Belski's Blog

Sunday 9/30

Here are the weather numbers for September....High 99..... Low 52 ..... Rain 1.95" ... there were 13 days in the 90s. Many years we have zero or only one day in the 90s during Septmber. I have not heard the official word yet but this average out to one of the top 5 warmest Septembers ever in Louisville after the hottest August.

The NWS will start storm-based warnings tomorrow. Instead of an entire county having a warning the new way will be much more specific, such as for Jefferson County a severe thunderstorm warning is in effect along the Snyder Freeway from Dixie Highway to interstate 65...etc.

Here is a report from the NWS.......

The National Weather Service (NWS) mission is defined as the provision of weather forecasts and warnings for the protection of life and property and the provision of weather information for the Nation’s economic well-being. The NWS currently issues and disseminates warnings for tornado, severe thunderstorm, flood and marine hazards using geopolitical boundaries. Realizing the continuing need to improve the specificity and accuracy of warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, floods and marine hazards, the NWS will implement Storm-Based Warnings on October 1, 2007.

Storm-Based Warnings (threat-based polygon warnings), are essential to effectively warn for severe weather. Storm-Based Warnings show the specific meteorological or hydrological threat area and are not restricted to geopolitical boundaries. By focusing on the true threat area, warning polygons will improve NWS warning accuracy and quality. Storm-Based Warnings will promote improved graphical warning displays, and in partnership with the private sector, support a wider warning distribution through cell phone alerts, pagers, web-enabled Personal Data Assistants (PDA), etc.

A line of severe storms is moving east this evening with a tornado watch in Iowa and severe thunderstorm watches from Missouri to Oklahoma. Tennis ball size hail was reported earlier in Nebraska.

These storms will weaken overnight with just a slight chance here tomorrow.

From the SPC this is Tuesday's severe weather outlook. More of an outbreak expected from Wisconsin to Oklahoma. These storms will weaken overnight Tuesday with still a chance for a storm late Tuesday night or early Wednesday here.

Very warm this week with 80s and a shot at 90 late in the week. For next week...the 8th... there is a possibilty of a closed low pressure system drifting across the Ohio Valley which would bring several days with a chance for showers and maybe a few days with highs in the 60s. We will keep you updated about that.

I have had a number of requests for my weather folklore book so we have had another printing. This book contains over 1,300 weather folklore sayings and we let you know which ones are accurate.

Did you know that dandelions will close up before it rains?

The cost is $15 and this includes shipping and handling...NO INCREASE from last year.

Send your checks to John Belski

WAVE-TV

725 South Floyd St.

Louisville, KY  40203

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Saturday early evening 9/29

A warm week coming up. It looks like some pretty big changes will be coming up the week of the 8th as we will see some days staying in the 60s.

Usually we have one or two days in the 80s during October. We should surpass that this October.

Saturday late afternoon

Here are some pictures of the new WAVE 3 news set.  The first picture is where the anchors sit during the news.  The entire desk swivels so that they can set up for different shots.  How cool is that!.

The second picture is the weather set that is right next to the anchors desk.  Now that it is complete, we actually have 2 working weather stations.  Back in the weather office (or "the cave" as we call it) is another complete set of weather computers that are state of the art. Our radio equipment is back there.  When there is severe weather, everyone in the weather center will have access to the latest updates with all the equipment that we have. One of us will always be back in the office to do live updates on the WHAS radio. We also are in constant communications with the National Weather Service...law enforcement....and out storm spotter network.

The next shot shows the anchor desk and how it faces the cameras and lights. Looking into the camera with those low hanging lights takes some practice. You don't want to be squinting on the air.

This is the last picture to show you.  The "key" wall which is the green wall that you see, is right next to the weather center.  This is the wall that we stand in front of to do our weather. It's a lot shorter walk to the indoor key wall than it is to the one out in the backyard.

We are still working on camera angles and getting use to everything.  It is a work in progress.

Saturday afternoon 9/29

We are tracking snow. This is a view from Georgetown, Idaho which is in the southeast part of the state. Snow has been falling with temps in the mid 30s.

This is interstate 80 east of Salt Lake City where the snow is starting to pick up. Here is the forecast for that area from the NWS.... TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES ARE LIKELY ABOVE 7000 FEET WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ABOVE 9000 FEET. 1 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW WILL ACCUMULATE BETWEEN 6000 AND 7000 FEET.

Friday early evening 9/28

Saturday morning at 8:30 is the Run to defeat Autism. It's a 5K run or walk. There will be over 50 door prizes after the run along with trophies for the various age groups. Registration starts at 8:00 at Fourth Street Live. The weather looks great for a Saturday morning run.

Any rain chance next week...Monday or Wednesday....looks small. There may be a stronger front next weekend with a period of storms at some point.

Have a great weekend.

Friday early afternoon 9/28

Elaine from E'town sent in this link of video of tornado vortexes forming in a forest fire. Good video although the Exodus music playing during the tornado was a little strange.....click  here

More video...this link will take you to an aerial tour of the fall color in northern Minnesota which is at peak right now.....click  here

This picture was taken today in Michigan where you can also see a lot of fall color.

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The dry weather problems are fairly widespread. Even in places like Rochester, NY they are talking about a pumpkin shortage this season due to the dry weather.....click here

In Georgia, officials are considering a statewide ban on watering.....click here

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Two years later and it is still happening.... A federal grand jury has indicted fourteen Alabamians on fraud -related charges for submitting false claims for Hurricane Katrina disaster assistance....click  here

Spectators are arriving at Kansas Speedway for this weekend's racing.
Parking lots and the grandstand gates are open for fans to watch practice runs and qualifying for races tomorrow and Sunday.
One question is picking up speed -- will it rain on Sunday's LifeLock 400? Forecasters say there's a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms Sunday.

If it's too wet to race Sunday, the event will be postponed to Monday -- a day that has no rain in the forecast.

A rainout would postpone the Kansas race until after the scheduled last event of the season in Homestead, Florida. That would put the Kansas race on Thanksgiving weekend.

The six-year run of Nextel Cup racing at Kansas Speedway has had great weather. 

Thursday late evening 9/27

I had this interesting email from Phillip....... How many gallons of rainwater falls over an acre if the rain amount equals one inch in a rain gauge. Here’s the math: one acre equals 43,560 square feet, and one cubic foot equals 7.481 gallons. So if one inch of rain is one twelfth of a foot, this means the volume of water that falls in an acre is 43,560 divided by twelve, or 3,630 cubic feet. That is equal to 27,156 gallons of water. Breaking that down to a smaller area, one inch of rain would be about five and a half gallons per square yard.

Jefferson County, KY = 285 sq miles

1.00000 Square Mile = 640.00000 Acres

285 x 640 acres = 182,400 acres in Jefferson County

27,156 gallons x 182,400 acres = 4,953,254,400

one inch of rain covering jefferson county, ky = 4,953,254,400 gallons

Thursday evening 9/27

Thanks to Barbara from Taylorsville for a rain update.   6 inches in Spencer County. The lowest amount I have heard was about 1/4 inch in several locations.

Late next week there may be a slow moving rain system move into the Ohio Valley. If this happens, look for a stretch of 70s which is to be expected as we head toward mid-October.

A couple times this decade we have had frost during the last week of September so things are running real late this year.

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Thursday mid-day 9/27

Just a quick update...showers are now moving away from Louisville. With some sun, temps that dropped into the 60s during the rain will go back to the 70s in some area. Hey, at least we are not talking about the 90s for once.

Thursday late morning 9/27

In honor of last night's Harvest Moon, here is a close up shot of the moon from John at the Kentuckiana Astronomical Society.

Of course a beautiful evening view of the moon turned into a stormy late night with some welcome rains....1.39 at Louisville International Airport....and some lost sleep for many people.

Here's an update from the Louisville Astronomical Society...

John Dobson, world famous amateur astronomer and inventor of the Dobsonian telescope mount, is in Louisville this week.

He will be giving a public lecture at U of L in Strickler Hall room 102 at 7:00 PM Friday, September 28 followed by a public star party at 9:00 PM at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park. Dobson will be participating in a Mile Of Scopes Public Sidewalk Astronomy Event along Bardstown Road Saturday evening from 8-11:00 PM.

Sponsored by the Louisville Astronomical Society and stargeezerastronomy.com, Dobson will join over two dozen amateur astronomers on the sidewalks of Bardstown Road from Eastern Parkway and Bardstown Road to Bavter Avenue and Bardstown. Jupiter and the Moon will be the astronomical targets.

NASA launched a rocket heading for the asteroid belt this morning. It will take about 4 years to reach the first one to be studied and another 4 years for the next. For all the details from NASA....click here

For NASA's home page....click  here

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The Captain sent me this video. It's not weather related but any parent will get a kick out of it....click here

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This is Lone Peak, Montana. You can see just a bit of snow on the higher elevations.

This is Yellowstone Park. It looks like a heavy frost on the plants in the lower half of the photo. Temps were in the upper 20s this morning.