Author: Meteorologist Mark

After a very wet and soggy Monday, we’ll be seeing conditions gradually improve today.  Drier air is trying to work in, but this front is slow to move out. We’re starting to see the transition from spring to summer with these fronts, as they get slower and weaker as we get farther into June. Highs today will top out in the upper 70s and the humidity will likely stay high through the day, as well. Tonight, with drier air winning out, we clear out and temps drop to the low 50s. It will feel very pleasant tonight.  Wednesday looks absolutely beautiful, with highs in the lower 70s and very low humidity levels.  Thursday looks to be much of the same, but there’s a disturbance that will bring a chance of shrs and t-storms to the mountains, and I wouldn’t’ be surprised if one or two of those make it to the plateau. It’s only about a 20% chance, if that, but just something to keep in mind. Highs Thursday will once again be in the lower 70s. Both Friday and Saturday are looking good, though temps and humidity levels will be creeping up. Highs on Friday will approach 80, while highs on Saturday will make it into the lower 80s. On Sunday, the heat and humidity get cranking! Sunday’s highs will touch 85 and the humidity will be noticeable higher. Next week looks hot and humid, with isolated to scattered afternoon and evening t-storms each day. Sounds more like summer, right?

Over the weekend, I shared this image on weatherTAP’s social media, with many folks reacting in rather comical ways. See for yourself:

First of all, you’ll notice this is a VERY photogenic tornado. This was actually taken in Alberta, Canada late last week. But what in the world is that guy doing mowing the lawn? Some on social media commented that, “Hey, when the wife says mow the yard you mow the yard!” Another commented that the photographer should have yelled, “Hey! Look behind you!” In an interview with a Canadian newspaper, the wife of the gentleman (the photographer) said she and her husband were “keepin’ an eye on things” and that the tornado was much farther than it looks and moving away.

So, you tell me what’s crazier….chasing tornadoes or mowing your yard during a tornado? Yeah, I’m looking pretty smart now, right?

I guess by now you’ve figured out that it’s going to rain today? One glance at the radar shows we have off-and-on rain and storms in store for us all day. A weak frontal boundary near the KY/TN line will be the main focus of rain, and a flash flood watch is currently in effect for everyone north of I-40. That boundary will slowly sag southward today, and more flooding is possible throughout the Upper Cumberlands.  It will be another mild and humid day, with highs in the lower 70s. This front is not in any hurry, and it looks like we’re going to have to keep a chance of a shower around through the first half of Tuesday. Highs Tuesday will once again be in the lower 70s, after a morning low near 60. On Wednesday, the sun breaks out and it will be beautiful! In fact, Wednesday-Friday look awesome, with highs in the low 70s, lows in the lower 50s, and very low humidity.  Hopefully, we can keep this good weather streak going through the weekend, but I’ll keep you posted on that.

I had promised to tell you on Friday how the names for tropical systems come about, but it completely slipped my mind. For those of you who have been on the edge of your seats about that, I’m finally coming through this morning! (ha) We are now in the fifth day of hurricane season, and there are no tropical troubles in sight, but we all know that will change. We’ve already had our first named storm, Arlene, which occurred several weeks ago out over the open waters of the Atlantic. Were it not for satellites, we would never know Arlene ever existed. The next storm will be Bret.  The National Hurricane Center doesn’t name the storms, rather, that responsibility lies with the World Meteorological Organization. They meet once a year to discuss a myriad of subjects, one of which is the naming and/or retiring of tropical systems. A name is retired when it is associated with tremendous death, misery, destruction, etc. For example, Katrina and Sandy are both retired names. Otherwise, the list of names gets recycled every six years. So, the list of names we use in 2017 will be used again in 2022. Storms began being named in 1953 and, until 1979, were all female names.  Today, the names are alternated between male and female names.  Naming storms was easier for communication, especially if there were multiple storms at once.  Prior to naming storms, storms were usually identified by their latitude/longitude position. A storm could be named, however, if it occurred on a particular saint’s day, or it could be named after a ship affected by the storm. There are six lists of 21 names but if all of those names are used, the Greek Alphabet is used (ie. Alpha, Beta, etc).

We are expecting an above average year for storms in 2017, so be sure and stay tuned for that! I’ll be watching those satellites and if I spot any tropical trouble, you’ll be the first to know!

I hope you enjoy following along. I normally blog for my company on our company’s intranet, which means only employees of Cosby Harrison Company can see them.  So, I got to thinking that maybe these blogs should be made available to everyone. Thus, here we are! I blog the forecast for the Cumberland Plateau, and you’re more than welcome to read those, especially if you live on the plateau, but I also add little tidbits at the end of each blog. These tidbits are usually something interesting that I’ve found and think my readers would enjoy learning about. As you follow along, you’ll see what my style is. Feel free to let me know if there’s anything in particular that you’d like to know more about! I’d love to hear from you. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy and I hope even more that you learn something.