Great Weather One Day, Tornados and Floods The Next: It's That Time of The Year
Paying attention could save your life
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My hidden secret is I am a weather geek. But I'm not a storm chasing, tornado craving, hanging out in a hail storm kind of geek. I leave that to the younger generations.
I am an armchair weather observer with a collection of computers, intense websites, and a voracious appetite for reading, researching, and following weather patterns. I did want to become a degreed meteorologist in college, but other interests pulled me away. Instead, I am a Certified Skywarn Observer trained by the National Weather Service.
I enjoy understanding why our days happen the way they do.
There are days when clouds dance across the sky like pillow puffs, other days when there are no clouds. Some days it is a delightful treat to be outside; other days, it's miserable. And there are scientific reasons for all of it.
The most exciting days are when the sky turns dark with towering thunderheads. The smell of ozone fills the air. Forks of lightning reach across the sky, and thunder rumbles like a bass drum. Winds majestically pick up; conditions degrade as the sky erupts into a violent dance, spewing rain, hail, and tornados.
My computer screens light up with various images from multiple radars and satellite views on those days. Shades of green, yellow, orange, and purple move about the screen as if the atmosphere was playing a game of afternoon chess. Occasionally, the cells develop into mesocyclones, which means they are big, dynamic, and tornadic.
We can't do anything about the weather, so we watch, listen, take shelter, and pray that any storms pass with no lingering damage. We adjust our daily lives…
