This is a weather event for which preparations are absolutely necessary: ice storm, heavy snow, and prolonged extreme cold.  2014 South Carolina ice storm Please note: freezing rain (glaze ice) is forecast to fall in significant amounts at the airline hubs in Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte with significant snow in Washington D.C. If you are planning to fly to those cities (or others in the winter storms maps) I would plan to arrive Friday morning or before or  would get on the phone to reservations and re-route around those hubs. Otherwise, the possibility exists of being stranded for days. Special update regarding the Hurricane Hunter's role in this serious storm at the bottom. Storm Timing This is a forecast radar for 4am Friday as the storm is getting started. Over Arkansas to the Tennessee River the precipitation may still be aloft and not actually begin for a few more hours.  Winter Storm Watches It is rare winter storm watches are issued more than 48 hours in advance bu...

With the mess this spring with regard to the National Weather Service, especially regarding hurricane forecasting, I have good news. #1. The concern about the microwave data from the DMSP satellite is over. It will continue for the life of the satellite. #2. Even more important is a peer-reviewed paper published last week that demonstrates the importance of the entire suite of hurricane hunter data.  Every American Meteorological Society journal contains a "significance statement" that explains how it advances the science. Here's the statement with this paper: When a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean is forecast to make landfall in the United States and its territories, the Gulfstream IV (G-IV) aircraft is used to collect data from the environment around the hurricane with the goal of improving the hurricane track forecast. Our study aims to evaluate whether these data improve the track forecasts of hurricanes from 2018 to 2022 by comparing forecasts with these data...

This is simply unbelievable .  This is the result of many years of neglect through both Democratic and Republican administrators. I give President Trump a great deal of credit for trying to put well-qualified people in those positions but was stymied by Congress.  Since 1974, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has not had a  single  administrator with a background in weather science and it shows:  Tornado warnings are becoming less accurate;  The U.S.'s global forecast model, the GFS, is the worst  of the worldwide models;  Issues are starting to appear in our hurricane warning forecasts; It can't even acquire enough helium to fill its weather balloons! These are just some of the problems. Add those to the issues throughout the U.S. disaster forecasting and response community and there is absolutely no doubt of the need to create a National Disaster Review Board to evaluate these issues and give guidance to the pubic, the federal...

Just ten weeks before the 2022 hurricane season begins, the NWS/NOAA have fired  a number of the staff of the Hurricane Hunters. The reason? They haven't gotten the COVID vaccine! What makes this utterly absurd is that these crews flew together during the 2000 and 2021 hurricane seasons when the nation was locked down! The full story is here .   Immediately below, I make the case for a National Disaster Review Board . This is even more evidence that NWS/NOAA, FEMA and other disaster agencies  must  have an independent board monitoring its actions in the same way the NTSB does aviation, railroading, et cetera.  Please review the piece below and contact your senators -- tonight! Thank you.