Spring means strong storms

We're only one week into spring and already a tornado has struck the NEWS7 viewing area. On Sunday night, March 28, a severe thunderstorm with rotation spawned a brief tornado in Halifax County near Alton and Turbeville. Meteorologists at the National Weather Service have determined this was a very weak tornado. It was rated an EF0. Despite its "weak" rating, the storm packed a punch. An EF0 tornado has winds between 65 and 85mph. Winds Sunday night in the Halifax County twister were estimated around 75mph. The tornado was on the ground for only a few seconds beginning at 10:02pm, but caused a mess. Several out buildings had roof damage, and one unoccupied mobile home was flipped over and destroyed (see photo above).

As meteorologists, we often stress that NOW is the time to prepare for severe weather. When a tornado warning is issued, you need to know what to do. That is NOT the time to figure out what you and your family need to do to stay safe. Preparation is easy and cheap. Basements, bathrooms, rooms without windows - are great places to ride out the storm. Buy a NOAA weather radio. Have a flashlight charged or loaded with fresh batteries. Exit mobile homes (see photo above).

It's also a good time of the year to point out that it's our job to warn the public of severe storms. We will "crawl" information at the top of the screen as long as we can, but the second a tornado warning is issued we will cut-in over programming. Golf, Cold Case, Undercover Boss, Wheel of Fortune - it all takes a back seat to a tornado warning. We know tornadoes are small in size and affect a tiny area of our huge coverage area, but it's our job - plus the FCC requires us to cut-in to keep the public informed. As soon as we pass along important information we'll get you back to our programming. We want to keep you safe - and we want you to enjoy great CBS programming. Our severe weather cut-ins are not designed to make your life miserable. :-)

One tornado down, and perhaps more to come this spring and summer. Take a few minutes and come up with a severe weather action plan. Thanks for watching "Your Hometown Station" WDBJ7!


The Enhanced Fujita Scale

EF0 wind speeds 65-85mph
EF1 wind speeds 86-110mph
EF2 wind speeds 111-135mph
EF3 wind speeds 136-165mph
EF4 wind speeds 166-200mph
EF5 wind speeds greater than 200mph

Signs of Spring

People are talking. Talking about the weather for the upcoming weekend. Unlike many weekends this year - they're not talking about snow, instead the pleasant warm up that's forecast.

While we'll still deal with below average highs (nothing new) for the rest of the week, as a ridge of high pressure builds Saturday and Sunday, moderating temperatures with plentiful sunshine will finally return to southwest and central Virginia.

By late in the weekend and early next week, I think 60 degrees will certainly be possible in some hometowns. Widespread 50s are going to happen. It will be nice to feel above average warmth after what has been a very cold winter. The sun angle is getting higher, and the days are getting longer. The sunrise Saturday is 6:44am. It'll be setting at 6:19pm.

Moderate temperatures in the nation's midsection will be welcome as high pressure builds from the Midwest Saturday and Sunday. Winter's arctic chill takes a backseat; at least temporarily, as the jet stream takes a hike northward.

There are signs of spring everywhere, but let's not jump the gun. Big, wet, heavy snows have slammed the area before in March. The good news; we don't see that on the horizon as of now. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the pleasant changes that are soon to arrive!

Too Much Winter?

Ready for spring? I know I am! What a crazy winter it has been. First, the December 18-19 storm. Then two weeks ago a foot of fluffy snow fell. This past weekend it was nearly another foot of wet snow. I really wished I owned a ski resort on Bent Mountain right now. While the region's ski resorts are loving this frequent snow; I for one, am done with it.

Tonight is the eve of another - yet weaker - system that will drop a couple more inches of snow and sleet across the area. Any other year, a 2-4" event may be considered a big deal, but this year it's just a nuisance.

Every year it seems folks get stoked for the first snow of the year. After that, I've noticed, we southwest Virginians tend to have our snow fix, and we're ready to move on and get winter out of the way. This year, I'm almost certain that's the case. Not one person I've run into the last month seems to want more snow. The state has already busted snow removal funds, and teachers and students are now fearful they'll be going to school well into summer. (Last week for example, Roanoke County was only in class on Thursday, and they were two hours late at that. Many other systems were the same.)

As I said on the air this past weekend, I haven't heard anyone say lately, "It doesn't snow around here any more!"

There are, of course, benefits from all this snow. Ground water supplies will be in good shape as we go into spring and summer. Places like Carvins Cove will be charged - and speaking of bodies of water - the once dried up Mountain Lake in Giles County has got to be loving this! On the downside, we'll have to watch for flooding the next few weeks. We have around two to three inches of "water" bottled up in our snowpack. Rapid melting (plus any heavy rain that could fall) would lead to a big-time rise on local creeks, streams and rivers.

Feel free to answer the poll question I've put on my blog: ARE YOU DONE WITH WINTER? I'd like to see your opinion.

In closing, thanks to the hundreds of viewers who have sent snow and ice photos to the weather office this season. We've featured several, and we'll continue to do so - so keep 'em coming! Also, thanks for depending on WDBJ7 and SkyTracker Weather for keeping you ahead of the storm. We appreciate your viewership. YOU make us number one!

After 40" of snow this season, we're now 40 days away from spring!

--Jay

Winter Blitz '09!

Well technically, it wasn't even winter yet when the big snowstorm hit this past weekend. (The new season began just before 1:00pm on Monday). I think it's safe to say most of us will remember this event for many years to come. Snowfall records were broken across the area as we topped measurements taken during the big storms of 1993 and 1996.

I figured if this snow storm wouldn't make me finally update my blog, nothing would!

A brief "thank you" to the entire staff of WDBJ. All weekend our viewers "saw" Brent and myself in the weather office, as well as our reporters and anchors - but behind the scenes we were propped up by the best crew in the business. Here are a few specific notables.

Cara Stein; producer, NEWS7 at Six & Eleven Saturday & Sunday: Did an excellent job of communicating with me all weekend. Our conversations were always brief, but she kept me in the loop of the "news" angle of the storm, and the flow of the newscast.

Jamey "James" Tompkins; producer, NEWS7 Saturday and Sunday Morning: Never complained when my scheduled 2:30 weather segments ran over by 30 or 40 seconds.

Rob Chewning; NEWS7 photojournalist/editor: For simply saving my butt. It's a long story, but he stayed late and edited "Birthday's and Anniversaries" for me Sunday night. Thanks a million, Rob.

Brent Watts; Meteorologist and friend: For always thinking hours ahead - and never sleeping. Your creative talents are never-ending. You brought our weather coverage to another level.

Henry Bryant, Megan Kanode, Gordon Myers; NEWS7 weekend floor crew: Thanks for the gallons of drinking water you brought to the weather set. Thanks for warming my soup in the break room. Thanks for reminding me to change out of my "PJ's" and into my suit before the newscasts.

Uncle Mike Pettit; NEWS7 audio specialist: For talking to me about something other than the weather - like Memphis.

Paul Manning & Patrick Old; NEWS7 Saturday & Sunday Morning directors: For loving snow coverage and live TV. Nice ideas.

Johnny Tsi; NEWS7 evening shift director: Thanks for rolling with the punches and always saying "yes".

There are many, many others. Our news director and managing editor came in on their day off. Their leadership was nice; but they paid for pizza - twice - and that was even better! Many, many staff members worked on their normal days off. Kelly Zuber and Natasha Ryan were just a couple. Thanks to Robin Reed for his live phoner from beautiful Twin Cedars, and to Leo Hirsbrunner for his incredibly accurate snow forecast prior to the first flake falling. (It takes guts to slap up a graphic with 18"+ when you haven't seen a storm this big in 14 years!) Thanks to all the NEWS7 photographers who brought back great storm video. Most of it made CBS national news. Master control never skipped a beat, and often came out to the studio just to check on us - that means a lot. Thanks to all the folks who ran audio and chyron all weekend. No mics clipped, no graphics misspelled - at least as far as I could hear/see. Thanks to all those (engineering staff and others) who kept the dishes cleared of snow so we could keep receiving weather data. Thanks to traffic for carving our time for all those cut-ins.

Virginia State Police and VDOT also kept NEWS7 updated with traffic and road information all weekend. Thanks to them.

A very special "thanks" goes out to the men and women who plowed (and are still plowing) our streets and highways. Excellent work.

Finally, my wife. Sorry I was gone all weekend. You will be rewarded on Christmas.

There are others, and I thank you. You are all "Storm Heroes". It's great to work with such a dedicated group of professionals. All I do is clip a mic on my tie, but everyone else makes the world go-round; makes the whole thing happen. Let's do it again - in another 14 years!?!

Day Out With Thomas

Our son Parker absolutely LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine. Last Friday we spent the "Day Out With Thomas" at the North Carolina Museum of Transportation. Parker loved it; but my dad, Sarah and I enjoyed it just as much. If your child or grandchild likes "Thomas", I highly recommend it! The museum is located at the former Southern Railway shops in Spencer, NC, about a 45 minute drive south of Winston-Salem. Besides the train ride aboard Thomas, there were lots of activities for children to enjoy. Above are a few pictures we took of our trip. Hope you enjoy! --Jay

Hurricane Hugo: 20 Years Later

It's the 20 year anniversary of Hurricane Hugo coming ashore just north of Charleston, SC. There are many TV meteorologists who site this storm for sparking their lifelong interest in weather; I'm no exception. I vividly remember our family vacation to Myrtle Beach in 1989, only to watch the news a few weeks later and see the destruction the storm caused. It was Robin Reed's coverage of tracking the remnants of Hugo into Virginia that made me decide as a 12 year old I wanted be become a broadcast meteorologist (on WDBJ). I recall moderate to heavy rain in Giles County as the storm passed. There was no school that day because of impassable roads and lost power.

Hugo was a category four storm on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale at landfall with winds near 140mph. The storm underwent rapid intensification over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream in the hours leading up to landfall, which occurred at Sullivans Island, SC in the early morning hours of September 22. The storm would cause $7 billion in damages in the U.S.; another $3 billion in the Caribbean. Hugo struck at high tide, making the 12-15 foot storm surge even worse. Some surge was reported over 20-feet, the highest tidal surge ever along the U.S. east coast. Heavy rain fell. Edisto Island, SC received over 10". Several inches were reported in southwest Virginia as well.

I was in Myrtle Beach just about a month ago. Twenty years later, it appears vacationers have long forgotten about the storm. However, a small photo album in the leasing office of our condo shows residents think about it often. The album, simply titled "Hugo, 1989" is full of old pictures showing the damage. A reminder of a storm that won't soon be forgotten by the residents of the Palmetto State.

(Pre)School Days Are Here

After a summer of much anticipation, Parker has started preschool. I took the day off last Wednesday so my wife and I could drop him off, and then pick him up when the day was done. He did great; but the day was harder on my wife. When we drove to the unloading area of his school, and his teacher came to get him out of his car seat, he asked, "Mommy, will you take me inside?" An innocent enough question, and one we had prepared for, but instead of letting the teacher whisk him away, my wife hopped out of the car and disappeared into the school for the better part of 20 minutes. When she returned (with a tear in her eye), I asked why she caved in to Parker's request. I was promptly told to stuff it. It was a quiet ride back to our house.

Three hours later, we returned to Parker's preschool to pick him up. I'll never forget the smile on his face. He ran toward our car, jumped in and said, "Mommy and daddy, I had a great day - it was lots of fun!" I was by far more emotional when we picked him up than when we dropped him off.

A week later, he's already learned so much. He's talking about his new friends, bringing home homework (a.k.a. busy work for parents), and bragging about the awesome sandbox at his school. It's truly amazing how much he's blossomed in just a few days.

We'll sit back and enjoy the ride. Before you know it, it'll be time for kindergarten, high school, then college. On a side note, my wife and I had a meeting last night with our financial planner. He says we should be saving about $300 a month NOW for Parker's college education! On that note, I'm ending this blog and going to sale some lemonade at $0.25 a cup.