
Tornadoes associated with the cold core low in North Dakota on June 8, 2017

Confidence is really high that we are in store for a beautiful weekend. First though, we may have to dodge a shower or two today, as we have a weak disturbance that will be passing through this afternoon. It certainly won’t produce anything heavy. Tonight we clear out again and it is going to be a bit chilly, with lows dipping into the upper 40s. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday look spectacular! Highs on Friday will approach 80, the lower 80s for Saturday, and mid 80s for Sunday. Humidity will tick up each day, so be aware of that. Lows each night will be in the 50s. The newest data has Monday mostly dry, with shrs and t-storm chances holding off until Tuesday. Regardless, next week is still looking hot and humid. I’ll update the rain chances that will go with that heat and humidity tomorrow.
Late last evening a post was made on social media of a tornado in North Dakota. I shared it with our weatherTAP social media and people are going crazy over it! Check it out below if you haven’t already. You’ll notice that there seems to be no precipitation with the storm. We call these low precipitation supercells, as opposed to high precipitation supercells that we often have in the South. When you get as far away from the Gulf of Mexico as North Dakota is, you have much more limited moisture for storms to work with. This tends to lead to much better visibility of tornadoes and overall storm structure. I’ve attached the video below, for your viewing pleasure!
You can’t order better weather than what we’ll have today! Highs will top out in the lower 70s, with mostly clear skies. Tomorrow will be much of the same, but with a few more puffy cumulus clouds around. We might even squeeze out a shower, especially east of Highway 127. Highs will once again be in the lower 70s, after a crisp morning low in the lower 50s. On Friday, we start the warm-up. Highs will approach 80 by Friday afternoon, lower 80s by Saturday afternoon, and mid 80s by Sunday. Lows each night will be in the lower 60s. Along with the high temps, the humidity will begin increasing too. By Sunday you’ll really notice a difference. Looking ahead to the start of next week, the forecast looks hot and humid with isolated to scattered t-storms.
You may have noticed the beautiful sunset yesterday evening? I was lucky enough to be able to snap a picture of it and then share it with WATE news ch. 6 in Knoxville. They ended up sharing it on the news last night! It was cool to hear my name on the air again. I was a ch. 6 weather watcher for several years when I was in high school. With some clouds around Thursday, keep your eyes open for another beautiful sunset!
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?