- --- This post is for Kansas voters ---- Fact: Kansas is the only state with our undemocratic system for electing judges. The NO forces are the usual extreme groups like Planned Parenthood, ACLU, the "Bull Attorneys," and other television lawyers, et cetera.  They now control who gets on the Supreme Court regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is elected governor.  I personally dislike politics and, unless it is climate change or a political issue related to science, I generally keep it out of the blog. I am making an exception that pertains to the judicial issue on the Kansas August 4 ballot. It is vital to the future of our state.  Vote YES on electing judges. The current system is a scam  that is rigged to keep the Kansas Supreme Court (KSC) liberal regardless of the wishes of Kansas voters.  Here's how the scam works: Under the current Kansas Constitution, the extremely liberal bar association nominates three people when an opening occurs on th...

Business Insider published an article today complaining about weather apps. The article has a whole host of issues: Overreliance on college professors as sources. Many, if not most, have never made a forecast outside a classroom in their entire careers.  The college professors say, "forecasts have never been better." There is a wealth of evidence that is not true.  Government forecasters are not routinely relying on AI.  There is a wide  range in quality in apps. Some are slap-dash output straight from computers. Others use well-qualified meteorologists to develop their forecasts. AccuWeather is one of those.  One businessperson complained about the forecast of rain resulting in only thunder that could be heard. That thunder was created by lightning -- which can kill or injure. Sounds like a good forecast to me. I would be happy to tell you which are the good apps and which are the bad. The problem is that, I don't know. As a meteorologist, when it is important ...

Heavy rains are likely in parts of the Upper Midwest and long the Gulf Coast. 

Another terrible idea from Washington (which is a font of terrible ideas these days)! Remember: Congress has already passed a law that every car sold in 2017 or after  will have to have an interlocking system so it will not start if the car believes you are drunk; or local or federal authorities don't want you to drive! What are we Americans giving up our freedoms without a even a protest?!  

There is a slight risk of a tornado or two in the outlined area later today. This is a meteorologically unusual situation so I suggesting keeping an eye on the weather today. 

On LinkedIn last week, I was asked my definition of "climate change." In case you are interested, here it is:  Our climate continually changes. Clearly, the mean atmospheric and oceanic temperatures of earth are warmer than 100 years ago. This is due to a mix of natural (volcanic, solar, internal variability) and human-driven factors including greenhouse gas concentrations, land use changes, instrument relocations and numerous other factors. Unfortunately, we don't know the exact contribution of each of these factors.