Tornado follow-up

Looks like the Earle, Arkansas tornado was an EF 3.....with a width up to 350 yards!

And here is an update on some of the other tragic Arkansas tornadoes.

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Lower Mississippi Valley Severe Weather

Tragic severe weather continues to unfold in parts of Arkansas as I type this. So far, seven fatalities have been reported, and I still see 3 separate tornado warnings in effect.

Click here to watch some live streams from storm chasers in the area.

We will see the chance for some showers and storms late tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening. I don't anticipate a severe weather outbreak, but one or two strong to severe storms are possible.

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Wednesday

Fantastic Wednesday weather unfolding...I love the crisp, cool mornings. We are not too far away from really wishing for those types of mornings again as we are in the grips of summer.

I don't know how other meteorologists and forecasts are, but I like to set personal little challenges out there for myself when it comes to forecasting. I like to be a bit of a maverick, try and find some little aspect of the upcoming forecast that others are not mentioning, and then ride that idea until forced not to. Sometimes I come up with a big wiff. Other times, I hit it. This morning was one of those times....we did indeed hit the upper 30s....I think it was mentioned here in this space last Wednesday and in every forecast I put out since then. I hate tooting my own horn, but I think the blog readers know I openly discuss when my forecast lands in a big, smoking heap.

*Some upgrades on taking place today on all of our weather computers across all markets today. For me, it actually means a very easy day of work. No on-air shift for me today, just simply some housecleaning items, and addressing any issues that arise with the upgrades. So far, all is going well, and we are on schedule to get all of the systems back up this afternoon.

*So, with that said, I have not made out a formal forecast today since I am not on-air this afternoon. However, the weather will be fantastic through Friday. Highs tomorrow will be well up into the 70s with lower 80s by Friday for most.

Our next front is still on tap to move through later Saturday and Saturday night. At this point, I think the best chance of showers and storms will be from later Saturday afternoon through Saturday evening. It looks close in terms of getting all of Saturday's round of the Wachovia in.

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Quick Tuesday comments...

It is a nice, cool, fresh morning out there with temps in the 40s. Expect a fantastic afternoon with lots of sun and highs in the 60s.

I will continue to mention that I think many spots will be down into the upper 30s tonight...some mid 30s even in some spots. And, it sure seems possible that some protected spots will see some frost concerns late tonight and early tomorrow morning.

Also, I am sure most of you have seen stories about the tornadoes in southeast Virginia yesterday. I have not been able to see a whole lot of the damage, but from what I have seen, looks like the strongest tornado was an EF 2 or EF 3.

Here are a couple of videos I found this morning....the first is some video as the tornado was on the ground, the second looks like some aerial footage of the damage from WAVY-TV.

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More active weather...

More strong thunderstorms are affecting the viewing area this evening. Mt. Holly had some wind damage as well as some hail, and some localized flash flooding has occurred in spots. Also, lots of folks have seen vivid lightning.

Below is a photo from Melissa in Rockingham....



And these shots are from Kimberly in Stanly county yesterday...

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Quick Sunday morning post...

Scattered showers and storms did develop yesterday afternoon and evening as a cold front dropped through. The storms that did form were fairly effective hail and lightning producers. There was also some flash flooding issues in spots, especially western Cabarrus county. I was on the air with almost exclusively live hits from 5 until 10pm.

Now, I am about to run out the door to church this morning...today is my 5 year old's first time singing in the children's choir in big church, so this is a big day.

I wanted to throw up a quick post about today's weather. The frontal boundary has stalled just to our south. The radar has a good deal of rain on it off to our west and southwest, so you certainly get the idea we will have some rain at times today. Also, some thunderstorms will likely become involved, and it will just be a waiting game to see where the better instability develops through the afternoon and evening hours. Again, a few severe storms will be possible this afternoon and evening where any stronger storms can develop.

I will be back on the air again late this afternoon....see you then!

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