THOUGHTS ON 100° DAYS IN THE BRAZOS VALLEY.....

It's funny when you think about it. We came up with a contest at KAGS-HD where if Easterwood Airport hits 100° for the first time, I will come to your house, and mow your lawn, along with additional various prizes. However, we have passed the month of June, July, and most of August without getting close. The highest temperature reported at Easterwood this year is 97° this year. That's it! Just for your information, the last time Easterwood failed to hit 100° or higher in an entire year, was back in 2004. Yes, it has happened before. We do average 10 days with 100° air, so its bound to happen....we think.

There have been several locations around Bryan and College Station that have reached 100° a handful of times, but many inhibiting factors have lead to our "cooler" than average Summer thus far. One big element has been timely rain to lower temperatures significantly. In the month of July, over 6 inches of rain fell. For July, that does not happen often.

Additionally, our wind direction have been primarily from two different origins. Either from the north, or more frequently, the south.

A north wind will not only suppress the humidity, but also take the temperatures down a notch or two during the Summer. On the flip side, a south wind allows the flood gates to open from the Gulf of Mexico and pumping up our atmosphere with much more moisture. Additionally moisture (or humidity) in the air makes it tough for the air to heat up quickly and intensely. Therefore, the more humidity in the air, the harder it is for extremely high temperatures.

There are many other atmopsheric dynamic that can help contribute to a 100°, but one of the more reliable ways is a different wind direction. A southwest wind.

I cannot remember a day this Summer, where a broad southwest wind was pushing into the Brazos Valley. The reason why this is crucial, is because this wind direction leads to drier, and much hotter air. From the southwest, wind slopes down the tall mountains over Mexico and blows into Texas. As air sinks, it expands, dries, and heats quickly. For the entire Brazos Valley to have the best chance for widespread 100°+ air, a southwest wind needs to be in place. However, I do see this happening over the next 7-10 days. Yes, it will still be hot, but not 100°.  

“Take a look up once in a while; you never know what you’ll miss.”

For more news and weather you can log onto: www.facebook.com/plushnickweather or www.facebook.com/KAGSTV. You can also check out our twitter feeds: @KAGSweather and @KAGSnews. Furthermore, you can download our new weather app. Search: KAGS Weather, in the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android.

HEAT: Play It Safe

Picture: inhabitat.com

It’s that time of the year again when we roll out the grills, sit by the pool, take extra long vacations, and stand outside in the heat for extended periods of time. Sounds fun, right? Yes, it does, but if you don’t play by the rules and keep heat safety a top priority, you could fall victim to one of the most underrated weather elements that can cause severe bodily injury.

In fact, heat is the top weather related killer in the United States. Taking the averages of weather related deaths between 2003-2013 across the county, heat is at the top of the list. On average, there have been 117 heat related deaths on a yearly basis. Second on the list is a tie with tornadoes and hurricanes at 107, and floods comes in third with 76 deaths per year. The reason why heat is primary killer is because it affects more Americans than any other weather phenomenon.

Hot air can do a number on your body and it does not take much time to be out in the heat to feel its effects. If you are suffering from heat related illnesses, you will likely experience dizziness, muscle cramps, weak pulse, overall weakness, nausea, and even fainting. If you, or someone you know illustrates these symptoms, make sure to move to a cool place, apply a wet cloth to cool down, sit in front of a fan, and sip on cool water.

Not only can the actual heat cause problems, but the sun angle is at its peak during this time of the year. Not only are the daylight hours extended, but the sun’s intensity is another reason to keep it safe this summer season. This time of the year, it takes less than 10 minutes of unprotected exposure to cause sunburn. Sunburns are not fun at all, and if you are severely affected, you might feel a flu-like fever, nausea, headaches, chills, weakness, and even blisters. Apply SPF 30+ sunscreen all over your body as often as you can, at least every 60 minutes, wear a hat, lose light colored clothing, and slap on a pair of sun glasses to prevent as much as the sun’s harmful rays.

Overall, just have fun out there this summer, but make sure safety is always on your mind. If you take care of these simple things, and stay hydrated too, you will have an amazing summer season.

“Take a look up once in a while; you never know what you’ll miss.”

For more news and weather you can log onto: www.facebook.com/plushnickweather or www.facebook.com/KAGSTV. You can also check out our twitter feeds: @KAGSweather and @KAGSnews. Furthermore, you can download our new weather app. Search: KAGS Weather, in the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android.

Twin Tornadoes, Rare, But Has Happened Before

Before going into detail about the potential of how a twin tornado occurred yesterday in Pilger, Nebraska, know that this is something very rare, but has happened before. Additionally, there are many more storm chasers now than ever before and we can capture more information, in vast volumes, plus it spreads all over the internet, as well as media at rapid rates. Furthermore, meteorology is a growing science where we keep learning more over time. We know a lot, but there is much more research ongoing.

Anyway, below is one of the pictures of the twin tornadoes taken by storm chasing expert, Reed Timmer. 

This picture can say well more than a thousand words. To have two tornadoes that are extremely violet, right next to each other, is very unusual. Several theories do exist, but again, no straight up answer at this time.

For this type of situation to happen there could have been two different updrafts within one or two separate super cell thunderstorms. On the other hand, for two supercells or tow updrafts to be adjacent to one another is atypical. What tends to happen is one supercell takes over while the second collapses and transfers its energy to the other. In the picture above, it appears that the two updrafts, or supercells balance each other and create an environment where two strong tornadoes can exists side by side. Overtime, the two eventually linked together and created one larger tornado.

This goes into the next potential theory, a multi-vortex scenario. In most occurrences, there is only one vortex (rapidly rotating spin) per tornado. However, there are some single tornadoes that generate multiple vortexes, but tend to be very hard to see. Here, we might have and extreme case of multiple vortexes.

These are just a couple of theories, but more research will help the science of meteorology come closer to a real solution.

This has happened before, such as back in 1965 on Palm Sunday in Elkhart, Indiana. Paul Huffman snapped this picture of twin tornadoes during that outbreak below.

Another such occurrence happened in Hesston, Kansas in 1990. I was not able to find a picture of this event, but has been documented.

It's always saddening to see how destructive tornadoes can be, and what occurred in the Nation's Heartland last night was devastating. As more research continues on severe weather, forecasting steadily becomes more accurate.

In the meantime, if there is a Tornado Warning for your area, please make sure to respect Mother Nature's fury and take every precaution possible to protect yourself from the elements.

"Take a look up once in a while; you never know what you’ll miss."

For more news and weather you can log onto: www.facebook.com/plushnickweather or www.facebook.com/KAGSTV. You can also check out our twitter feeds: @KAGSweather and @KAGSnews. Furthermore, you can download our new weather app. Search: KAGS Weather, in the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android.

Minor Activity In The Tropics

Typically the beginning of the Hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin is quite slow, but by August and September, things really begin to heat up. Below is a chart laying out the percentages (%) of the amount of storms that typically generate. The greater the percentage, the greater amount of storms in that given month.

Easy to see that June and July are relatively quite compared to August, September, and even October. This is because the water temperatures reaches its peak and upper level winds favor development and strengthening of tropical systems during this time.

Also, if you are curious, the list of Tropical Storm/Hurricane names begin with Arthur and end with Wilfred this year.

Aside from the typical tropical jargon and names, there is a disturbance that bares watching in the southern Gulf of Mexico and Bay of Campeche.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is going to monitor this swirl for further development. At this time, there is only a 20% chance that over the next 5 days, this area will turn into an organized tropical system. Its early in the season and the right ingredients are not in place for a major storm to take shape.

Even the computer models are confused on an exact forecast due to the ragged nature of this system and its disorganization.

Sure, one model brings this into Texas, but that will likely NOT happen. Nonetheless, I will watch this and other tropical cyclones that develop this season for you.

In the meantime, we can sit back and relax as our weather should be repetitive with warmth and tranquility.

"Take a look up once in a while; you never know what you’ll miss."

For more news and weather you can log onto: www.facebook.com/plushnickweather or www.facebook.com/KAGSTV. You can also check out our twitter feeds: @KAGSweather and @KAGSnews. Furthermore, you can download our new weather app. Search: KAGS Weather, in the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android.

Huge Severe Weather Mess In Central Plains

Here in the Brazos Valley, severe weather season has come and gone without a scratch. This does not completely means that we will not see any severe weather during the summer or early Autumn, but looking at the records and seasonal trends, this part of Texas tends to quiet down. Also, when you encompass all of the events for our region, there have been several episodes of torrential rain, but other than that, nothing to really talk about around the water cooler. Now the shift in moment is for the central Plains and the Mid-West. 

In the upper levels, high pressure is building in and will shut down any chance of rain through the rest of the week and into the weekend.

This type of pattern mimics one of the "ring of fire" highs that we are familiar with during the heat of the summer. We call this the "ring of fire" because in the center of the ring, the weather remains tranquil, but around the "ring" is where the action takes place. Energy glides along the periphery of this "ring" and interacts with the difference in temperature that helps to generate thunderstorms, which can become severe. 

In the case of what happened this afternoon and evening, a multitude of severe thunderstorms unleashed their fury on parts of Wyoming, but especially in Nebraska and Iowa. Below is an image of Max Storm, Doppler Radar illustrating how ubiquitous the severe weather is.

  
As you guessed it, there are very nasty storms that created all modes of severe weather from large damaging hail, tornadoes, and extreme straight line winds.

Reports were plenty and consolidated along a couple of lines where storms gerated and traveled like a train on a train track.

As of 9PM CDT, there have been 11 reports of tornadoes. Know that there can be multiple reports for a single tornado. Its up to the National Weather Service to determine how many tornadoes actually touched down following the event as they survey the damage.

It's not just tornadoes, but incredible reports came out of Nebraska of hail and straight line winds too. In both Minatare and Kennard, Nebraska, softball size hail was reported. In addition, 100mph winds were estimated in Newport, Nebraska.

There is more ongoing at this time, and flooding will be the main issue across Iowa all night long.   

"Take a look up once in a while; you never know what you’ll miss."

For more news and weather you can log onto: www.facebook.com/plushnickweather or www.facebook.com/KAGSTV. You can also check out our twitter feeds: @KAGSweather and @KAGSnews. Furthermore, you can download our new weather app. Search: KAGS Weather, in the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android.

Possible Record Low Tonight

High pressure stretching from western Canada to Texas is anchored in place allowing for the Brazos Valley to enjoy low humidity and below average temperatures. In fact, temperatures will be so far below average, that we will be challenging record lows overnight. Easterwood Airport's record low temperature for Thursday morning is 47°. We will come close to that mark. Therefore, jackets needed early Thursday morning.

By the afternoon a few clouds will move in and decorate the royal blue sky. Clouds will hang around on Friday too, before moving out for the weekend that is projected to be breezy and much warmer with temperatures back in the middle to upper 80s.

Tonight: Clear and chilly. Low: 47°

Thursday: A sunny start with a few afternoon clouds. High: 75°

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, not as chilly. Low: 53°


Friday: Mostly sunny to partly cloudy, warmer. High: 77°

"Take a look up once in a while; you never know what you’ll miss."

For more news and weather you can log onto: www.facebook.com/plushnickweather or www.facebook.com/KAGSTV. You can also check out our twitter feeds: @KAGSweather and @KAGSnews. Furthermore, you can download our new weather app. Search: KAGS Weather, in the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android.

60 Years Later - 1954 F-2 College Station Tornado

Its honestly pretty tough because the Brazos Valley is on the southern tip of Tornado Alley, but twisters can rip through from time to time. According to tornadohistoryproject.com, since 1953, only 23 tornadoes have either formed or moved across parts of Brazos County.

The was one in particular that occurred back on April 30, 1954 that tore though College Station just to the east of Texas A&M and moved towards what would eventually be Highway 6.

Data: Tornadohistoryproject.com. This is a path of the F-2 tornado that hit College Station on April 30, 1954

Back in 1954, most of these roads were not constructed and a vast amount of the buildings we see today were not even in the works. From the information given, there were no fatalities or injuries with this tornado that was rated F-2 with winds possibly between 113-157mph. However, if you look a the path closely, it would have done significant damage to many shops that currently sit along University Dr, especially the Hilton Hotel. Also, many homes would have suffered significant damage as well if a twister with the same path and strength hit in today's BCS. 

Interesting to look back at history and compare it to the modern day. Luckily, no severe weather is in the forecast over the next 7-10 days.  

"Take a look up once in a while; you never know what you’ll miss."

For more news and weather you can log onto: www.facebook.com/plushnickweather or www.facebook.com/KAGSTV. You can also check out our twitter feeds: @KAGSweather and @KAGSnews. Furthermore, you can download our new weather app. Search: KAGS Weather, in the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android.

El Nino Could Strike Back Soon

When you look at the past several years, rain has been very hard to come by. In fact, I have personally been appalled by the lack of precipitation. Not only has this had an effect on our community here in the Brazos Valley, but throughout the entire state. Lakes are looking like creators, streams are flowing slowly, and crops are not as bountiful. However, I do have potentially great news for us in the long term. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is monitoring the ocean temperatures around the equator in the Pacific Ocean. Signals suggest that by the summer, a new El Niño could emerge. El Niño is not a storm by any means, but rather a warming of the waters in the eastern Pacific around the equator. Despite this simple sounding phenomenon, it has reaching affects around the entire globe, including us here in Texas.

Signs of an El Niño include a rise in pressure over Indonesia and trade winds in the south Pacific slowing down or moving towards the east. In turn, this allows warmer water at the surface to flow towards South America. As the water warms, there will be more moisture and heat energy in the atmosphere to enhance the formation of rainfall.

As of the current forecast, the trade winds are expected to have a very strong component towards the east, rushing in very warm water. Due to this theory, water temperatures could rise between 7-10 degrees above average, which would be compared to one of the strongest El Niño’s on record (1997-1998). If this actually shapes up, we are in for a great pattern that favors more rain by autumn.

Just know that this is not 100% guaranteed, but if this El Niño happens to emerge, it could be strong and provide a huge benefit to all of us.

.

Take a look up once in a while; you never know what you’ll miss.

For more news and weather you can log onto: www.facebook.com/plushnickweather or www.facebook.com/KAGSTV. You can also check out our twitter feeds: @KAGSweather and @KAGSnews. Furthermore, you can download our new weather app. Search: KAGS Weather, in the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android.

A Little More Haze In The Sky

You might have seen a slight brown shading to the sky. Your eyes are not playing a trick from you, its actually dust from the storm that blew through west Texas on Tuesday. As the dust approaches the Brazos Valley, it remained suspended in the sky. Most of the dust will stay above the ground, with little, if any at the surface. If you have respiratory problems, make sure to take it easy until Friday morning, when the dust completely clears us.

On another note, high pressure will move in and keep the tranquil weather in tact for the rest of the work week. By the weekend, more moisture combine with additional energy will help to produce rain showers. At the moment, the timing of any showers should be from Saturday evening until Monday afternoon. The timing can change, and I will keep you updated. Use this as a heads up.

Tonight: A mostly clear sky with some haze, cool. Low: 45°

Thursday: Mostly sunny with some haze, pleasant. High: 73°

Thursday Night: A few more clouds in the sky, still a little hazy, not as cool. Low: 54°

Friday: The haze should move out and a mostly cloudy sky developing, breezy too. High: 76° 

Weather Update 3-12-14

What a wild, windy afternoon. Gusts across the entire Brazos Valley peaked over 40mph at times. As the evening wares on, high pressure will move in and relax the wind. In fact, high pressure will have firm control on Thursday and Friday. Therefore, expect more sunshine, and as the high progresses to the east, a south flow will develop, allowing the temperatures to rebound too.

Looking ahead, clouds and even rain should return for the weekend. Adjustments in the weekend forecast will be made, and KAGS-HD Weather will keep you informed. Use this information as a heads up at this time.

Tonight: Clear, calmer, and chilly. Low 37°

Thursday: Sunny and pleasant, a south breeze develops. High: 67°

Thursday Night: Clear, a bit breezy, and cool. Low: 45°

Friday: Partly cloudy, milder, and breezy. High: 69°

Wind Advisory From 7AM - 7PM Wednesday

Hold on tight because the wind will be howling tonight and tomorrow. This evening, the wind will be pointed from the south, keeping that mild to warm feeling around. However, past midnight, a cold front will move in and change things up. The front should come though dry, therefore, there is no threat of precipitation.

Furthermore, in the wake of this front, a strong high pressure center will approach the Brazos Valley.
Before the center of the high move in, the wind will be the biggest headline stealer. Expect the wind to be sustained between 20-30mph, with occasional gusts over 40mph on Wednesday. Additionally, the wind will be coming from the north, spilling in colder air. The thermometer will have a tough time reaching 60° on Wednesday.

Overall, its going to be much cooler, and very windy. My suggestion is to secure loose objects around your house or they might blow away. Also, it would be best to avoid any outdoor fires Wednesday as any fire could spread quickly with the weather expected.


High pressure crests over the area Wednesday night, calming the wind and helping the bring temperatures down into the 30s by Thursday morning.

Forecast Update 3-10-14

Following some fog, mist, and even rain during the weekend, the sun came out to begin the work week. With high pressure overhead, Monday turned out to be a top notch weather day. However, there is an upper level disturbance over northern Mexico that will influence us tonight and early on Tuesday morning.

Several showers will try to make it into the Brazos Valley late tonight and continue into the early morning hours on Tuesday. At this time, the heaviest rain should hug the Texas coast, while we are clipped with several showers. It is possible that we could hear a rumble of thunder, but all storms that generate will be well below severe limits. 

Into Tuesday afternoon this batch of rain will move out to the east and the sun will begin to shine in limitation for the afternoon. At the same time, the wind will pick up ahead of a cold front that is scheduled to push though around Midnight Tuesday/Wednesday.

Behind the front, expect the clouds to move out, the wind to remain gusty, and colder air to travel down.

Tonight: Becoming cloudy, several showers late, a rumble of thunder is possible, light fog late. Low: 54°

Tuesday: A few showers in the early morning, then turning mostly cloudy, and breezy. High: 76°

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, turning windy overnight. Low: 48°

Wednesday: Sunny, windy, and cooler. High: 63°

COLDER AIR ARRIVES, TURNS WINDY, AND RAINY TOO.....

As I am writing this weather discussion, colder air is slowly crawling into the Brazos Valley, helping to set the stage for a pretty miserable day on Wednesday. However, on the bright side, we will pick up well needed rain.

Here is the set up. At the surface, Canadian high pressure will continue to move towards Texas, supplying us with the cold air. Also, while the high moves closer, the wind will pick up tonight and most of Wednesday before calming down Wednesday evening. In the upper levels, energy from the Rockies will slide down, helping to produce more cloud cover and rainfall. Additionally, a healthy supply of moisture off the Pacific Ocean will allow for widespread precipitation, which could be heavy at times.

Expect rain to pick up in coverage overnight and into Wednesday morning. Rain will last for most of the day on Wednesday along with temperatures that will hover in the middle to lower 40s. Yup, its going to be cold, windy, and soggy.

Overall, about 0.75" to 1.25" of rain will fall for most of the Brazos Valley. There will be a few spots that pick up less, and a few isolated locations that pick up a more than that. Make sure to have your wet weather gear ready.

Weather Update 2-24-14

What a beautiful weekend for all of us! The air was warm, there was sunshine, and a little bit of humidity too. Now as we transition to a new work week, the weather will become more active. This includes, more cloud cover, wind, much colder air, and rainfall too.

Tonight should remain tranquil with a cloud sky and a few areas of mist and light fog around. By Tuesday afternoon, the cloud cover persists, but several light isolates showers will crop up from time to time. By Tuesday night, the action begins as a cold front approaches.

Following the passage of the cold front late Tuesday night, much colder air will rush in on a gusty wind from the north. Additionally, energy coming off the Rockies will combine with energy off the Pacific Ocean and combine to develop widespread rain on Wednesday. Not only will there be rain on Wednesday, it will be windy, and temperatures will not even get out of the 40s! Yup, its going to be a tough weather day for all of us.

I will keep you well informed as new information comes into the weather center and as the weather changes.

Tonight: Cloudy with a few areas of mist and light fog. Low: 61°

Tuesday: Overcast with several isolated light showers, warm. High: 72°

Tuesday Night: Periods of light rain, turning windy, and colder. Low: 45°

Wednesday: Cold, rainy, and windy. High: 48°