Go State!

Above is the game-winning touchdown for Mississippi State, scored by Christian Ducre, as Mississippi State defeated Auburn in Auburn 19-14 in a hard-fought, hard-hitting defensive struggle on the Plains. For the second consecutive week, Mississippi State's defense has not allowed their opponent to score in the second half. The game came down to a nerve-wrenching final defensive series in which Auburn drove down to the MSU 9 yard line, setting up first and goal. The State defense held, and MSU prevailed 19-14. I am very proud of my Bulldogs. Next up....Cleveland County's own Gardner-Webb University.

The weather will be fantastic the next few days with lots of sunshine, highs in the 70s, and lows in the 50s. In fact, some communities will likely dip into the upper 40s tonight.

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Wow....

Well, what was originally thought to be a day with occasional rain with embedded thunderstorms turned out to be one of the more active severe weather days in recent memory. A slew of tornado warnings were issued throughout the Carolinas, including five in the Triad viewing region. That equated to a lot of wall-to-wall coverage for me, but it is a privilege to do it, and I am happy for that opportunity.

Thankfully, I have heard of no devastating damage or injuries.

This will be an interesting case study to review in the future. The atmospheric setup was obviously very favorable for rotating thunderstorms. One of the major factors was probably a low lifted condensation level due to the tropical nature of the airmass in place. We also had a mid-level low skirting overhead adding to the helicity. Anyway, I would love to review a case study of this one.

Fantastic weather takes hold for the weekend, and I think some spots will definitely make a run at the upper 40s Sunday morning. Enjoy the weather this weekend!

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Tropical Rains...

I am in the office early today due to make sure we have things covered as we head into the afternoon hours today.

The western sections of the Charlotte and Triad viewing areas have already seen some needed rain today. For those of you that have missed the rain so far, hang tight....things still looks good for the rain to move through the rest of the viewing regions late this afternoon into this evening. As far as amounts are concerned, still a big question mark. But, we will take what we can get.

Also of note, a tornado warning is in effect for Tuscaloosa County back in central Alabama. The storm that prompted that tornado warning is associated with the old mid-level center of Humberto. Although that mid-level center will weaken as it approaches the Carolinas, locations in the region that make it up into the 80s will have to watch for a few strong or severe storms this afternoon and evening. For the most part, I think that threat will remain confined to areas near the Coastal Plain, but we will watch it.....

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Quick Hits..

Due to a change in my routine tonight, this post will be short and to the point.

• Looks like all systems are a 'go' for some much-needed rains as the remnants of Humberto get pulled through the Carolinas ahead of an advancing cold front. Amounts are still in question, but I think an average of 1-2" is a possibility. Let's hope so!
  
• Nice cool-down settles in by Saturday night with lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s Sunday and Monday. Absolutely fantastic.
  
• Rather complicated weather pattern next week with parts of New England probably hotter than we will be due to some wedging effects. We will delve more into those specifics as we draw closer.
• Tropical Storm Ingrid has formed, although the system will encounter heavy shear and likely weaken over the weekend.
  

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Lots on the Plate....

Lots of information coming later today in another post, but I wanted to share this quick story.

My normal Wednesday shift is double-market duty during the midday shift. So, I got up, showered, got dressed, ate breakfast with the family, took Jayden to school then headed in to work. I walked into the weather office, coat and lunch in hand, and Matt Morano greeted me with a puzzled look on his face. He said, "Aren't you off today?" Then it hit me....yep, I was indeed off....yesterday was my Labor Day holiday. So, I turned around, picked up my coat and lunch, and back home I went.

Frustrating. I guess I got caught up in all of the tropical system hoopla last week and I totally forgot I had a 3-day weekend. Ugh. Oh well.

Anyway, full post coming later this evening.....

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Sunday Night Extravaganza

Let's take some topics one by one....

• Gabrielle - This system looks to have behaved pretty much as-forecasted with some winds gusts over 50mph in the Outer Banks and some good amounts of rain. Otherwise, this certainly was not a catastrophic system, and the lingering rain and winds in the Outer Banks tonight should end by Monday morning.
  
• Elsewhere in the tropics, there are two tropical waves that have my eye. One is northeast of the Windwards and another is southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. Both tropical waves have the potential to slowly develop, and we will be closely watching both of them.
  
• Some much-needed rain - A cold front will drop in here from the northwest Wednesday and stall out for the next few days. That means a good chance for some showers and storms on a daily basis Wednesday through Saturday. In fact, these are the best rain chances over a multiple day period I remember seeing in a long time around here.
• Taste of Fall - A Canadian cold front will sweep through here Saturday, and I think it will usher in a brief period of much cooler temperatures. At this point, I think we can expect a couple of days with highs in the 70s and lows probably in the 50s. In fact, I have a high of 77 with a mostly sunny sky for Sunday in the current 7-day.
• The rest of September - This is the time of year when I always get my forecasting juices really flowing again. No doubt about it, to me summertime weather is the least exciting to forecast (hurricanes aside), and it is easy to slip into a forecasting and broadcasting funk during the dog days of summer. How many different ways can you say "heat and drought?" But, this is the time of year when airmass changes are in the offing, and we begin to make that slow transition from Summer to Winter. At any rate, after the nice shot of cooler temperatures we will see about a week from now, I think much of the rest of September will be warm. I think odds are we will see some sort of Southeast U.S. or western Atlantic ridge rear its ugly head again, and the second half of the month could definitely be a warm one.
  
• College Football - Man, I love football. Mississippi State took care of Tulane last night 38-17 in the Superdome. MSU held Tulane to 6 yards of total offense in the second half and no first downs....one of the most dominating halves of football I can remember. And, after I saw how LSU handled VT, I don't feel quite as bad about the whipping LSU gave us in Week 1. Next up....Auburn on the Plains.
  
• NFL Football - The Panthers won today in much the same fashion as MSU did last night. The teams played even in the first half, then Carolina took over in the second half. Nice win for the team there...off on the right foot for sure.
  

Not a whole lot of out of the ordinary activities in the line-up for us this week. I have some grass that absolutely needs to be cut, but I will have a hard time bringing myself to do it knowing that cooler weather is just around the corner. We will see.

Everyone have a great week.

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Weather Buffet

On the menu this evening....Gabrielle wrap-up, next tropical system potential, taste of Fall heading in, and my thoughts for the rest of September. Full post coming later this evening....

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Landfall for Gabrielle

Here is the landfall statement from the NHC.

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