Investigating the 2011 Joplin Tornado An Outline of the National Disaster Review Board Regardless of whether there is an attempt to fix NOAA through incremental improvement  or whether there is a “divorce” of the NWS from NOAA, neither has much of a chance to be successful without a National Disaster Review Board (NDRB) modeled after the hugely successful National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).  Accountability is not part of the culture inside the Beltway. The NDRB will be an essential step in that direction.  Regardless of our political preferences and affiliations, regardless of our thoughts on climate change, I believe most of us can agree on the following: Mega-disasters (i.e., southern Appalachians after Helene, Maui Wildfire, etc.) are increasing. The cause(s) of the increase, for this discussion, is irrelevant.  We have not had a major earthquake in decades nor a major volcanic eruption. Either of those could dwarf the destruction and loss of life that ...

Before reading Part II, I hope that you will take the time to read Part I . Accurate and timely weather forecasting and storm warnings (ask the people of southern Appalachia!) are vital to the safety and prosperity of our nation.  As I was reading Ryan's op-ed in yesterday's New York Times  I was surprised, even shocked, by some of the reader comments. So, I decided to take those comments and clarify some of the issues brought up by the Times'  readers. These topics are in no order: Forecast Accuracy NOAA is not the most accurate source of weather forecasts or even storm warnings. You can verify this for yourself by going to Forecast Advisor and enter your Zip Code (see below, highlighted in red). Yes, there are many weather apps that aren't worth a darn. But, I would check out the ones that consistently provide consistently superior forecasts for your location.  Specialized Forecasting While NWS should provide generalized marine forecasts (that is part of its manda...

NOAA Headquarters in Washington Today, the New York Times  published an op-ed pertaining to the future of NOAA and the NWS. It was written by Dr. Ryan Maue, an extremely smart scientist (PhD in tropical meteorology) who served as Chief Scientist for NOAA during the first Trump Administration. You will find the op-ed here . It is an important read. Excerpts: With the rising costs of and vulnerability to extreme weather in a changing climate for the United States, dismantling or defunding NOAA would be a catastrophic error. Rather, there is a golden opportunity to modernize the agency by expanding its capacity for research and innovation. This would not only help Americans better prepare for and survive extreme weather but also keep NOAA from falling further behind similar agencies in Europe. While the incoming administration may want to take a sledgehammer to the federal government, there is broad, bipartisan support for NOAA in Congress. It is the job of the incoming Republican-con...

We had the first snow since living with our new fireplace yesterday.  Being the safety-minded kind of guy I am, I wanted to double-check the owners manual. Good to know that the lawyers throughly checked it out. 🙄

  -- The Appalachian Catastrophe Continues -- Local Government Blocks Man From Placing an RV on His Own Land Because of 'Zoning' Please listen to the brief interview above with Shawn Hendricks where he talks about the continuing need in the southern Appalachians. He, like so many in the area, mentions that FEMA is nowhere to be found and that ridiculous local regulations are also hampering the recovery effort. I promise: the interview is well worth your time. It it Shawn who made the observation that is the title of this piece.  The red link also takes you to Operation Shelter (tweet below). Below, from Friday, is a brief tweet about their latest work. Please consider a donation!!  You will also find links to other worthy groups at the end of this piece.  Please, please watch the entire video .  As his FEMA fails at every level.... I seriously doubt the Biden's made an appropriate donation to the area. Given his press operation, we'd hear about it if he ha...

Heavy snows will continue southeast of each of the Great Lakes. Significant snow will also be falling at noon in West Virginia and the northern Great Plains. Other than that, conditions will be generally good for travel.

Heavy snow is falling in northeast Kansas and Missouri.  Below is the radar as of 10:04am. Please drive carefully. 

Snowfall forecast: This is a classic "lake effect snow" day downwind of each of the Great Lakes as shown by radar at 11:30am EST. These snows can be extremely heavy with whiteout conditions. Use caution if traveling in these areas. 

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. We Americans have so many reasons to be thankful.  But, this year more than most, a group of Americans is desperately hurting. Below are this week's reports from Matt Van Swol who has been doing amazing work on  the ground in western North Carolina. I urge you to follow him if you want the latest news.   Jesus told us we have a personal, individual responsibility to help the poor. These churches are helping people carry out that obligation.  FEMA continues to treat the people of southern Appalachia in a cruel and criminal manner. I don't use those words lightly.  That interview is here .  On the other hand, Franklin Graham has announced that Samaritan's Purse will build 1,000 homes for the people of the area.  But it isn't just homes that need help. So do small businesses .  So, if you have had a good year please donate as soon as possible.   Samaritan's purse is here .  EmergencyRV is here ....

The story is here . The video is top right  after a commercial plays.  -- original post --  Regan Porter of Fox 4 Kansas City interviewed me this morning regarding the rebuilding of the damaged Ruskin Heights Tornado Memorial . She will also be interviewing the head of the Ruskin Homeowners' Association.  Regan says it will air between 4:30 and 6:30pm with a shorter version between 9 and 10:30pm. Hope you can tune in. 

National Storm Warnings Winter storm warnings continue in Colorado and Utah (pink) with high wind warnings for New Mexico. Purple = winter weather advisories. The gray in the South is dense fog advisories. Winter storm watches in effect for parts of New England.  Below is the forecast for 6pm CST today: The snow in Colorado and Utah is forecast to taper off by 6pm. Forecast for 6am Thursday Radar at 7:54am: Snow continues in Colorado with a mix of precipitation near the Kansas-Nebraska border that is mainly sleet.  Travel safely!!

Here is an update as to pre-Thanksgiving travel weather.  Weather Warnings Pink, winter storm warning. Purple, winter weather advisory (lesser condition) Dark turquoise, lake effect snow warning Brown and amber, high winds Light turquoise, freeze warning  Forecast for 6pm CST this evening.  Forecast for 6pm Wednesday. 

Kansas City Star, 2010 The evening of May 20, 1957, a F-5 tornado struck the south Kansas City suburb of Ruskin Heights. I was a five year-old boy growing up in the area and was both terrified and fascinated by the events of that evening. My mother drove us through "ground zero" the next day. As a result, that very day I knew I wanted to be a meteorologist. The tornado also played a role in me meeting my future wife, Kathleen! In addition to I, Dennis Smith (formerly of The Weather Channel) and the outstanding storm researcher Les Lemon, who passed away several years ago, also were inspired to become meteorologists as a result of the tornado.  Meteorologists privately comment that F-5 tornadoes are so powerful they "clean up afterward." Here you see the home utterly blown away with only the commode left after the tornado. With the terrible loss of life, a memorial to the tornado victims was erected the next year. It was placed directly in the tornado's path acro...