Strong storms today?

SUMMARY

Today, we’ll begin seeing the affects of tropical moisture that will be moving into our neck of the woods from that tropical low I’ve been watching in the Gulf.  There is some good news this morning with that low. It now looks like the low will not develop into our first tropical storm of the season. However, it is still a well-developed area of low pressure and it will certainly bring up a lot of warm, humid air onto the plateau as it spins up here toward us. Therefore, shower and t-storm chances will begin increasing today.

I’ll be watching the radar this afternoon and evening for the possibility of some strong storms.  The best chance for strong, or even severe, storms this week will come today. This is rather common as a tropical system moves in. We have just enough dry air aloft to destabilize the atmosphere for a strong storm. After today, the whole atmosphere will be so moist that tropical downpours will be our only concern. So, if you hear thunder this afternoon or evening keep in mind it may contain some small hail and very gusty winds. The tornado threat is practically zero.

The rest of the week will feature mostly cloudy skies and warm, humid conditions. Showers and t-storms will be quite numerous, especially in the afternoons and evenings. By Saturday, we should start to see our rain chances decrease, though we will likely still be dealing with at least a chance for showers and storms during the afternoons this weekend.

Today is a very special day. It is my Grandma Lowe’s 87th birthday! She is doing quite well these days, though she is nursing a minor arm injury.  She still lives independently and loves to stay busy cooking or tending to her flowers.  My brother managed to get him a couple of turkeys on her place a few weeks ago and she was amazed at how big they were. She asked him to take her picture with them so she could show people what she got (ha).

Grandma with the turkeys. I sent this to the Crossville Chronicle and you’ll see this in today’s paper. I’m anxious to see if Granny notices it. haha

Several years ago I submitted a story about my grandma to Chicken Soup for the Soul and they actually published it! It was one of the most exciting days of my life. I even got to sign it for folks at the Barnes and Noble on Vandy’s campus in Nashville. What an experience! They’ve since reprinted it four times. You can find it here: http://www.chickensoup.com/book-story/25360/41-pizza-night

DISCUSSION

Like I said, I’ll be watching the radar for some strong storms this afternoon. Not all of us will get wet, but I think about half of us on the plateau will see rain today. Any of the storms that develop this week will be capable of heavy downpours and cloud-to-ground lightning. Winds may get a bit gusty, too, but severe weather is not expected this week. It’s getting dry out there, so we could certainly use the rain.

Looking at some records this morning I didn’t see anything too interesting around the plateau (that will change BIG TIME later this week!), but I did find some for the country. Yesterday, there was one from Kansas City, Missouri that I meant to share with you all. A hailstorm hit that city on May 14th, 1898. Hailstones up to 9.5 inches in circumference fell! The hailstorm broke out every south-facing window in a four-mile wide swath through the city. Several people were injured (people rarely die in hailstorms but I’ve never figured out why, especially with hail this big!).

This story gets a little bizarre when you read on into the storm report. Apparently, they thought an even bigger hailstone had fallen, but it turned out to be a huge chunk of ice tossed out the window of a building by a prankster! A hailstone prankster?! Why does this sound exactly like something a 14-year old me would do?? (HA!) This is the coolest prankster story I’ve ever heard.

For those of you who may be wondering about my meet and greet last night it went very well. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer, more welcoming group of people. We had lots of food, music, and fellowship. I’ll never forget my first political event and Mayland sure made it a good memory. I’m forever grateful that they made this very nervous political rookie feel right at home.  For those of you living in the 7th district (Woody, Mayland, Rinnie) I sure would appreciate your vote Aug. 5. Keep in mind you can vote for two commissioners (there’s two per district). I’ll be out and about from now until the election, earning those votes!

You all have a great day and keep an eye to the sky for those storms this afternoon.