So very, very glad Kansas has never legalized it.  As Tulsa King  demonstrated, there is far more downside than upside. We don't want our sports events ruined by the smell of pot . 

What a Week! On the launch of its first space satellite. Called SNAPPY, it measures solar particles. The story, including the launch, is above.  And, the signs went up on this nationally innovative project.    Between the this first-of-its-kind blending of how doctors, nurses and those in the field of medical technology are educated; the University of Kansas Medical School, and the Kansas School of Osteopathic Medicine, Wichita is becoming quite the center of medical innovation.  And, 40 miles northwest of Wichita -- "The best space museum in the world!" Really. It is pretty impressive when the Administrator of NASA and the astronauts give you that type of endorsement.  The Cosmosphere has always been a plucky, overachieving institution. When they used a loophole to get their Gemini capsule, they spirited it away from Houston -- the second it was legally theirs -- on the back of a flatbed truck borrowed from the local agricultural company.  They spent the ...

In the spirit of full reporting, the "no" side won and the Kansas constitutional amendment went down to defeat. 

- --- 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 t...

  The people of Kansas -- and the United States -- are supposed to go along with two more 'renewable' energy boondoggles. I'm completely against both for the reasons below.  Big Climate wants to build another 'renewable' energy project southwest of Wichita. The red rectangle highlights the heads (the "good stuff") of the winter wheat plants.  The project is another where Big Climate will grab the profits while local people are left with the pollution; and both the United States and the World are left with ever-dwindling farmland for growing food. Keep in mind that from 1776 -- our nation's first 246 years -- we had been self-sufficient in food. We have always fed ourselves and had enough left over to export to other countries. No longer. Since 2022, the  United States no longer feeds itself!   The KWCH-TV Channel 12 story puts the frequently asserted statement to rest that "we only put these projects on land that isn't suitable for farming....

The wonderful Kansas sky! Click to see the second photo. 

Yesterday, a meteorologist wrote an opinion on Twitter/X that said (paraphrasing), "no one should issue their own tornado forecasts because it will cause confusion w/r/t the official forecasts issued by the NWS's Storm Prediction Center's (SPC)." Ironically, yesterday was also a day I disagreed with SPC. At 3:10pm, I posted this forecast for tornadoes. The SPC had no tornadoes whatsoever in the forecast for eastern Kansas as shown below. Earlier in the day, they weren't even forecasting ordinary thunderstorms in the area (not shown)  The tornado forecast below was issued by SPC at 8am yesterday. The tornado forecast below was issued by the NWS at 3pm. The Kansas tornadoes were in the "no chance of tornadoes (white) area." [update] The red triangles are the locations of tornadoes. The Ottawa and Spring Hill Tornadoes were both rated EF-2, that is defined as a "strong" tornado by the NWS. There was also a tornado near Pomona (documented by storm ...

The above forecast is from the NWS Storm Prediction Center and the yellow area has an enhanced risk of hail 1" or larger with the hatching where 2" or larger hail is forecast. However, two additional techniques show a higher risk of large hail in north central Kansas, so I thought I would provide this additional information view the red outline. 

This is very sad news for the world, not just Kansas.  The map depicts the number of hours the temperature was below 12°F. Little if any wheat, once it has emerged for the season, can handle that intensity and duration of cold.

The "Ranger Road Fire" The giant orange scar (it is black in real life if viewed from an airplane) -- which indicates the ground is still warm from the fire -- is the area burned by yesterday and today's fire. Two fire fighters from Kansas were injured but not seriously. Fire fighters from Oklahoma were also injured but I have not been able to ascertain their condition at this time. Most of the firefighters in the region are volunteers.  Update: Here is a map of the area burned, so far.  The forecast for the rest of the day is at the bottom of this post.  Jadan Pappenheim took a video that is available here . A screen capture (below) doesn't even begin to capture the vastness of the fire.  The aftermath is heartbreaking. The smaller Tyrone, OK fire (not known on satellite image) did the damage shown below. The video is here .   Forecast Until 6am Thursday It is vital that everything possible be done to avoid sparks be done until tomorrow morning in these areas....

Now providing updates on Twitter/X  @usweatherexpert.  6:27pm Update:  Fire in a neighborhood in Woodward.  KWTV, Oklahoma City.  6:20pm Update:  The fire burning into Woodward, OK where an evacuation order is in effect.  Screen capture from The Hotshot Wake Up (Twitter) video taken in Woodward.  2:50pm Update; screen capture from new video by Jaden.  Englewood, Kansas, being evacuated. The fire has crossed the border (see satellite image below). You may wish to compare that satellite image with the one farther down. Two new fires have broken out since 2pm. One in New Mexico west of Nara Visa and a second in the central Texas Panhandle.  This images was taken just before the fire east of Amarillo. 2:29pm Update There is a report of a large, multi-vehicle accident on U.S. 54 near Tyrone, OK. It is unknown if there are fatalities or injuries.  2:15pm Update From Jordan Hall, one of several semi's flipped over in high winds in the Texa...

A message to my fellow Kansans: This is from the liberal   " Bloomberg News ." Amid this haphazard experiment, some inconvenient facts are emerging. For one, evidence has been piling up that marijuana poses significant risks to public health, particularly for young people. One recent study found that heavy cannabis use might have contributed to 30% of schizophrenia cases among young men in recent years. Others have linked the drug to higher rates of depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis, cognitive impairment, poor academic performance, cardiovascular problems and more.  Pregnant women are at especially high risk.  That’s to say nothing of the effects that legalization has had on traffic accidents, child overdoses, public order and quality of life.  Further complicating matters, a new paper has demonstrated what many doctors have warned about for years: There’s scant evidence that marijuana has medical benefits. Some specialty products have been shown to help with ...

After a light coating of snow this afternoon, the skies cleared in the west in time for another spectacular Kansas sunset. 

This evening's sunset. 

Photo one: Photo two (~5 minutes later):

Here is the forecast for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes until 3am. There is also a threat of flash flooding in a few spots.  Forecasts below are until 7am.  Kansas Threat Till 7am in Brown  Oklahoma Threat till 7am in Brown NWS Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a significant chance of a tornado or two in the brown area between now and 7 am Tuesday., Please monitor the weather the rest of the night and make sure you can quickly get the family into you storm shelter area. 

We had wildfire smoke from western Canada covering the sky this evening. So we had an unusual sunset. The sun was actually a bit redder than depicted but, still, this was an unusual sky.  Below is a smoke density map and you can see the smoke was quite thick (denoted by red over northern Kansas) at the time of the photo. 

Final Hail Swaths The size colors are in millimeters (sorry). Large hail fell in the City of Wichita, especially to the north of Pawnee Street.  These come from NOAA and the University of Oklahoma.  8pm Hail Swaths The purple is areas of hail up to 3 inches in diameter. Hail is still falling as of 8p in parts of south central Kansas. 

The real estate listing is here . We'd love to have you in Kansas. 

In addition to an elevated risk of flash flooding , the brown area has a significant risk  of tornadoes late this afternoon and into tonight. Please monitor the weather in this area!