My computer has taken a vacation. Actually it is at the Apple Store getting its keyboard fixed (thus the misspellings of the past few days). Until it comes back, I will not be able to update the blog. 

In 2011, Joplin found out there are serious consequences to sounding the sirens too often. Please sort out the problem and insure it never happens again. 

The yellow area has an enhanced  risk of tornadoes and (hatching) some could be strong. The brown area has a significant risk of tornadoes and there, too, some could be strong.  Please keep up on the weather in these areas later today. 

Watch Issued, Including the Kansas City area Extensive  power failures in central Kansas with the line of thunderstorms moving east. There hav been several tornadoes.  I am posting updates @usweatherexpert  on Twitter/X Below is another view of the radar and watch as of 11:45p. Tornadoes Possible,  75 mph Gusts and 2" Hail Possible Tornadoes Possible, 85 mph gusts,  softball-size hail till 1am.  Second Tornado Watch, Includes  Denver First Tornado Watch of the Day Please note that in addition to tornadoes, softball-sized  hail is forecast along with widespread  90 mph gusts. If this forecast is correct, power outages will also be widespread. Tornado Forecasts Update in tornado forecast for Kansas.  5:05p: I would add McPherson, Marion, Chase and all of Lyon County into the "significant" area. The brown areas have a significant risk of tornadoes. In the hatched areas, the tornadoes could be strong.  Damaging Wind The red area has an ...

Derecho conditions with thunderstorm-generated wind gusts to 100 mph  along with tornadoes are forecast to occur. Please see safety suggestions blow.    -- 3:35pm --  There is a high  risk of wind gusts above 75 mph in the purple area as a derecho is possible this evening. Remember: derechoes can cause extensive power outages and lawn furniture, trampolines, etc. being blown away. I urge you to put your car in the garage and bring in outdoor items to the extent possible. The red area has an enhanced risk of wind gusts of 65 mph or more.  The yellow area has a significant risk of gusts of 60 mph or stronger.  I will have updates on Twitter/X   @usweatherexpert. 

The brown area has a significant risk of tornadoes as the day progresses. In Arkansas, this includes Fayetteville and, in Oklahoma, this includes Miami. 

Via LinkedIn Ran across this and thought it was wise. Thought you would, too. 

Fire weather risk is high through Tuesday. Please be careful with cigarettes, dragging chains, driving into areas with combustible grass, et cetera. 

A great photograph can make your message "pop." Please take a look at my collection at Adobe Stock Photography . Even if you just enjoy outdoor images, I invite you to take a look around. 

Sheesh, don't they have editors any more? I hope the heat mitigation efforts are much more successful than the Sports Illustrated  article about them. 

After a dozen days with almost no tornadoes, it appears things could get active again during June. So, I wanted to provide this reminder. 

The area in brown has a significant risk of tornadoes. The hatching means that should a tornado occur, it could be strong.  Please keep up on the weather in this region today. 

A Book Will Be Treasured For Years! Especially When It Is an Uplifting Story About Saving Lives If you liked the movie Pressure,  you'll love reading Warnings.  Here is Amazon's AI-generated review : You can purchase either the paper or Kindle version here . 

Update: Brown = significant risk of tornadoes. Hatching = any tornado could be strong.  The brown area has a significant risk of tornadoes later today. Please keep up on the weather in this region. 

This is the season when derechoes -- violent windstorms that can travel hundreds of miles -- become more frequent. They are notorious for causing widespread power outages.  We are also officially in hurricane season.  Please make sure you are prepared. 

Hurricanes striking the United States are less  frequent than formerly.  Even more good news is that the 2026 hurricane season is forecast to be "less than average." But always keep in mind, it just takes a single hurricane to wipe out your neighborhood. A single bad storm can occur in what is otherwise a "lower than average" hurricane season. 

I mention this because of the possibility of tornadoes. 

Yes, it is true that Blazing Saddles  was shot in California but it was never intended as a "how to" book for building their high speed rail system which, last week, was estimated to now cost a third of a trillion  dollars.    Mel Brooks' script from Blazing Saddles So, yes, there are what could be considered 'instructions' in the script. But, since the high speed rail project actually began 30-years ago, could the real motivation be hinted at in the script? Of course, bad guy Hedley Lamarr realizes there is something standing between him and getting that land: "the rightful owners." So, he concocted a scheme to get the people of Rock Ridge to want to give up their cherished town's land.  Kinda sounds like government today, doesn't it? After writing the above, hours later this came across my X-feed:

Andrew Scott as meteorologist James Stagg As a meteorologist, I never thought a movie about a weather forecast could be so good. I rate it A+.  A quick scan of my movie reviews back to the start of the blog (2009) do not reveal any other movie rated that highly. Others evidently agree 86% of critics and 95% of the audience recommend it.  Pressure   is the story about the weather forecasts (yes, plural) leading up to D-Day -- perhaps the most important forecast in the history of the world. The title is a play on the word referring to both high and low pressure systems on a weather map and the pressure on the meteorologists.  Meteorologist Dr. James Stagg (well portrayed by Andrew Scott) used synoptic meteorology forecast techniques much like we use today; versus Dr. Irving Krick who used a technique called analogs. I wrote about  this controversy early  in the history of the blog (caution spoilers!). This controversy continues today. I explain in the "spoile...

The brown area has a significant risk of tornadoes. The hatching means that if  a tornado occurs, it could be strong. The atmosphere is extremely unstable which is a recipe for strong tornadoes and, even more so, damaging winds. Note: As of 3:10pm, this forecast still looks good except the tornado risk may be slightly higher farther south in Kansas.  The yellow area has a significant risk of thunderstorm-driven winds of 60 mph or stronger. The red area has a an enhanced  risk. The hatching indicates where wind gusts could exceed 75 mph.