The red arrows denote, as of 3:42pm, what will be a developing line of thunderstorms that has a good chance of producing damaging winds this evening and, perhaps, a few brief tornadoes in the Ozarks region. Please keep an eye on the weather to the east of the developing line. 

The brown area has a significant chance of tornadoes later today and this evening. Please keep up on the weather in that area. 

 There is a significant risk of tornadoes in the Ozarks tomorrow afternoon and evening in the yellow area. The threat extends includes Ft. Smith and Fayetteville as well as Muskogee. I'll have more on this tomorrow morning.  In Central America, it is likely that Tropical Storm or even Hurricane Iota will develop and threaten Honduras or Nicaragua the first of the week.  This has been the busiest hurricane season since the satellite era began in 1979. However,  we now name storms that we would not have named twenty or more years ago. So, while this has been an active season there would not be as many named storms under the naming rules prior to Hurricane Sandy. 

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather  from Amazon for Christmas, I strongly recommend getting the order in now.  Over the last five holiday seasons, with the exception of 2019, Amazon has run out during the holiday period. In 2020, they are starting out worse than usual.  Amazon ran out last week, placed an insufficient order with the publisher, and are back down to a single copy this afternoon. I checked with Greenleaf Book Group, my publisher, yesterday and they, too, are concerned that Amazon will run out again.  The problem isn't confined to Amazon. Watermark Books, a well-regarded independent bookstore in Wichita, sent an email this afternoon urging their customers to place any book orders for Christmas today.    Part of this is COVID. Things are running much more slowly than usual are warehouses and with shipping. Part of it is that the economy is questionable and companies want to ke...

 ...pertaining to the  U.S. Climate Assessment  which, in recent years, has left much to be desired.  

 Because it is out-of-season I wanted to post SPC's forecast for tornadoes this afternoon and evening.  The brown (5%) area is the significant threshold. If you live in Hannibal, the Quad Cities, Chicago, Milwaukee or Madison, please keep up on the weather later today.  The National Weather Service in Kansas published this tidbit today: On this date back in 1915, a violent tornado struck Great Bend, killing 11 and injuring 75. Around 1,000 sheep were killed. Hundreds of ducks that were killed fell from the sky around 25 miles northeast of the end of the tornado's track.

As God is my witness,  I never thought turkeys  could explode.     -- Stan Farley