While I completely agree Hawaii officials missed every opportunity to prepare for the catastrophic Maui Wildfire of 2023 , including the Maui emergency managers going to Honolulu for meetings the day of the hellish fires, here's the problem: how were they supposed to prepare?!  The wildfire killed 102 and utterly destroyed the once-beautiful town of Lahina.  The fact is that many, if not most, emergency managers don't know how to prepare for this type of disagree. One of the reasons they do not know how to prepare is because there is no central resource for this type of information like there is a National Transportation Safety Board for that type of accident.  This is why the United States needs to join Great Britain and other nations and establish a National Disaster Review Board so that we stop making the same mistakes over and over.  During this election season, ask your congressional candidates about this issue. 

Ted Fujita with me in 1993. Ted visited WeatherData, Inc on a  couple of occasions, this was when he presented some initial findings of his research on Hurricane Andrew.  Unquestionably, the greatest and most innovative meteorologist of the 20th Century was  Dr. Ted Fujita . Among his discoveries were downbursts, the oscillating tornado alley, wall cloud association with tornadoes, suction vortices and The Fujita Scale, among others. Ted was personally modest and low-key about his accomplishments but he evoked a surprising amount of envy -- which has held weather science back in a number of ways.  While I cannot speak for others, the envy seemed to stem from his willingness to go into the field and do the very hard work of examining the debris, collecting unconventional data like individuals' photos of storms, and the emotional work of speaking to those affected. Because he was usually the only person willing to take this forensic approach, his success in getting funding for his in

The amber is the area where tropical storm force winds, in this case 40-45mph, are occurring. The storm may have 50 mph winds or so when it moves inland.  The primary effect of this system will be heavy rain. As much as 7" are forecast to occur near the southern North Carolina coasts. 

Perhaps because of my years in television, I enjoy TV blooper reels. They were a staple of each year's Christmas party.  A few nights ago, I came across the funniest blooper reel I've ever seen and I'd like to share it with you. Two of my former stations are included: Ch 2, KTVI, in St. Louis with a reference to a McDonald's character, and Oklahoma City's Ch 4. It is right at the beginning (third one in). I'm glad central Oklahoma finally got a place for pastrami sandwiches.

I've decided to sell some of my O Gauge trains. All are in working order (except a couple, which are marked) and most are in their original boxes. There will also be some books and other related items. In addition, we are selling a number of items from our home which include vintage vinyl albums and books.  I'll have more info in a few days but the sale will be October 3rd to 5th. Please contact Vintage Vision Estate Sales, (316)  618-4674. or  Jshear1218@gmail.com

On a discussion group this week, there has been discussion about the early days of Doppler radar. That was a topic we covered a while back. Here is a piece about the first time a Doppler detected a tornado (the F-4 El Dorado, KS Tornado) with a link to KAKE-TV's outstanding documentary on the topic.