so it not only looks cool, but is quite informative.  I also love the way this site provides buoy and ship data offshore, and when it comes to tropical season, this site provides the latest hurricane model data, hurricane forecast tracks and Hurricane Hunter Recon data.   In addition, you can also display current conditions nationwide and get the latest FAA Airport delays.  Remember not to load too many items in your Google Earth because it can bring the system down to a crawl.  Once you load a new product in, it’s a good idea to toggle it off, especially before you download the next data product.  If all of the information we have provided over the last few days is not enough to satiate your thirst for more weather data, try doing a google search for whatever you’re interested in putting into the earth and throw in a “kmz” or “kml” in the query which are the file extensions that work with Google Earth.  I would though practice safe surfing and downloading, meaning make sure your antivirus and antispyware are up to date.  I haven’t heard of any malicious code being transmitted in kmz/kml file extensions, but the more popular this stuff becomes, the more likely there will be bad folks out there attaching malware.  If you do come across an interesting mash-up that you would like to share with me or our viewers, let me know at rob.perillo@katctv.com. 

Hopefully you have had the opportunity to download Google Earth and have tried some of the links that load kmz/kml files to overlay on the earth.  Tonight on our 600pm newscast I am demonstrating some great utilities that you can add to your Google Earth.  These are some of the same mash-ups I use at home…if I’m not directly dialed into the Weather Lab that is!  There are plenty of sites that provide satellite imagery and the basic Google Earth package comes with limited satellite data.  But check out an experimental site that the National Severe Storm Center is running.  You have additional access to radar data, enhanced satellite imagery and severe warning information.  Again be careful not to toggle too many applications on or else you will bog down your earth! 

Also if you want to keep abreast of our local hydrological situation and want to know what rivers are doing locally or nationwide check out NOAA’s Hydrological download.   

People who work and/or play offshore should also check out Justmagic.com.  There is a wealth of oceanographic information available on this site where you can get the latest information on winds and waves in the Gulf, check out water temperatures and depth, or  want to explore worldwide shipwreck information. Be patient on getting onto this site as I believe it’s an overseas website and I have experienced some latency in retrieving data in the past.   Once you get there, this site can keep you busy for hours, but if you crave more, wait to see the information you can get your hands on tomorrow…that’s on Acadiana’s NewsChannel at 600pm.

The National Weather Service in Lake Charles has deemed this week as Severe Weather Awareness Week.  Check out the NWS’s Sam Shamburger’s presentation on severe weather.  In addition to NWS initiative I wanted to empower our viewers with additional tools to track our daily weather, like having your own Weather Lab at home or work!  While there are great weather web pages available through the NWS, Storm Prediction Center, National Hurricane Center and many others.  There are some great utilities or “mash-ups” that can make your Google Earth sing.  (Make sure you have already downloaded Google Earth). As I said yesterday, you need a broadband internet connection, and put this on your fastest/newest computer…this works with many varieties of windows, but as always the fastest processor, best video board, and most ram wins.  But generally any pc that is newer than 4-5 years will be able to handle the program.

A great place to start would be through the Metaltoad Media page that will get you state by state, and radar by radar information that will include local watches and warnings.  It is probably wisest to go the individual radar page and just download the Lake Charles site only as to not bog down your Google Earth. Once downloaded check the files (which will be put in your temporary Google Earth folder) and expand the file boxes.  From there you can get the latest radar data, including velocity, estimated precipitation, and local NWS warnings for Acadiana.  When toggled on, the data will automatically update every 5 minutes, but you can configure each item to update sooner if you go to “properties” and set a higher refresh rate.  I wouldn’t advise this however as the data is set to come in on an interval that the Weather Service sends them out, but for local warnings it should get you the data in a more timely fashion   Tomorrow we’ll take you to some of the best weather satellite and offshore sites and other goodies for your Google Earth on our 6pm newscast. 

February has been an active weather month in Acadiana with numerous reports of severe weather, particularly over the last couple of weeks.  Interestingly enough, I have taken many phone calls and emails from local schools and businesses that did not have television access to see our latest warnings/severe weather alerts, or what we call, “weather cut-ins” over normal programming.  While I don’t think there will be a true replacement for having us meteorologists disseminate pertinent weather information live through our airwaves, a lot of people are looking for the next best thing through the internet.  While katc.com has a wealth of weather information, there are some great computer utilities out there that can empower your home pc…provided you have a broadband connection and your computer is robust enough to handle a Google Earth.  So download the latest version of Google Earth, play with it, and check out some of the great links from the web page.  Remember the more add-ons that you throw at Google Earth the more it will slow your system down.  So choose wisely.  Over the next few days, on our newscasts at 6pm, I’ll be taking you on a tour of the best weather programs for your own home “Weather Lab”. 

Mostly cloudy skies developed this morning as a front passed to our north. While we missed out on the front and rain, our neighbors to the north around Shreveport had a nice cool down as highs only reached into the upper 50s today. When the clouds cleared in the afternoon we were able to allow the sun to heat us up and we got up to 78.

We stay well above average Monday with more clouds moving in ahead of the next front expected to make it here late Monday night into Tuesday morning. Some computer models are beginning to back off on the moisture ahead of this system so right now I’m expecting a quick and weak squall line to move through. Although the storms are not expected to be strong, we will notice a big difference in temperatures behind the front. It should clear up by Tuesday afternoon as high pressure moves in and highs will only reach into the low 60s. By Wednesday morning we will get another chance to feel temperatures in the 30s. It’s just a reminder that winter is not quite over.

Enjoy your week!

The National Weather Service in Lake Charles has just issued their storm surveys from the tornadoes reported in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes with both tornadoes reported at EF0 (65-85mph) winds.  In addition to some reports of up to golf ball size hail and sporadic light wind damage, addition EF0 tornado damage was surveyed in Northern St Landry Parish into Southern Avoyelles Parish in the vicinity of Morrow, Big Cane and DuPont.  I erroneously reported an EF1 tornado at Palmetto for last night, but it was the survey from the early morning tornado we saw on the 17^th.  The data came in together with the surveys from last night and I hastily added it to our graphics just before my weathercast at 600pm.  Apologies for the confusion.

After a rough couple of weeks of weather we are expecting a nice and quiet weekend…and a relatively quiet 7-8 days, with the exception of a strong cold front for next Tuesday.  In the near-term expect mostly cloudy, breezy and cooler conditions tonight with lows dropping into the mid-upper 40s by morning.  Lots of sunshine and seasonable temperatures are expected for tomorrow with highs reaching the upper 60s to near 70.  Sunday will bring some clouds, especially to the west with warmer temperatures reaching the low-mid 70s.  We may be pushing 80 degrees on Monday with partly cloudy skies ahead of a strong cold front that will barrel through the area Tuesday morning.  The moisture return before the front should be limited but there will likely be some shower activity late Monday night into early Tuesday morning.  Some storms may be possible but we’re not expecting any severe weather for now.  Much colder air will pour in for Tuesday with temperatures dropping into the 30s for Wednesday morning and perhaps to a frosty lower-mid 30s for Thursday morning.  Milder temperatures will return for Friday into the following weekend.  The long range models have been fairly consistent indicating a rather strong weather system around the 2^nd or 3^rd of March so consider this a really early heads-up!  Have a good weekend!

Busy afternoon today with reports of tornadoes in Cameron, Calcasieu and Avoyelles Parishes.  Reports of up to golf ball size hail and more wind damage across northern St Landry Parish are coming in as of this writing (635pm).  The tornado watch continues for all of Acadiana through 900pm and there are indications that more severe weather may affect the area at least through midnight, perhaps through 200am for St Mary Parish.  An additional tornado watch may be issued later this evening.  Keep it tuned to KATC for the latest.  Rob

We’re entering a period of where we are going to see several rounds of shower and thunderstorm activity.  Active weather will move in tonight with the jet stream becoming quite favorable for showers and storms.  A series of nearly impossible to time disturbances in the sub-tropical jet will fuel the storms through tomorrow with more favorable dynamics for stronger storms developing tomorrow.  We remain hatched in for a slight risk of severe storms tomorrow but the shear profiles aloft do not appear to be too impressive on a large scale.  However, there could be a few storms that get out of hand especially tomorrow across Central Louisiana.  Damaging winds with an increasing hail factor will be possible tomorrow so don’t be surprised if we are under some sort of weather watch area at some point tomorrow.  The entire weather system won’t clear the area until midday Friday so the risk of showers and storms will linger into at least early Friday.  It will start to feel quite soupy tomorrow with high humidity and temperatures likely to reach into the mid-70s.  This weekend is still looking favorable, but some scattered shower activity may be possible for Sunday into Monday.  Highs this weekend will be near 70 Saturday, mid 70s Sunday and possibly the upper 70s Monday.  But a strong cold front should bring another chance of strong storms very late Monday night into early Tuesday with the a brief shot of arctic air likely mid-week.  We could see frosty conditions for next Wednesday and perhaps Thursday mornings so don’t plant the pansies yet!