I am a local meteorologist for the Upper Cumberlands of Tennessee. I absolutely love tracking and forecasting the weather for this region! It is certainly an interesting place for weather!
I also write weekly weather articles for the Fentress Courier and the Livingston Enterprise, in addition to teaching free science classes for kids once a month.
If you ever want to talk weather you have found an ear! I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy writing for it!
Note: To offer support to Meteorologist Mark and his educational outreach programs, please consider giving via https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meteorologistmark. If you can’t give, no worries! Just keep following and tell your friends!
Meteorologist Mark’s Wx Vlog
Seven-Day Forecast
Daily Forecast Summary/Discussion
If you compare this 7-Day outlook to yesterday’s, you’d notice it is trending much drier. With our rainfall deficit quickly approaching three inches, that’s not good. Fingers crossed that you get one of these showers over the coming days!
The best chance for rain comes Tuesday and even that is looking drier than it was.
Notice those 80-degree temps coming! That is a welcome sight to many of us!
Meteorologist Mark’s Wx Concerns
Almanac for Yesterday
Sun & The Moon
On This Day in Wx History
1834 – The Northern Atlantic Coast States were in the midst of their greatest May snowstorm of record. The hills around Newbury, Vermont, were covered with two to three feet of snow!
Yesterday’s National Temperature Extremes
High: 110° at Death Valley, California
Low: 20° at Dixie, Idaho
Today’s Tennessee Weather
It’s a day of wall to wall sunshine across the state! The next system will begin throwing a few clouds across our skies as we go through the day, with a chance for a shower across the northwest part of the state by evening. All in all, it’s a nice May day across Tennessee!
Map created by WeatherWX.com
Wednesday’s Weather 101 w/ Meteorologist Mark (Coming May 12th!)
Drought Monitor
The drought monitor is updated each Thursday.
Weather SnapShots
Check out this incredible shot of a storm south of McLave, Colorado. This was taken yesterday evening. The storm was tornado-warned, thought it doesn’t appear to be producing a tornado at this time. Notice that look of “spin” in the clouds, though. Storm chasers refer to that lowering, spinning cloud as a “Mothership”, for understandable reasons.
Notice the lack of rainfall. That is true for many storms this far west and even storms farther north, across the northern plains. Our storms in the South are LOADED with moisture but storms much farther from the Gulf are not. That allows you to really see the storm structure. Pretty cool, right?
NASA Nerdology
Not everyone who works for NASA is an engineer! Self-labeled ‘spacecraft dressmaker’ Lien Pham works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs and designs and fabricates thermal blankets for spacecraft. NASA is a village of people with a broad range of talents!
To offer support to Meteorologist Mark and his educational outreach programs, please consider giving via https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meteorologistmark. If you can’t give, no worries! Just keep following and tell your friends!
Many of you have notice my donation button on my blogs lately. I know you’ve noticed because I get a notification each time you have donated money. You will each get a very special “thank you” from me. Some of you have even set up for monthly donations. I am beyond humbled and grateful for each and every one of you who have given.
Your money goes to support education outreach, which is something I am beyond passionate about. I want kids and adults excited about how this world works. I want folks looking up at night skies and seeing something they’ve never notice before and be in awe. I want kids excited about rocket launches and weather balloons and big storms and dynamic oceans and clouds full of swirls and updrafts and downdrafts and……..I could go on all night.
I LOVE teaching the kids classes at TCAT but, as you teachers know too well, supplies aren’t free. I have my eyes on some cool things that would really make a splash, but they cost money. Sometimes they cost a lot of money.
As a county commissioner I hear the bad news. I’m tired of hearing of kids who make decisions who grow up to be adults who make even worse decisions. The kids need something cool to focus on and something to be passionate about. WE needs kids excited about rocket fuel and the wonder of a twister and the awe of the structure of a hurricane and so on and so on. I know what it’s like to be a kid in love with a dream. I was in second grade when Mrs. Lovell ignited a little spark of meteorological wonder in me that grew into a great big explosion! It’s so good to find something in this world that makes you wonder and makes you want to learn all you can about it. Once that evolves into a passion, few things can deter you.
Working with Kids on the Rise has just reinforced my belief that we need to ignite a spark for a passion in our kids. The kids who already have challenges need that more than anyone, though I would strongly argue that ALL kids need direction in this crazy world.
Those of you who know me know how my eyes light up when I talk weather or space. I can’t help it! I want to spread that passion and I know it’s contagious. I’ve seen others catch the contagion. ha
And that’s what Meteorologist Mark is about. That’s why I’m creating a non-profit for educational outreach in the Upper Cumberlands. I have big dreams for this because dreaming big is the only kind of dreaming I know. I originally aimed at education outreach but so many adults (big kids, right?) have reached out that I’m being forced to dream even bigger (which I LOVE!).
I LOVE that my social media is complimented on by NASA, leading to me being invited to nearly every NASA Social I’ve applied for, despite those being outrageously competitive. I love bragging on the kids in my classes and how excited they get when we talk space!
And this passion leads me to this moment….being told that by year’s end the paperwork will be finalized and I’ll be up and running as a 501c(3) non-profit. How wild and cool is that!? Next week I’ll be meeting with One Bank to create an account.
So, I thank you all for the support. I never imagined so much would come from so little. This all started one day at Trade-A-Plane, when someone asked if I could do a little weather write-up in Tap Talk for the company. I think I had about a dozen readers and half of them were people I worked directly with and practically made them read it. (LOL) Now, just a few years later, I’m quickly approaching 12,000 followers and I have as many followers on social media (and growing!).
So, stay tuned and let’s see where I take this next! When you turn someone loose with a passion, there’s just no telling what’s liable to happen!
I do want to say that I am so grateful for TCAT’s support! They offer classrooms for my kids classes and I couldn’t be more appreciative. They’ve even fixed goody bags for the kids. It’s an impressive welcome! That’s why I was grateful to hear they want to be the first sponsor of Meteorologist Mark. How cool is that?
Thank you for your support. Thank you for trusting me with your weather….ALL hours of the day! (ha) Thank you for believing in my vision of an even better place to live!
You all take care and don’t forget to step out this evening and check out that beautiful Crescent Moon!
If you appreciate the work done in this blog, as well as the education outreach of MeteorologistMark, you might consider a donation? Donations accepted through PayPal at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meteorologistmark. Thank you!
Friday Funny
Weather Headlines
A warming trend begins
A beautiful start to the weekend
Unsettled weather arrives by Sunday
Meteorologist Mark’s Wx Vlog
Unavailable today.
Seven-Day Forecast
Daily Forecast Summary/Discussion
Our week is ending on a beautiful note! And the weekend will start on a beautiful note! Don’t let that shower/storm chance on Sunday scare ya off on outdoor plans. That’s just a low chance and many of us will likely not see anything but sun and clouds.
Next week isn’t looking like a washout but we should see 50/50 chances of rain each day after Monday. Some of the storms next week could be strong (it is May, after all), but I’m not seeing any signs of widespread severe weather.
Meteorologist Mark’s Wx Concerns
Almanac for Yesterday
Sun & The Moon
On This Day in Wx History
1898 – A severe thunderstorm, with some hailstones up to 9.5 inches in circumference, pounded a four mile wide path across Kansas City, Missouri. South-facing windows were broken in nearly every house in central and eastern parts of the city, and several persons were injured. An even larger hailstone was thought to have been found, but it turned out to be a chunk of ice tossed out the window of a building by a prankster.
Yesterday’s National Temperature Extremes
High: 111° at Death Valley, California
Low: 17° at Peter Sinks, Utah
Today’s Tennessee Weather
It’s a sunny end to the week across the Volunteer state! That sunshine will send afternoon highs to around 70 degrees for much of the state. A pleasant day, indeed!
Map created by WeatherWX.com
Tonight’s Tennessee Weather
A pleasant day will transition to a pleasant spring night. Under starry skies and a Crescent Moon, temperatures will fall to the upper 40s.
Map created by WeatherWX.com
Tomorrow’s Tennessee Weather
By Saturday, our next storm system begins approaching. That would lead to some late-day showers for areas of northwest Tennessee. The rest of us will see plenty of sun, but clouds will begin to slowly increase from the west. Temperatures will be mild and in the 70s statewide.
Map created by WeatherWX.com
Wednesday’s Weather 101 w/ Meteorologist Mark (Coming May 12th!)
Drought Monitor
The drought monitor is updated each Thursday.
Weather SnapShots (NEW!)
This amazing picture was taken yesterday evening near Winona, Kansas by Jake Thompson (@ChaserJake94).
Like looking into Heaven.
NASA Nerdology
These are new images of Jupiter in visible, infrared, and ultraviolet light from Gemini North and Hubble Telescope, showcasing features such as the Great Red Spot, superstorms, and gargantuan cyclones. How awesome are these photos?!
Last night, my thermometer in the field dropped to 33 degrees! The one under the trees was 39 degrees and my official low was 36 degrees. Brrrr! That is chilly for this time of year (though not unheard of in the least!). Tonight could be quite similar.
Models continue to trend drier for us the next few days. Temps will also be gradually warming. That is a welcome thing for many of us.
Next week is trending more and more unsettled, so don’t be surprised if rain chances tick upward. At this time, severe weather chances look minimal. I’ll keep an eye on that.
Meteorologist Mark’s Wx Concerns
Almanac for Yesterday
Sun & The Moon
On This Day in Wx History
1999- At Crab Orchard, marble to golfball-size hail covers the ground three inches deep on I-40. Over a half dozen wreckers are sent to clear the accidents on the interstate. Traffic is backed up for 12 miles to the Roane County line. There are four injuries. Snow plows are used to clear the hail off the interstate! Hailstones measure seven inches deep at one residence.
Yesterday’s National Temperature Extremes
High: 108° at Death Valley, California
Low: 10° at Peter Sinks, Utah
Today’s Tennessee Weather
It’s a sunny Thursday across the state of Tennessee! High temps are still below normal, but by only a few degrees. Look for the sunshine to warm all of us up into the mid to upper 60s today.
Map created by WeatherWX.com
Tonight’s Tennessee Weather
Under clear skies, we’ll see overnight lows drop into the low to mid 40s across the Volunteer state. The only exception is extreme northeastern portions of the state, where some clouds may drop a shower or two overnight. Elsewhere, look for lots of stars and a beautiful evening Crescent Moon!
Map created by WeatherWX.com
Tomorrow’s Tennessee Weather
Friday is looking fantastic! What better way to end the workweek than with wall to wall sunshine and warmer temps? Afternoon highs will top out in the low to mid 70s for much of the state.
Wall
Map created by WeatherWX.com
Wednesday’s Weather 101 w/ Meteorologist Mark
New lesson every Wednesday!
Drought Monitor
The drought monitor is updated each Thursday. This is the latest map!
A look at last week’s map for comparison.
Weather SnapShots (NEW!)
Trevor S. (@michigan_storm) captured this beautiful picture yesterday evening. Trevor commented, “The 1% full moon and Venus kiss during sunset tonight.” What a view!
NASA Nerdology
In May of 1950, the Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis”, named for pilot Chuck Yeager’s wife, was retired! In 1947, with Yeager at the controls, the X-1-1 became the first piloted aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound. What a machine!
