How Our Science Got Its Name

Amazing Footage: Cold Front Passing Oklahoma's Rhea Wildfire

Jeff Piotrowski's video of a cold front passing begins at :19. The front makes contact with the fire and smoke about :35.

For Earth Day, A Book That Describes How Scientists Make Us Safer in Extreme Weather?!

For more Amazon reviews, just click here. A great book for Earth Day, for the graduate or for Mother's Day. 

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Very insightful and fact-filled history of weather technology over the past 50 years.

5.0 out of 5 starsLively and informative

September 25, 2013

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

If I were to tell you that I just read a history on the growth/improvement of tornado 

forecasting techniques in the 20th century, you'd probably think it sounded dull. 

Well, you'd be wrong. This book is anything but dull.

Book Shark

TOP 1000 REVIEWER

5.0 out of 5 starsWarning! This Book Will "Blow" You Away

June 7, 2011

Format: Hardcover|Verified Purchase

"Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather " is a fantastic book.

Drought Area Rainfall

....up to 7am this morning.

Sunday Silliness II: Laughably Wrong Predictions From the Environmental Movement

Today is Earth Day, a silly glorification of our planet. So, let's review some of the many predictions made by the United States' environmental movement:

Did you know that civilization was going to end in the year 2000?

Before civilization ended in 2000, 4,000,000,000 people, including 65,000,000 Americans, were going to perish in "The Great Die-Off."

By 1985, everyone would be wearing gas masks.

By 2018, NYC's West Side Highway would be perpetually underwater due to sea level rise from global warming. 

Anthony Watts has a great summary of these predictions here.

While there was a need for Earth Day in 1970, the air is pretty clean these days as is the water. So, most of the environmental groups have served their purpose. The environmental groups (I call them Big Climate because they take in billions, yes, billions each year.) use these scare forecasts to keep the money flowing. That is why every heat wave, cold wave, drought and flood is due to global warming.

Sunday Silliness: A Global Warming 'Story' Gets Dissected

The Washington Post reprints a global warming press release. Francis Turner takes it apart, paragraph by paragraph.

I'm Still on Twitter

While I am off Facebook, I am still on Twitter. Please follow me @usweatherexpert.

Global Warming

PBS ran a two-hour program on global warming yesterday evening. It was full of attractive graphics. That's the best I can say about it.

However, if you really want to know the state of climate science as of this posting, Four Questions on Climate Change, is a lot more informative.

I'm Back From Vacation

Hi everyone, I am back from a vacation. I certainly appreciate all of the well wishes pertaining to my retirement.

I am rethinking the format and content of the blog and will announce it when that process is finished.

Wheat in Butler County, Kansas, east of Wichita

In the meantime, I have some thoughts I wish to pass along:

• There was a lot of record-setting "weather" while I was away. Record late season snows with cold temperatures, tornadoes, and floods. In just about every case where someone posted a great photo, there were companies asking to use the photos for a credit only. In other words, free. Weather photos are rare and valuable; speaking for myself I would never allow NBC, The Weather Channel or other organizations to use my photo(s) free. 

• There was a series of strong tornadoes (F-2 and F-3) in North Carolina and Virginia associated with a squall line on April 15. The Storm Prediction Center did a good job forecasting them. The thought occurred to me that, perhaps, some in meteorology don't pay enough attention to diagnosing and forecasting this type of tornado as opposed to the supercell-type tornadoes that are more common in the Great Plains. There is a tornado research program currently in progress in the Southeast that I hope will result in even better forecasts and warnings. 

• While I was gone, the American Meteorological Society published a curious paper in its push to advance the global warming narrative. The paper is here. It is an entirely model-based paper: Actual rains and temperatures are not considered! It makes such statements as:  A simple projection of the current farm economy–AI relations into the future predicts that farm size will need to increase across the plains, but especially in the south, and that in the northern plains there will be a shift toward wheat cultivation and away from corn.  The authors don't seem to realize the Great Plains is already wheat country, rather than corn country, and has been that way for generations. I wonder if perhaps the authors, who are based in New York and Pennsylvania, have watched South Pacific too many times ("I'm as corny as Kansas in August...").

• For a quarter-century, Big Climate has been forecasting an agricultural catastrophe due to global warming. From these actual numbers (not a model), warming has been a boon for agriculture. 

  

  Via Twitter; click to enlarge.

That's all for now. Enjoy the rest of the week!!

Why I Closed My Facebook Account

I originally got onto Facebook for two reasons: my son had gone to Italy and posted photos of his trip and my publisher for Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather wanted me on Facebook to help build the book’s “platform.”

In the first couple of years I enjoyed it. Family members were sharing photographs and other information, even though I worried a bit about making all of this private information available to Facebook itself and to Facebook “friends.” Still, the benefit of that social interaction seemed to outweigh the negative of privacy concerns.

Over the past few years, however, I enjoyed Facebook much, much less. The family and friends’ photos decreased relative to the political discussions. I thought about getting off Facebook more and more. Those thoughts became action Saturday when I learned about news reports pertaining to Facebook making attempts to illegally collect medical information. I posted a notice and left it there for about an hour and then closed the account and requested* it be deleted.

I have no regrets at all about closing the account. However, in retrospect, I probably should have left the notice up longer. I apologize to my friends who didn't see it. 

The best way to rein in corporate bad behavior is not to buy their product any more. Facebook’s product is us. Do we trust them with our lives?

*One cannot delete their account. You can only request it be deleted.  

I Am a Retiree!!

I am thrilled to report that my career as a professional meteorologist has ended. I've have a wonderful career full of fun and challenges.

I'm going to mostly take a three week vacation from blogging as I am just exhausted. After that, I will announce my plans for the blog.

Last Day at AccuWeather

Today is my last day at AccuWeather.

View of Wichita to the west of Downtown today; KSNW Ch 3's image

I want to thank this amazing team of people for all of the happy times we spent together battling Mother Nature and taking care of our clients.

I'll have more to say about my retirement later in the weekend.

Thank You Mayor Longwell!

From right: Mayor Jeff Longwell, yours truly, and AccuWeather's Jon Porter and Marshall Moss

I would like to give a special thank you to Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell for making a surprise appearance at my AccuWeather retirement party yesterday. Mr. Mayor: Your words were very gracious!

I also want to thank the entire AccuWeather team (especially you, Amber!) for putting on such a wonderful celebration. I was deeply touched and I will miss you all.

My Interview With "MarketWatch"

If you would like to read my pre-retirement interview with MarketWatch it is here.

Another Day With a Tornado Risk

The brown (5%) area has a significant risk a tornado today. That includes New Orleans, Gulfport and Mobile as well as points inland. Please keep an eye on the weather in this region today.

Significant Tornado Risk Today

The brown area (5%) is a signifiant tornado risk. It includes Houston. Please keep an eye on the weather later today.

No Question, It's Not Even Close: All Scientific Data Should be Public

I don't think I've ever linked to Hot Air before but this time they are right on the money.

Serious Flash Flooding Threat

This is valid until 7am Wednesday. Please use extra caution, especially in the "red' area.

The Folly That is Wind Energy

So, in effect, we have come around full circle. A hundred-plus years ago, wind energy was recognized as an antiquated, unreliable and expensive source of energy – and now, after hundreds of billions of wasted tax and consumer dollars, we find that (surprise!) it still is an antiquated, unreliable and expensive source of energy. This is what happens when science is relegated to a back-of-the-bus status.

The entire piece is here.

Wichita Eagle Article About My Career

The Eagle has written a very nice article about my career and pending retirement. If you would like to read it, it is here.