Meteorologist Mark

Weather Headlines

A dry, warm stretch of days ahead!

A quiet 7-day forecast

The best chance for rain in the 7-day is Tuesday

Main threats

Hazardous weather is not expected over the next five to seven days.

Summary

We have entered a very quiet forecast period! While we do have some spring showers and thundershowers coming next week, nothing looks impressive at all. The risk for severe storms is practically non-existent. I think we’ll take that, don’t you?

The weekend is looking pretty good, too. We may squeeze out a shower Saturday night and Sunday, but it is certainly nothing to cancel any outdoor plans over.

The best chance of rain may hold off until next Tuesday, when a weakening cold front pushes through.

Almanac

Baldwin’s 7-Day forecast

I added percentages of precip back to the 7-day. I hope you like it!

Wx Hazards Across the Nation

A very wintry pattern continues for the country! Significant snow and ice are possible across the central and northern plains today. Meanwhile, lighter wintry precip will fall on each end of the country, with New England getting more of a wintry mix and the Pacific Northwest seeing more light snow. Special weather statements are being issued for the central Rockies for more significant snowfall this coming weekend.

Records

Nashville recorded one inch of snow on this day in 1951. While I don’t see anything on record, I pulled up the weather map for that day and it shows light snow across the plateau with some minor accumulation.

Eleven cities in Florida broke record lows on this day in 1987. Tallahassee dropped all the way down to 31 degrees! Key West, Florida even recorded a record low when they dropped all they way down to 48 degrees. That broke the old record by 13 degrees!

Thirsty Thursday

On average, women in developing countries walk about 3.7 miles a day to collect fresh water for their families. How far have you walked for water today? Sure makes ya think, right?

NASA Knowledge

I certainly wasn’t alone when I applied to be an astronaut. NASA, “More than 12,000 people have applied to join NASA’s next class of astronauts, demonstrating strong national interest to take part in America’s plans to explore the Moon and take humanity’s next giant leap – human missions to Mars.

Applications were received from every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories. However, the process is just beginning for NASA’s Astronaut Selection Board, which will assess the applicants’ qualifications and invite the most qualified candidates to the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for interviews and medical tests before making a final selection. NASA expects to introduce the new astronaut candidates in the summer of 2021.”

This is the second highest number of people to apply to be an astronaut. In the last round of applications two years ago, about 18,000 people applied. This year they made the requirements a bit tougher, such as requiring at least a Masters degree.

NASA, “Since the 1960s, NASA has selected 350 people to train as astronaut candidates for its increasingly challenging missions to explore space. With 48 astronauts in the active astronaut corps, more will be needed to serve as crew aboard spacecraft bound for multiple destinations and propel exploration forward as part of Artemis missions and beyond.

Once selected, the astronaut candidates will go through approximately two years of initial skills training, such as spacewalking, robotics, and spacecraft systems, as well.”

News

TVA reports that the period of January through March were the wettest first three months of any year in 131 years of record. That led to some massive work by TVA to prevent devastating flooding across Tennessee. Thankfully, they were very successful at that!

Finally, I shared this on Facebook last night but I’ll share it here too. This is video of clouds moving over the mountains of Virginia yesterday. Notice the snow on the ground. How cool is this view?

You all have a great day!

Check out this wild situation off the Carolina Coast this morning. As the video begins, you’ll see the Outer Banks on the very left-hand side.

The storm system wants to move north but a blocking high pressure system has something to say about that. Meanwhile, the warm Gulf Stream Current provides more than enough fuel for energy. Sure does leave us with some mesmerizing satellite imagery! This is what you call meteorological eye candy!

Each cumulonimbus cloud contains the energy of about ten Hiroshima atomic bombs. A cumulonimbus cloud is a cumulus cloud that produces precipitation. No wonder they bubble up into the atmosphere like a bomb!

This same system is helping bring us northerly winds today, keeping us quite chilly.

(video from Stu Ostro via The Weather Channel).

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Weather Headlines

A welcome streak of dry days!

The next system arrives by the end of the weekend

Next week looking wet and unsettled

Main threats

Patchy frost is very likely tonight. Be sure and protect tender plants that may be sprouting or budding.

Summary

Happy April Fool’s Day! And no, this forecast ain’t foolin’ around! (ha)

Clouds will gradually move out today, leaving us with some cool early-April sunshine. By tomorrow, we’ll be ten degrees warmer than today and Friday will be ten degrees warmer than Thursday. That’s a nice trend!

Our next system may try to move in on Sunday, but it’s certainly not looking like a washout. Sunday may just be one of those warm spring days with a shower or three across the plateau.

Next week is looking wet and unsettled. At this time, there are no clear indications of severe weather or heavy rainfall, but that could change with the pattern we will be going into.

Almanac

I noticed on the almanac below that we were 24 degrees this time last year for a morning low!

Baldwin’s 7-Day forecast

Wx Hazards Across the Nation

A big winter storm is moving across the northwestern US, bringing very heavy mountain snows and valley rains/freezing rain. That’s a cold system! Elsewhere, some light wintry precip can be found across New England, as well as the southern Appalachian Mountains. It’s a cool start to April across the nation!

Records

On this day in 1974 severe thunderstorms struck West Tennessee. Some of those storms hit around the Nashville area, as well. In fact, the fastest recorded wind gust ever measured in the city was measured that day at the Nashville International Airport (96 mph). Two people were killed in Nashville in storms.

These storms were bad, for sure, but they were nothing compared to what was coming. What’s even more interesting is that these storms likely contributed to even worse storms in the days ahead. I’ll have much more on this in the coming days….

Wednesday Wind Day

Wind develops because of a difference in air pressure. Wind always blows from highs to lows. In other words, wind always blows from high pressure to low pressure.

A good example of this happens nearly every day on the beach in the summer. The ocean water warms much more slowly than the nearby land. That means the water is cooler and, in turn, the air above the water is cooler. Cooler air is heavier and has a higher pressure.

Meanwhile, the sandy beach heats up pretty quickly. That warm air rises and creates lower pressure. Rising air means the atmosphere above pushes down on us less, that creates a lower pressure situation.

Since wind blows from higher pressure to lower pressure, a breeze develops in the afternoon from the water to the beach. This can offer some refreshing breezes, but it can also kick off afternoon storms. That incoming sea breeze acts as a little cold front, with cooler ocean air moving in and replacing hotter beach air. So, you get a breeze and distant rumbles of thunder.

Anyone else ready to go to the beach now? (ha)

NASA Knowledge

The first successful low-orbital weather satellite, TIROS-1, was launched by NASA at Cape Canaveral on this day in 1960. This was the first satellite to test the idea of using satellites to study the Earth. TIROS also showed that satellites could vastly improve hurricane forecasting. The satellite opened the flood gates for other research satellites.

This satellite was also the first to transmit images to TV from space. In fact, the image below is the first TV image of Earth by a satellite. TIROS operated from April to June 15, 1960. We’ve come a long way with satellites!

News

Well, I applied to be an astronaut yesterday! The deadline was midnight and I made it! (ha) It was actually a quite lengthy application, with tests, essays, etc. I was glad to be finished with that! Now, we wait. I’m honestly pretty sure I would turn it down. Based on the questions asked…well, let’s just say that’s no job like I’ve ever applied for before! They said we would know within the year. Dang, must take a while to go through all the applications (ha). I just want the letter thanking me for applying. 🙂

You all have a great day!

A tornado was reported earlier this afternoon in southeast Washington State. Quite the unusual event, to say the least, for that area. The twister was seen by numerous people but damage appears to be on the minimal side. It appears to have struck the north side of the city of Richland. The tornado occurred where you see that red dot in Washington.

Then, just about an hour ago a strong earthquake struck northern Idaho. The magnitude 6.5 quake has rattled homes and nerves. Thankfully, damage appears to be minimal, as it seems to have occurred in a rural part of Idaho. Still, many homes have some minor damage. The quake was felt as far away as Seattle!