Thunderstorms Likely - Sharknado - Baseball's All-Star Game

All sorts of interesting weather information today. We'll get into why the popular TV movie Sharknado is made-up science fiction and look at the deadly heatwave from 1995 that claimed nearly 600 lives in Chicago. First, our Sunday forecast for Cookeville, TN.

SUNDAY FORECAST:
Showers and thunderstorms are a possibility after noon today with partly sunny skies and a high of around 83°. We hit 87° on Saturday before thunderstorms and heavy hits parts of our area. My weather station recorded .81" bringing our monthly total to 7.52". Typical July rainfall is under 5".

We'll have a slight chance for rainfall all next week with temperatures heating up into the upper 80's to lower 90's ranges. Expect heat index ("feels like") readings to top 100°.

FROM THE WEATHER CHANNEL:

WeatherWhys^®

The Midwest was in the midst of an intense and deadly heat wave on this date in 1995. The heat wave claimed nearly 600 lives in Chicago, where temperatures soared to 104 degrees on the 13th. High dew points made the air feel dangerously hotter.

WEATHER NEWS (various sources):
Wolf Point, Montana sets a record low of 46°
Vicksburg, Mississippi seta a low of 63°
6 year-old child swallowed by sinkhole 
Hot and humid weather for baseball's All-Star game
Popular TV movie Sharknado Debunked: Ridiculous Plotpoints Exposed

*Latest Local Forecast*

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Gorgeous Saturday - Weather News - Extended Forecast

What a beautiful day across Middle Tennessee this morning. We started this morning in the 50's in several locations throughout the mid-state.

WARMING TREND AHEAD:
Expect temperatures to warm each day along with chances of a pop-up thunderstorm. The first graphic shows the next 7-days for all of Middle Tennessee (hence the range in temps). For our specific forecast, click the latest, local forecast link below.

SATURDAY FORECAST:

We'll see a slight afternoon thunderstorm chance. Most of the area will see no rain. Highs in Cookeville today will be in the lower 80's with slightly cooler temperatures to our east.

SUNDAY AND BEYOND:
A 50% chance of thunderstorms for Sunday (sorry folks) with a high of 85°. Look for 88° on Monday, 90° on Tuesday, and 92° on Wednesday with a slight thunderstorm chance each day.

WEATHER NEWS:
This Month In Climate History: Earth's Hottest Temperature
Vicksburg, MS set a record low this morning
Panama City, FL set a record low this morning
Corona, CA set a record low this morning
Paducah, KY set a record low this morning
Death Valley Rangers Ask Visitors To Stop Frying Eggs
Responders Search For Dead, Answers
Lastly, here is our 3 month outlook for August, September, and October


*Latest Local Forecast*

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Much Cooler Rest Of Week

We change from summer-like conditions to more typical springtime weather through the 7-day forecast. Expect temperatures to moderate down into the 70's today with an early isolated shower or thunderstorm.

After frontal passage this afternoon, we'll revert to a chilly pattern over the next 48 hours with highs struggling to make the 70's and lows in the 40's. Other than today, there is no chance of rain for at least the next 5 days.

We received 3/4" of an inch (.76") of rain on Monday evening. This gives us a total of 1.16" for May.

This morning's temperature is 65° to start (at 6:50 am). It will be the warmest morning we'll have in the forecast period.

MAY 8 WEATHER HISTORY:

On this day in ..

1784 - Town of Winnsborough SC was hit by a devastating hailstorm. Hailstones up to 9 inches in diameter killed several persons. 1803 - Heavy snow from Indiana to New England from a freak snowstorm. 1902 - Mt. Pelee erupted in the West Indies. Around 40,000 people perished. Considered to be the greatest volcanic eruption of all time. 1979 - Rough morning in Tampa FL. 8 tornadoes kill 17 people. 7.84 inches of rain fall between 8am and 2pm. A total of 12.73 inches of rain fall on the 8th and 9th. 1981 - Worst hailstorm of record in Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Grapefruit size hail and 100 mph winds struck the area causing $200 million in damage. Hail piled up to a depth of 8 inches. 1988 - Mother's Day tornado outbreak of 57 tornadoes across the Mississippi Valley. 22 twisters in Iowa was a record. The tornadoes were accompanied by over 200 reports of large hail and damaging winds. Terre Bonne MO reported baseball-sized hail. 80-mph winds at Rockford IL trapped a person in a portable toilet. Fortunately, no deaths were reported with the outbreak. 1989 - 28 at Asheville NC, just one of 21 record lows across the eastern U.S. 1994 - Major flash flooding strikes Louisiana and Mississippi between the 8th and 10th. $3.5 billion in damage.

*Latest Local Forecast*

And finally, the latest weather news from the Weather.com News Center.

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What Happened?

STAGE COLLAPSE AT INDIANA STATE FAIR:
A horrific sight from straight line, strong winds collapse the stage at the Indiana State Fair just before Sugarland was set to perform. As of this posting, 4 people are known to have died and 40 more people are injured.

RAINS NEVER MATERIALIZED:
Yesterday's forecast, as you might recall, showed a good chance for rain and thunderstorms. Unfortunately for many of us that rain never developed. Areas to our north, such as Celina, Byrdstown, and Jamestown all received around a 1/2" and up. In east Tennessee, there are reports of 1" plus.

HUGE CHANGES IN WEATHER:
Since June 1st, we've been in the 'oven' (so to speak) with only an occasional and brief break. With frontal passage this morning, we will see a noticeable change in the weather with a northwesterly breeze and it will feel a lot less like summer and more like early autumn. This pattern will last well into Tuesday with a turn back to a summer-like pattern by mid-week. All of the details are in the latest, local forecast link below. Enjoy the break!

*Latest Local Forecast*

Hot Tuesday

COOL MORNING
Did you notice the cool start this morning? The air is very dry and allows for quick cool downs and a quick warm up. This morning's low was 65°. We haven't been that cool since July 2nd.

JULY WRAP and AUGUST PREVIEW
Speaking of July, read my wrap-up on last month at JULY WAS ONE HOT MOMMA'....my August preview is out as well and can be viewed here.

VERY HOT
Look for temperatures to hit 95°+ this afternoon (record high is 97 from 1999) across the Upper Cumberland under a sunny sky. We had a high of 91° yesterday in Cookeville and the heat will continue to intensify in the next day or so as we expect 97° on Wednesday. Building clouds will help set off a few showers for the rest of the week after today.

OTHER WEATHER
The heat is the major story throughout the south and many other parts of the US. The 100-degree streak in Dallas continues. Finally, Tropical Storm Emily is going to be the big story later this week for the southern United States.

*Latest Local Forecast*

Cookeville's Daily Almanac
Our morning low: 64.7°
Yesterday's high: 90.7°
Yesterday's low: 69.0°
Last Year: 91° and 70°
Normal High: 88°
Normal Low: 65°
Records: 97° in 1999 and 54° in 1930

Rainfall Report
24-hour precip total: 0.00"
August monthly precip total: 0.00"
2011 annual precip total: 47.30"
2.09" of rain fell on this date in 2000

Cold Tuesday; Warmer Week Ahead

WINTRY MIX: Cold today with a mixture of freezing sleet along with snow flurries this morning across the Upper Cumberland and Cookeville. Temperatures will struggle to 30° by this afternoon. Be careful on secondary roads as there are some very slick spots this morning county-wide. After a low in the teens tonight, we'll make it all the way to 42° on Wednesday and 48° on Thursday under mostly sunny skies! What a difference that will be.

IN THE HEADLINES: Thanks to Laura Gwinn at the Herald-Citizen for quoting me and featuring some great weather information in yesterday's paper.

*Latest Local Forecast*

Weather History for This Date
1918 - The high on this date in Nashville is just 2°, the lowest ever!
1916 - A tornado tears a 5 mile path through Madison. The twister is an F2 and injures 7 people.

Cookeville's Daily Almanac
Yesterday's high: 35.2° low: 11.7°
Normal High: 45°
(Record: 72° in 1916)
Normal Low: 25°
(Record: -10° in 1918)
Last Year: 41.5° and 25.4°
2.25" of rain fell on this date in 1989
3" of snow on this date in 1918
3" on the ground in 1918 and 1988

DID YOU KNOW: Our lows have averaged 10.6° during first 11 days of January. Last year, our average low was 30.7 during the same period.
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Cold Rain; Little Snow

RAIN DEVELOPING TONIGHT: A very slight chance for rain this afternoon with highs around 47°. Tonight, showers become more numerous with lows around 40°. Rain continues for Thursday with a high of 45°, then temperatures should fall enough overnight on Thursday to change the rain to snow as lows bottom out around 29° on New Year's Eve. For January 1st, 2010, our forecast is for a 20% chance of light snow showers and a high of just 32°. Beyond that, temperatures take a big tumble as lows will be in the teens and highs will barely reach 30°.

*Latest Local Forecast*

• Speaking of big changes in weather, check out this post by Anthony Watts on the Major northern hemisphere cold snap coming.
• Justin Bruce, at News 2 (and Nashville WX), thinks we'll have a cold snap with no major precipitation makers. Sorry Snow Fans!
• Interesting story about the New Year's Eve/New Year's Day 1963/1964 Snowstorm in Nashville by Bobby Boyd of the National Weather Service. 

Weather History for This Date
1926 - The Cumberland River at Carthage stands at 59.8 feet, which is 19.8 feet above flood stage. This great flood of 1926-1927 created an urgency to dam building along the Cumberland River.


Cookeville's Daily Almanac
Yesterday's high: 36° low: 26°
Normal High: 47°
(Record: 69° in 1996)
Normal Low: 26°
(Record: -2° in 1917)
Last Year: 56° and 29°
2.86" of rain fell on this date in 1969
1.5" of snow fell on this date in 1997
3" on the ground in 1967
Highs this month are 1.4° below normal
Lows are .4° below normal

December total precip stands at: 5.44" while 2009 stands at 75.78" 

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Gorgeous Weekend Ahead

YOUR FRIDAY FORECAST: It is chilly to start on this Friday morning as temperatures are right around the 35° to 37° as you head out at 7 a.m. Expect this afternoon's high to reach 67° today. For tonight's Cookeville Cavalier football game, temperatures will be in the upper 50's around kickoff and slide through the 50's during the game. By the end, upper 40's should be common. Take a warm jacket and blanket to see the 2nd round TSSAA playoff game. They host the defending state champions and #3 ranked Oakland Patriots out of Murfreesboro.

REST OF WEEKEND: Sunny, warm days and cool nights with be with us all weekend as the high will hit 71° on Saturday and 73° on Sunday. Perfect for any outdoor yard chores or perfect for relaxing. We won't see many, if any, more of these type weekends during the winter, so get out and enjoy the weather!

*Latest Local Forecast*

Weather History for This Date
November 13-The first dust storm of the Dust Bowl era strikes Tennessee on this date in 1933. Visibility in West Tennessee is down to just a half mile.


Weather Story of The Day
Remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped more than 6 inches of rain on Hampton, VA. See latest news here.


Cookeville's Daily Almanac
Yesterday's high: 57° low: 36°
Normal High: 61°
(Record: 78° in 1989)
Normal Low: 37°
(Record: 15° in 1920)
Last Year: 57° and 45°
.92" of rain fell on this date in 1929
Has November seemed warm to you? It has to me, but checking official stats, we are .3° below the norms thusfar in November.
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Lastly, you can read my latest weather post over the Examiner website where I handle duties as the Nashville Weather Examiner.

Wonderful Weekend Weather

**Weekend Notes**
Sunny and warm over the next two days. High today 81° and 86° on Sunday. Shower and storm chances return by first of the work week. If you were up early this morning across Middle Tennessee, you noticed a 'chill' in the air.  Lows dropped to 51° here in Cookeville and I'll bet a few spots on the northern plateau were in the 40's.

**Weather News**
2009 a deadly year for lightning strikes
Editorial on cooling down with global warming data

**Weekend Plans**
We're headed to Center Hill Lake this morning to celebrate our daughter's 15th birthday. My parents are kind enough to let us use the 'Great Escape', the family houseboat. I should be able to post some pictures over at Facebook.  So, if you've not 'friended' me on Facebook, why not do that today...

*Latest Local Forecast*

Weather History for This Date
June 6th
On this date in 1944, Allied forces start the invasion of Normandy, called D-day. Weathermen decided which day would be the best. For an excellent breakdown of why June 6th was chosen, check out this post at Alabama WX.

Fun Weather Site of The Day
Today, I've chosen the New York WX Team website as my 'FWSOTD'. I appreciate the hard work that goes into making a blog successful. The fellow running this site is in high school and he is devoting a significant amount of time educating the public. Kudos to Tyler H!! His site is our FWSOTD.

Cookeville's Daily Almanac
June 6th
Normal High: 82°
(Record: 96° in 1936)
Normal Low: 58°
(Record: 45° in 1993)
Last Year: 93° and 73°
2" of rain fell on this date in 1981
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Be sure to join me on Facebook and request to be my friend. We have a great community of weather folks.

I'm also on Twitter and enjoy adding people to my 'following' list and invite you to 'follow' me. Twitter is a great way to keep up quickly!

Lastly, you can read my latest weather post over the Examiner website where I handle duties as the Nashville Weather Examiner.

Freezing Rain This Morning..

(webcam shot courtesy of CPCEMA)

A Freezing Rain Advisory is still in effect this morning.  Temperatures here in the Cookeville area are hovering right around freezing.  A quick check of conditions at my home shows NO frozen surfaces...tree limbs are wet due to rain overnight...(we've had .50 since 7 am yesterday, .07 occurred overnight)...I expect the advisory to be dropped later this morning as temperatures begin to rise.

*Latest, Local Forecast*

Quite a busy weather map this morning.  If you click on it, you can see a larger version.

Snow will fall over a large portion of the southern Rocky Mountain range including Arizona and New Mexico.  Rain in California while heavy snow will fall in Northern Illinois.  Bitter cold weather in the northern plains and a freezing rain mess stretches from western Kentucky all the way to New York state.  

A stalled cold front on the Tennessee and Georgia border will retreat northward as a warm front bringing rising temperatures for our area.  Should see highs in the 60's by Thursday.  Cold temperatures are expected to return by early next week.

Like to talk about weather, check out TennesseeWX.com

Credibility Issues

Some in the global warming hysteria community lack credibility.

Such was the case recently when the GISS (Goodard Institute For Space Studies) issued a report saying October 2008 was the hottest on record. GISS, run by Al Gore buddy Dr. James Hansen, issued this in spite of the FACTS below...

• 63 Snowfall Records in the U.S.
• 115 lowest-ever temperatures recorded
• Tibet suffered worst snowstorm ever
• 70th warmest October in the last 114 years 

Click here to see the (as Paul Harvey says) "Rest of The Story"....

Special thanks to Anthony Watts for his Weather Blog "Watts Up With That"

Hot Weather Ahead...

After a bit of a break today, we're staring at highs in the lower and mid 90's for the next couple of days here on the Highland Rim in eastern Middle Tennessee. Of course, areas to our west will be even hotter. That being said, we do have a break in the heat coming!

*Our latest, local forecast*

Took a look at the Dallas/Ft. Worth Nat'l Weather Service office website this evening. Their expected high tomorrow is 106° with the heat index hitting 110°....oh my!

Looks like Tropical Storm Eduoard (guess Eddie was taken) will strike somewhere along the Mississippi, Lousiana, or Texas gulf coasts. Could strike all three. Here are a few links that I found interesting....

Nashville WX T.S. Eduoard story
Nat'l Hurricane Center
Wunderground Tropical site (always very cool)

Thanks to a Mark Rose post over at the Nat'l Weather Service's Nashville Weather Blog for this last tidbit of information......
I'm a bit of a weather history buff...so today's Middle Tennessee Weather Fact was kind of neat....Carthage measured 8.35" of rain on this date back in 1893....I'll guarantee you they had all sorts of flooding issues as the confluence of the Caney Fork and Cumberland Rivers run right the town. Carthage, TN wiki site.

2008 Versus 2007

Just did some research on rainfall statistics for 2008 versus 2007. There has been some 'angst' over the lack of rainfall lately. While some of us were a bit short for June, lets visit the numbers for just my station.

Taking the period from January 1st to June 30th.
2007 Rainfall-15.67"
2008 Rainfall-24.77"

What is the average rainfall for this period? 29.18"
We are short by a little more than 4 inches or just over 15%.

~BUT~

I knew we were in much better shape than 2007, but I didn't realize it was 158% better!
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Tragedy In Huntsville, Alabama

News Story coming out of Huntsville concerning tragedy at an Air Show. Strong winds roared through toppling a tent. Twelve reported injuries at area hospitals along with the death of a 5 year old.

James P's blog story

Mike Wilhelm's report

Air Show Video

Breaking News Story and Eyewitness Account from AI.com

Strong Storm or Tornado???

Something destroyed a barn and knocked down trees. The question is...Which was it? A strong storm or a small tornado.

The NWS-Nashville has confirmed 'some' rotation in or near the damaged area.

See this news story from the Cookeville Herald-Citizen newspaper.

Everglades Wildfire

Ft. Lauderdale smoke-filled skyline.

(Picture courtesy of the Miami Herald)

This story from USATODAY.com (who recently updated their site with a new look) about the Wildfires in South Florida. Warnings for residents to stay indoors were posted across the east coast of Florida.

I visited the Everglades as a child when my grandparents lived in Pompano Beach. It is one incredible place.

Gorgeous Spring Morning

It is a beautiful day to start here in Cookeville, TN. Morning temperatures are 43.5° with a heavy dew this morning. We expect temperatures to run up to around 73° this afternoon under a mostly sunny sky.

*Our latest, local forecast*

As one can observe in the forecast, we won't see rain/t-storm activity until Wednesday night/Thursday.

*May 5th Weather Fact of the Day*

May 5th Daily Almanac

Normal High is 75
Normal Low is 53
Record High 93 in 1952
Record Low 37 in 1957
Last year 78 and 64
On this date in 2003, 4.63" of rain fell here.

Enjoy this beautiful day...we sure have enjoyed the last several days. Went to my parent's houseboat on Friday evening and stayed until Saturday evening. Had a beautiful Saturday to spend on Center Hill Lake!

Sunday, we enjoyed a great church service at our home church.

Afterwards, I got the lawn mowed and few tree limbs pruned. Then we went to a wonderful couple's home for our small group. There, we enjoyed quite a meal with ribs, chicken, and many wonderful side dishes! Usually, we just snack and have Bible Study. I asked our host if he could cook like this every Sunday night!!! :)

Drying Out This Weekend...

Rainfall has ceased across the midstate and we'll slowly begin the process of drying out. We've got patchy fog here on the Cumberland Plateau. Cookeville webcam showing fog and mist. Clouds will be stubborn and will hang around most of the day. Temperatures will struggle to get in the middle 50's. After today though, Sunday will be gorgeous will sunshine and highs reaching 70.

*Latest, Local Forecast*

*CoCoRaHS Rainfall Reports*

**Meteorological Spring**

Meteorological Spring is defined as March 1st onward. Checking our rainfall, we've received 8.60 inches of rain since 3-1 while the average rainfall for March 1st through today is 6.26. This represents an overage of 2.74 inches or 37% above normal. Hope this trend continues for the rest of the year!

**BLOG UPDATE**

I've updated the weather blog to include a live storm warnings along with latest weather news. You'll see both these new features just to the right below our live weather station. If you scroll toward the bottom, you'll see charts from my personal weather station. I am looking to put a graphic on the site with the NWS forecast, so if you know of one...let me know

Snow, Then A Big Warmup!

We're look at the chances for snow early Thursday morning here and a very cold day on Thursday due to a strong cold front. By the weekend, however, temperatures will warm into the 50's and near 60 by early next week.

Currently, on this Wednesday morning, we are under freezing with some mist falling. This has created a few slicks spots...mostly on elevated surfaces and our schools are running two hours late for safety reasons. I believe it is an excellent decision. We'll clear out later but will struggle to reach 40.

Here is our latest, local forecast!

Interesting article from NOAA News on 2007 Weather

Interesting Website

The Disaster Center Webpage
(you can find your state's page here)

Tennessee's Disaster Center Webpage