The Gulfstream V (National Science Foundation/NOAA)

The National Severe Storms Laboratory and two major universities will join forces today for a project to study thunderstorm development. The method is reminiscent of the Hurricane Hunter project which sends aircraft into the eye of the storm to drop probes to study it. This project called   Mesoscale Predictability EXperiment (MPEX) will take this aircraft up to 40,000 feet to research atmospheric conditions before and after thunderstorms. This data will be added to the numerical forecast models which operational meteorologists use everyday to forecast these storms. It is hoped that this data will add insight to these models so meteorologists will have a better idea when and where these storms will strike with even more warning. ]

You can read more about this project here.

Remaining 2013 Weather Radio Programming Dates

Our week of weather radio programming events continues.  For our viewers in the northern section of our viewing area, we’re heading up your way!!  Jonathan Conder and Jesse Hawila will be at the Angola Walgreens from 4-7 PM today to help program your weather radios and say hello!!  After today, we have just 2 stops left…Tomorrow in Van Wert, then Friday in Fort Wayne.  Come learn more about weather radios and meet the team!

This NOAA GOES-13 satellite image taken on October 29, 2012, shows the storm as it is centered off of Maryland and Virginia. The storm is heading in a northwestern direction towards the Delaware and southern New Jersey coast.

I believe that hurricane Sandy has been one of the most highly scrutinized and written about storms of our time. From the strong emergence of the European Forecast Model and it’s “dead on” predictions for storm movement to the evolution to make it a new category or so called “Super Storm”.

There are really two parts of Sandy and that’s what makes it such an intriguing storm. One of course the extra tropical hurricane part of the storm and other part which baffled scientists and that is the land cyclone that this storm became. It was not only a monster at see but as it made landfall it caused widespread coastal damaged but also combined with another storm to make a power land based storm as well. Certainly not a typical Nor’ Easter by any means. This aspect is what made the storm difficult to forecast and also gave the agencies involved with forecasting the movement of the storms fits.

In fact, The National Hurricane Center stopped issuing forecasts on the storm when they believed that it was a land based storm and did not believe the storm met its requirements to continue coverage. This led to quite a bit of criticism from broadcast meteorologists who thought the uniqueness of this storm should have allowed the Hurricane Center to track it. It also caused many warnings to slip through the cracks and as you probably know the damage was massive.

Here is the Final Assessment from NOAA and some of the changes which have been brought about by this storm coverage.

If you thought Tuesday was warm in the Fort, how about those record high temperatures across parts of Iowa?   Sioux City Iowa landed a high temperature of 106°, which is surprising since they had some snow earlier this month.  Back here in Fort Wayne, our high was 85°, only 5° shy of the record of 90° set back in 1985.

Actually, our high of 85° Tuesday is fairly impressive since we started with a low of 48°.   That’s nearly a 40° rise in the daily temperature which is rare for this part of the county.  If you go back to Sunday morning and our low temperature of 36°, that is nearly a 50° change in temperatures in 72 hours.

The next 72 hours will not bring big swings like this, but more highs in the upper 70s to the mid 80s.

Midland Weather Radio

We are in day two of our Midland Weather Radio programing event. Below you will find a schedule of the remaining events and where to find one near you. So why a weather radio? If there is a siren near your house isn’t that good enough? Keep in mind that sirens are meant to be heard outside and not really an inside warning system. There have been many instances where sirens have failed and the only means of getting a warning was your weather radio. In fact, there was an event in Minnesota last year where the sirens failed but the weather radios activated and lives were saved.

So keep in mind that during situations where quick action is needed a weather radio may be your only source to get the weather warning. After you receive the warning quick action is needed and you can get additional information by watching WANE TV and our meteorologists will be able to give you a current track of the storm and show you what time it will hit your area.

If you missed us at the Walgreens at Jefferson and Getz in Fort Wayne today, you can join us from 4-7PM Tuesday at the Walgreens in Huntington for our 2nd weather radio programming event this week.  Even if you don’t need another weather radio, we can program one for you, or answer any weather questions you may have.   Maybe you have a weather enthusiast in the family and you just want to meet the weather team?  Well, come on down.

If you can’t make Huntington on Tuesday, we will also be in Angola on Wednesday, Van Wert on Thursday and back in Fort Wayne on Friday at the Kroger on Dupont.

Locations for WANE-TV Weather Radio Programming Events

So you bought your weather radio and you are still at a loss on how to program the thing. Then it’s as easy as going to one of our free programming events listed above this week. Even if you haven’t purchased your weather radio you can do it right there.

Did you know that the Indiana Legislature passed a Bill in 2007 that all manufactured homes must have a weather radio. This legislation was because of a tornado in 2005 in Evansville that killed 25 people in a mobile home park. Please consider this if you live in a mobile home. It’s something you must have to stay safe in the storm.

Come to the programming event near you this week.

The northern half of the viewing area is under a freeze warning for Sunday night/Monday morning. This includes Fort Wayne and points northward.

Freeze Warning in Light Blue, Frost Advisory in Darker Blue

Temperatures overnight Sunday into Monday morning are forecasted to fall to near freezing in Fort Wayne. Locations north of the Fort could drop below freezing for several hours. In fact, some isolated areas may briefly drop into the upper 20s! With that in mind, make sure you cover your sensitive vegetation and bring any plants you can inside for the night. Luckily, this freeze will not be prolonged and our temperatures will be making a huge improvement this week.

We are certainly well below average temperature-wise, and with the last 30 years of data, it’s not very often we see a frost this late in the season. Though we are anticipating to see what looks to be the last freeze of the season two to three weeks later than average, our viewing area has seen a freeze in late May a few times in the past according to the Midwest Regional Climate Center.

Midwest Regional Climate Center graphic of latest last 32° freeze

As we’ve been discussing in the forecast, temperatures remain likely to drop tonight to freezing and below.  Below freezing temperatures are most likely to occur from Fort Wayne northward, where we have the potential to see lows in the upper 20s – producing a hard freeze.  South of Fort Wayne temps will be closer to the freezing mark – making frost likely in those locations.

Our latest Freeze/Frost alerts now include those areas south of Fort Wayne and there still may be some fluctuation in these alerts through the day.  For the latest, you can view the most up-to-date info on our Watch/Warning page.

Freeze Warning in Light Blue, Frost Advisory in Darker Blue

In this post, I also want to include the locations of our Weather Radio Programming Events going on this week.   You can drop by to see members of the Live Doppler 15 Fury Weather Team, purchase your own weather radio and have it programmed.  Or, you can bring the weather radio you already have to make sure it’s programmed correctly.

If you’ll be having a weather radio programmed, remember to bring batteries with you or just buy them at Walgreens or Kroger when you see us.

Locations for WANE-TV Weather Radio Programming Events

Check your calendars, folks. It IS in fact mid-May, and that’s going to be hard to believe after waking up to a morning low tomorrow on Mother’s Day Sunday in the middle 30s! Here’s the kicker: that’s not the coldest air we have in the extended forecast. Here are a few ‘cold’ hard facts about Mother’s Day in the past.

After we get through Sunday morning in the middle 30s, we have to very mindful of temperatures Monday morning as they will be flirting with the freezing mark. We could have patch frost in the viewing area Monday morning as temps fall to near record lows. The record low on May 13th was 28° set back in 1946. The forecasted low in Fort Wayne is 33°, but some outlying areas could easily drop subfreezing or a few hours. Many farmers and gardeners have their crops and gardens out for the season, so this late season shot of cold air may cause a few problems. That’s why the National Weather Service of Northern Indiana has issued a freeze watch for Monday morning across a good chunk of the viewing area.

The good news: the subfreezing temperatures will not last long. After a few hours Monday morning of near freezing or just below freezing temps, we will warm up into the upper 50s and lower 60s. Then, two days later, the warmest air of the season arrives on Wednesday with forecasted highs in the middle 80s. Talk about a quick transition!